Crytek’s ambitious first-person Western horror multiplayer shooter Hunt: Showdown is now in Steam Early Access the studio announced today!

Would-be buyers can purchase Hunt: Showdown for $29.99/ £25.99/ €29.99, and the studio has also released the Hunt: Showdown Early Access notes too. You can read them in full below, to see what state the game you’re getting when you purchase it now.

GAME MODES/MISSIONS

Players will be able to choose between four Bounty Hunt missions. In the near future, we will also add random missions, and two boss target missions, as well as the ability to select your spawn point rather than spawning randomly.

Every Bounty Hunt mission follows the same basic course: 1. Track your target through a hostile sandbox environment. 2. Kill your target-the boss monster. 3. Banish its soul back to hell and collect the resulting Bounty Tokens. 4. Get off the map before another Hunter finds you, kills you, and steals your prize.

WORLD

Hunt is set in a handcrafted sandbox environment in the bayous of Louisiana. Each of the 16 unique locations on the map are steeped in history and lore, which will be unlockable via the library (see game roadmap). Thirteen of those locations could contain your target.

· 1 km² map, including 16 locations

· 28 sandbox features to use strategically to distract or attract enemies.

· 2 times of day: day and night.

· Sound cues, from the screams of a dying horse to the beating of wings as a flock of birds takes off, will give you clues as to the location of enemies, or give your location away and can be used strategically to attract or distract enemies.

· Extraction points—currently stage coaches and steam boats—are your way off the map and out of a Hunt match, and extraction takes 20 seconds. The presence of any player near these points triggers an audio cue to alert others that a potential enemy is lurking.

CAST

· Player Characters

The first player character set available is the male cowboy set, which includes three tiers of characters and 44 visual variations, randomly generated from a variety of outfits, ethnicities, and equipment. As your Bloodline progresses you will unlock more elite hunters.

· Boss targets: The Spider and the Butcher

Each of the games two boss targets (Spider and Butcher) present a unique challenge. Players will need to think carefully about how to arm themselves, as each boss has its own weaknesses and strengths.

· AI enemies: Hive, Meathead, Hellhound, and Armored

These four enemies have different weaknesses and strengths, and will do their best to get in your way as you hunt your target.

· Grunts

A randomly generated hoard of grunts with visual and weapons variations roam the swamps as well, are attracted by sound, and are after your blood.

ARSENAL

So. Many. Guns. Hunt features 33 unique pieces of equipment and 17 variants to date.

· 3 unique pistols (Caldwell Conversion, Dolch 96, Nagant M1895), with 6 variations (Caldwell Conversion Chain, Caldwell Conversion Uppercut, Dolch 96 Precision, Nagant M1895 Silencer, Nagant M1895 Precision, Nagant M1895 Brawler)

· 5 unique rifles (Winfield M1873, Sparks LRR, Mosin-Nagant M1891, Vetterli 71 Karabiner, Nitro Express), with 6 variations (Winfield M1873 Talon, Winfield M1873 Swift, Winfield M1873C, Mosin-Nagant M1891 Obrez, Mosin-Nagant M1891 Avtomat, Mosin-Nagant M1891 Bayonet, Vetterli 71 Karabiner Bayonet)

· 4 unique shotguns (Crown & King Auto-5, Caldwell Rival 78, Specter 1882, Romero 77), with 4 variations (Caldwell Rival 78 Handcannon, Romero 77 Handcannon, Romero 77 Hatchet, Romero 77 Talon)

· 2 unique melee weapons (Cavalry Saber, Machete)

· 3 unique world items (Sledgehammer, Wood Axe, Lantern)

· 7 unique tools (Decoys, Dusters, Electric Lamp, First Aid Kit, Fusee, Knife, Quad Derringer)

· 9 unique consumables (Concertina Bomb, Dynamite Stick, Dynamite Bundle, Big Dynamite Bundle, Fire Bomb, Frag Bomb, Vitality Shot, Stamina Shot, Antidote Shot)

TRAITS

Hunt features 12 unique traits. Traits are permanent passive ability upgrades for Hunter characters. Traits can be unlocked as you progress your Bloodline, and can be purchased with the upgrade points you earn doing this. Once assigned to a Hunter, traits do not consume any extra energy, health, or stamina.

Traits currently available are: Determination, Physician, Quartermaster, Greyhound, Packmule, Frontiersman, Doctor, Pump Jockey, Hornskin, Mithridatist, Fanning, and Bloodless. Mithridatist, for example, reduces the intensity and duration of poison, while Bloodless provides immunity to bleeding.

PROGRESSION

Hunt features three kinds of progression.

· Hunter Progression
Players can level up their Hunters by completing objectives. Leveling a Hunter grants upgrade points that players can spend to buy health and traits. If a Hunter dies he is gone forever—and so are any upgrades or gear they were equipped with.

· Bloodline Progression
Bloodline Progression is the progression for a player’s entire account. Players earn experience during matches that level up their Bloodline. Each Bloodline rank unlocks gear, traits, higher tier hunters, and in-game currency rewards.

· Bloodline Progression & Prestige
The Bloodline Prestige system allows players to reset their Bloodline after they reach maximum rank (currently 100). When a player resets their Bloodline, they receive a prestige badge. In the future, you will be able to see other players’ prestige levels, and matchmaking will take Bloodline rank and prestige into account.

LORE

The Louisiana Case File available in the library contains many clues about Hunt’s backstory via a collection of found documents pertaining to the situation in Louisiana in the late 1890s. Further library books will be added in further patches.

FRONTEND/UI

Hunt’s UI currently allows players to:

· Customize basic comfort and graphic settings.

· Recruit and equip hunters and prepare for missions.

· Familiarize yourself with the game’s mechanics via the manual (found in the library) and a tutorial video that is linked in the menu.

Through Early Access, we will be tracking three leaderboard statistics on your Bloodline screen, and 9 additional personal statistics. We will add more stats to the leaderboards throughout Early Access. More in-depth onboarding and tutorials will be added in the future as well.

SERVERS

We currently have servers operating in the United States and the EU and we will soon add servers around the world in relation to our players’ locations. Players can matchmake within their region or with people from other regions and you can continue to play on your existing profile.

According to Crytek, daily server maintenance will be happening at 11:00 AM CET/10:00 AM GMT/5:00 AM EST/2:00 AM PST for a “short period.”

Anyone jumping in to this? I admit, the gameplay we’ve seen looks very promising so far. Those who managed to play it, what are your thoughts so far?

Source: Hunt: Showdown via AllGamesDelta