The recent Hunt Showdown 1896 relaunch didn’t go well. New bugs and a lackluster UI overshadowed the updated version of Crytek’s extraction shooter, and a very severe Steam review bombing followed. Crytek did address plenty of the community pain points pretty quickly, and even committed to ongoing updates to bring Hunt Showdown to where it once was. While that journey is ongoing, a new game mode and seasonal event have just dropped, and the initial response seems hugely positive.
Hunt Showdown 1896 update 2.1 introduces a new mode to the multiplayer game called bounty clash, where you spawn into a random compound before hunting a boss target. The twist is that there are 12 players, just one bounty token, and a 15-minute time limit. The boss target and each extraction point are directly indicated on your compass as well, so get in, grab the spoils, and get out.
There’s also the new Harvest of Ghosts event which introduces new pact traits, mechanics, and even some fresh weapons. The Wilderness Pact is all about exploration, allowing you to sprint while using first aid kits and consumables and remain invisible to wildlife.
The Pact of Omens sharpens your sight and hearing so loud noises like gunshots are highlighted. Lastly, The Smugglers Pact is all about gearing yourself to the teeth. With this pact, you can carry two large slot weapons, and sprint even faster when holding a bounty token.
Don’t forget about the new weapons, though. You can now use a Bomb Launcher to fire explosive harpoons, or get some slick long-range kills with the Maynard Sniper. This scoped rifle does require a two-staged reload, though, so make those shots count.
Crytek has also implemented a slew of fixes with update 2.1 – after The big Hunt Showdown 1896 UI fix, plenty more interface adjustments have been made. A dedicated play button has been added to the top nav, there’s been a full shortcut button and key binding pass for ease of use, and plenty more as outlined in the patch notes themselves.
As of today, Wednesday October 16, the Hunt Showdown 1896 player count has increased dramatically. On October 15, the concurrent user base peaked at around 16,000, but a day later, following the release of 2.1, its’s lept up to just over 26,000.
If you’re looking for something a little different this spooky season, our picks for the best horror games should scare you straight. Otherwise, there are plenty more FPS games to try instead.
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