I rolled into Hunt: Showdown 1896 expecting the usual extraction-shooter fare: high stakes, tense firefights, and that vague promise of a “timeless evil” to slay for loot. What I found was an atmosphere so thick you could slice it with a Bowie knife, a handful of brilliant design choices, and just as many rough edges that threaten to trip you up on every hunt. Crytek’s latest outing is undeniably memorable—but also maddening in equal measure.
Overall Impressions
Right from the swampy docks to the disease-ridden bayou, Hunt: Showdown 1896 nails mood and tension better than most games in its genre. Think Escape from Tarkov’s unforgiving gunplay meets Bloodborne’s gothic horror, with a dash of social deduction when rival Hunters show up. I appreciate that every sound cue matters—an unnoticed footstep behind you can mean your undoing. Yet the package feels uneven. Between clunky menus, questionable balancing decisions, and performance hiccups, I often found myself yanking off my headset in frustration. Compared to peers, it stands out for raw intensity, but sorely lags in polish.
Gameplay Mechanics
At its core, Hunt is about tracking down a monstrous Bounty, snatching its essence, and hauling it off the map while every other player wants your scalp. When it works, it works brilliantly: silent lanterns, bone-chilling growls, heart-pounding stand-offs against human Hunters. But “works” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
• UI and Menus: Ever since the engine upgrade, menus have been a constant headache. I spent more time hunting for the “equip” button than I did hunting in the swamp. Multiple players have complained that the interface is clunky and counter-intuitive—a sentiment I share.
• Balancing Woes: Passive playstyles get rewarded. Walls now stop bullets too well, traps feel overpowered, and silenced weapons reign supreme. If you prefer straight-up gunfights, this isn’t always your stage.
• Matchmaking and Smoothed Difficulty: The six-star bracket feels like an ocean where rank-one guppies get eaten alive by apex predators. Solo players regularly face squads boasting double or triple their hours—high ping be damned. Anecdotes of false bans by EasyAntiCheat only add salt to the wound. One friend of mine saw a near-2.0 K/D; quick reports later, he was locked out permanently with no human review in sight.
• Technical Performance: The visuals dazzle, but at the cost of micro-stutters—even on beefy rigs. VRAM leaks linger in long sessions until you reboot. That level of volatility can turn a meticulously planned hunt into an unpredictable tech demo.
Story and Characters
There isn’t a sweeping narrative here, which is a blessing and a curse. You’re handed scraps of journal entries, broken telegrams, and whispered lore about grotesque beasts born from dark science. I admired how each Bounty hunt feels like its own ghost story told around a campfire. Characters themselves are blank slates—you are the Hunter, and your fellow players write the drama. This emergent storytelling can be exhilarating: one match I watched a rival Hunter go full stealth, then panic-fire in a shack, alerting every cryptid in earshot. That moment alone could justify the entire game.
Visuals and Graphics
Crytek’s engine still shines when it comes to lighting, particle effects, and those dank, oppressive marshes. Water reflections quiver hauntingly, while moss-draped ruins loom in the mist. At times, however, character models look like they walked into a glass window—janky limbs or floating weapons snap you out of the mood. On balance, it’s a gorgeous game that occasionally trips over its own technical ambition.
Sound and Music
Hands-down, this is Hunt’s strongest suit. Every snapping twig, distant howl, and ragged whisper is mixed with surgical precision. You’ll find yourself pausing just to let the soundtrack of dripping water and creaking floorboards sink in. The sparse, almost ambient score creeps in at just the right moments to ratchet your heart rate up. Voice lines for Hunters are serviceable, but it’s in the ambient effects where this game truly stalks you.
Difficulty and Replayability
Hunt: Showdown 1896 has a steep learning curve, and it means exactly what it says: you will lose, a lot. If you crave that delicious tension—where even looting a desk drawer feels like a gambit—this is your jam. Casual players may bristle at sweaty lobbies, but one 40-something solo friend reports having a blast outsmarting opponents rather than out-gunning them. The moment-to-moment risk of permadeath keeps you coming back, and each update adds new Bounties, weapons, and maps. Yet until Crytek smooths out performance, UI, and matchmaking, some of those returns feel like beating your head against a cursed shack door.
Hunt: Showdown 1896 offers an undeniably unique extraction-shooter experience: immersive, tense, and atmospherically superb. But the same lofty ambition trips over rough technical edges, shaky customer service, and design choices that favor camping over confrontation. It’s a game starving for a human touch—both in its balance patches and in any actual customer support. If you hunger for high-risk thrills and can tolerate moments of sheer frustration, you’ll find ample reward. Just don’t expect a polished walkthrough; this show is as unforgiving as the bayou itself.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Trivia: Crytek built this on its latest CryEngine iteration—the same tech that powered Crysis but retooled for weather effects, dynamic lighting, and sprawling audio occlusion. Despite financial turbulence and studio token shifts, they’ve kept supporting the game with DLC hunters, seasonal events, and community hunts—and they’ll need every one of those updates to turn mixed reviews into a cult classic.
