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HUNTED: THE DEMON'S FORGE (X360)
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Publisher: Bethesda Softworks.
Developer: inXile Entertainment. Released: June 2011 (Europe). Genre: Action. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 15th May 2022. By Shane Battams © 2022 |
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On paper, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge’s melding of RPG and modern third-person shooter elements sounds intriguing. The prospect of hunting for loot like in Diablo with the action of Gears of War seems like a great fit, but unfortunately, the ingredients don’t quite mix. Tepid gameplay, generic presentation and unremarkable gameplay leave most of Hunted’s positives in the dust, and not even the tantalising prospect of a level editor and a fully co-op campaign can help.
Two mercenaries serve as Hunted’s protagonists: a bald warrior Caddoc and the elven archer E’Lara. As they follow the visions Caddoc has of an ancient artefact, events reveal a threat to the worl, as a shadowy figure begins raising an army of orc-esque Wargar, powered by a strange substance. Guided by the celestial Seraphine and imbued with newfound power, they stand something of a chance despite their mercenary ways. The story is pretty bare, as while it’s not short on narrative prose and twists, it’s dampened by a pair of uninteresting leads, flat dialogue that rarely hooks the player and character interactions that you’ll forget almost immediately. Despite grandiose pretensions, it feels very nondescript. There are a couple of tongue-in-cheek moments and playful jabs at the genre, but considering how by-the-numbers this dishwater-dull fantasy setting feels, attempts at irony don’t always translate as genuine humour.
Third-person RPG elements and a focus on action sounds appetising, but sadly, Hunted can't quite make it work
Anyone hoping the gameplay picks up the slack will also be disappointed. Split into six chapters, this action-RPG lets you play as either Caddoc, who favours melee weapons, or E’Lara, who utilises bows more often, though both can utilise the alternative armaments. Bow combat, inheriting a few of the trends from third-person shooters of the time, allows you to take cover behind objects in the environment, and peek out to take shots when safe. Swords lean more towards traditional hack n’ slash, with a shield allowing you to block damage, with your equipped one eventually breaking. Combat, in either stance, is serviceable but lacks sparkle and is beset with weird quirks. Aiming Bows feel slightly off to aim and cause your character to freeze if you transition from shield blocking to archery, sword combat lacks weight and impact, and poor executions feel completely jarring to the gameplay loop. The only saving grace is powerful magic, upgraded through collectible crystals that allow you to shock enemies, set them alight and add explosive damage to your bow.
This boredom is compounded by Hunted’s generally drab exterior which feels unwelcoming. Grey and brown colour the environments, linear design only sparsely offers some menial side quests on branching paths and the small variety of enemy types turns combat into a blur. Bosses punctuate each chapter, but in an odd twist, become part of the grunt roster in subsequent levels, and feel tedious to fight over again. Dungeons and underground caverns all blend together, and the rare trek to outside forests feels far too fleeting. The small variety of puzzles become a chore to overcome, continuously involving setting braziers alight, getting Caddoc to move huge walls and shooting explosive barrels to clear a path. Hunted’s structure, combined with unremarkable gameplay mechanics and a litany of odd design choices, ensure it isn’t much fun.
This boredom is compounded by Hunted’s generally drab exterior which feels unwelcoming. Grey and brown colour the environments, linear design only sparsely offers some menial side quests on branching paths and the small variety of enemy types turns combat into a blur. Bosses punctuate each chapter, but in an odd twist, become part of the grunt roster in subsequent levels, and feel tedious to fight over again. Dungeons and underground caverns all blend together, and the rare trek to outside forests feels far too fleeting. The small variety of puzzles become a chore to overcome, continuously involving setting braziers alight, getting Caddoc to move huge walls and shooting explosive barrels to clear a path. Hunted’s structure, combined with unremarkable gameplay mechanics and a litany of odd design choices, ensure it isn’t much fun.
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A potential saving grace is the co-op aspect, allowing you to play the entire campaign online or split-screen alongside another player either. The latter is vaguely interesting, mostly because local play had become something of a lost art during this gen, but it feels poorly thought out, with two squashed screens making it difficult to see, while gear and stats are only saved for the first-player. The online is, naturally, easier to track but suffers from the latter issue still, turning players off from the idea of losing all collected gear and upgrades to the first player. Solo gamers can freely switch between characters at Obelisks placed throughout chapters, and you can direct the other character to perform actions if needed. The secondary AI is competent, maybe to a fault, as playing single-player feels rather dull and unfulfilling. But co-op comes with too much baggage to be recommended.
Demon’s Forge sits awkwardly between its two genres, taking around 20 hours to polish off. This feels a little brisk for an RPG, but overly long for a shooter, which likely will displease aficionados of one genre or the other. A new game plus mode, of sorts, allows you to carry over certain armaments and even test out Old School mode, a higher difficulty level. The last piece is Crucible, a map editor which allows you to pick from a selection of pre-set rooms, enemies and settings to draw up a serious gauntlet. These maps made can be uploaded for others to try, played solo and in co-op and it all seems like a cool idea on the surface. Sadly, it’s just more of the same dull, boring gameplay without any semblance of narrative, growing boring quickly, and with collecting Gold being the sole means of unlocking customisable elements, you’ll find it has little use early on.
Demon’s Forge sits awkwardly between its two genres, taking around 20 hours to polish off. This feels a little brisk for an RPG, but overly long for a shooter, which likely will displease aficionados of one genre or the other. A new game plus mode, of sorts, allows you to carry over certain armaments and even test out Old School mode, a higher difficulty level. The last piece is Crucible, a map editor which allows you to pick from a selection of pre-set rooms, enemies and settings to draw up a serious gauntlet. These maps made can be uploaded for others to try, played solo and in co-op and it all seems like a cool idea on the surface. Sadly, it’s just more of the same dull, boring gameplay without any semblance of narrative, growing boring quickly, and with collecting Gold being the sole means of unlocking customisable elements, you’ll find it has little use early on.
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Hunted: The Demon’s Forge tries to meld two separate genres into a distinctive whole, but feels way less than the sum of its parts. Gruelling, dull gameplay, generic presentation elements and featuring a cavalcade of curious design decisions, it ends up feeling a chore long before you reach the end. Those looking for a killer fantasy RPG will be left disappointed. Anyone wanting a unique alternative to the myriad of third-person shooters will find it unfulfilling and in the end, Hunted ends up a disappointment.
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VERDICT
"Hunted: The Demon’s Forge suffers from gruellingly dull gameplay, generic presentation elements and a cavalcade of curious design decisions, becoming a chore long before you reach the end." OVERALL: 4/10 |