TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
The Devil's Trail begins March 18.
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Over in one corner of the extraction shooter genre you have Arc Raiders, Escape from Tarkov, and Marathon doing their own spins on what I call the "backpack" shooter, where the main motivation of a match is to fill up inventory slots. In the other corner you have Hunt: Showdown, an extraction shooter that has never shied away from being first and foremost about intense firefights.
There are no backpacks, no faction rep, and no way to become a millionaire selling fancy guns lifted from corpses. Instead, players clash in pursuit of bounty targets—elaborate boss threats who drop bounty tokens. Extract with one or more tokens, and you've effectively "won" that match.
Hunt was my first extraction shooter and, 650 hours later, still the one that gets my blood pumping the fastest. Not every update is a winner, but I admire the way Crytek is always looking to shake up the bounty format it established in 2018 in ways that may or may not stick around. It does this by introducing sweeping changes during events and then deciding based on feedback if they're a keeper. Most recently, Hunt introduced tarot cards that let players cast magical spells on the fly, some of which can totally shift the outcome of the match (one card can shut down all extraction points temporarily). Folks dug the cards, so now they're a staple.
Crytek's next experiment isn't as flashy, but it sounds just as fascinating. The Devil's Trail event, beginning March 18, will test if Hunt could benefit from taking key information away from players at the beginning of the match:
In case it's not clear, hidden extraction and supply points (which hold free ammo and throwables) are a huge deal. Longtime players already know roughly where extraction points can be on a map, but since only three or four are randomly activated at the start of the match, not knowing their location adds a splash of sauce to the last phase of a match. "Great, we got the bounty. Where do we go?"
You can go to the single extraction point revealed when you pick up a bounty, or preferably, you go to one of the new Scout Towers, where you'll find maps that can reveal other extraction options. I'm very curious how that exchange of information goes down. Can you choose to reveal an extraction point specifically when you use a map, or is the tidbit random?
What I like about this idea is ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Over in one corner of the extraction shooter genre you have Arc Raiders, Escape from Tarkov, and Marathon doing their own spins on what I call the "backpack" shooter, where the main motivation of a match is to fill up inventory slots. In the other corner you have Hunt: Showdown, an extraction shooter that has never shied away from being first and foremost about intense firefights.
There are no backpacks, no faction rep, and no way to become a millionaire selling fancy guns lifted from corpses. Instead, players clash in pursuit of bounty targets—elaborate boss threats who drop bounty tokens. Extract with one or more tokens, and you've effectively "won" that match.
Hunt was my first extraction shooter and, 650 hours later, still the one that gets my blood pumping the fastest. Not every update is a winner, but I admire the way Crytek is always looking to shake up the bounty format it established in 2018 in ways that may or may not stick around. It does this by introducing sweeping changes during events and then deciding based on feedback if they're a keeper. Most recently, Hunt introduced tarot cards that let players cast magical spells on the fly, some of which can totally shift the outcome of the match (one card can shut down all extraction points temporarily). Folks dug the cards, so now they're a staple.
Crytek's next experiment isn't as flashy, but it sounds just as fascinating. The Devil's Trail event, beginning March 18, will test if Hunt could benefit from taking key information away from players at the beginning of the match:
In case it's not clear, hidden extraction and supply points (which hold free ammo and throwables) are a huge deal. Longtime players already know roughly where extraction points can be on a map, but since only three or four are randomly activated at the start of the match, not knowing their location adds a splash of sauce to the last phase of a match. "Great, we got the bounty. Where do we go?"
You can go to the single extraction point revealed when you pick up a bounty, or preferably, you go to one of the new Scout Towers, where you'll find maps that can reveal other extraction options. I'm very curious how that exchange of information goes down. Can you choose to reveal an extraction point specifically when you use a map, or is the tidbit random?
What I like about this idea is ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?