Predator Hunting Grounds Review

[Michael {United Critics}]

🎮Gameplay	8-6	8 as a Predator and 6 as Fireteam.
📷Graphics	7	All work is done on main menu UI development; gameplay looks like mobile version.
🎧Narration/Audio	8.5	Official soundtrack used.
😮Variety	7.5	It merely takes few hours to see everything in the game.
🎰Re-playability	6	Playerbase is extinct.
💲Price	7	Overpriced according to the quality.

The title- Predator itself is a well-renowned establishment. Serving it right isn’t an easy cookie to crack. No matter how much work you put in, it will always lack in competing to cinematic dazzle. The same conflict is happening here. A lot of effort put into a bottomless bucket.

🎮Gameplay:

PvP being its core mechanic, you clash against each other while opting for the roles of Predator and the Fireteam. The absence of campaign mode makes it feel like a cake with no icing. The gameplay happens in a fairly ample map that exhibits varied terraforms and a bunch of AIs.

Controls-
Controls play an important role here, as the gameplay revolves around quick-time events and a lot of action. But Predator Hunting Grounds swings both sides. Multiple fascinating movements like climbing the tree, using the invisibility cloak, thermal scan or ground smash; spices up the gameplay. But all those fancy moves are only for the Predator. On the other hand, the Fireteam barely has anything advanced except the basic weaponry and throwables, which have terrible handling anyway. Yes, they have followed the original movie content, but at the end of the day, it’s a fantasy game that needs to be interesting enough to bind the player base for a long time.

Variety-
Imagine you entered a cupcake shop that has multiple designs of cupcakes, but all of them taste the same. The same goes for the level-up customization and map areas. Each map has 2 big landmarks, and the rest of the map comprises jungle and random militia bases strewed about. After 10 hours of gameplay (max), you pretty much see every possibility the game has to offer. It’s sad to say that the most variety shown was from the high skill difference of lobbies.

Roles variation-
The experience in acting the role is completely divergent. On one side of the coin, you are a Predator that has superpowers and can kill whatever he sees. He solely lives for the destruction. But on the other hand, playing as a Fireteam means you not only face the deadly monster but ambush a military site that contains loads of human enemies. Now you are trying to survive the murderous blow of Predator, while completing the military objectives of killing some random officer and collecting intel. This separates the experience from sole dominance to teamwork survival, and as a result, most player base queue for the Predator.

Playerbase problem-
As the Predator is overpowered, and everyone wants to play him. The game separates these preferences using three norms, queue for random role, Fireteam or Predator. Now of course the queue time of the Predator is hella long, and to avoid that waiting, people queue for the random role and leaves the match if they don’t get the Predator role. This was extremely annoying and forced me to play a lot of matches as Fireteam only. Playing as Fireteam is not boring, it’s just a lot of stuff to take in with dependence on teamwork, which you hardly see in these games. Plus the absence of skill-based matchmaking just surprises you with noob Predator or extremely experienced killer.

Soundtrack-
Soundtrack is probably the sole flawless aspect of the game. Not only does it follow the original sounds, but respects the adequate requirement. It’s not overly done, its precise and amusing. Another creative aspect was the occurrence of random growls so that the Fireteam can locate the presence of Predator.

📷Graphics:

If we only focus on the character designing and animations, then yes, the graphic work was pleasant. But if we see the gameplay as a whole, then Oh God. Not only do the jungle looked like Unity engine’s basic assets, but they followed a weird green colour tone too. The absence of a destructible map makes me wonder if the budget was lacking. But whoever designed the UI with customization screens and crates deserves a raise.

📝Main Pros and Cons:

Pros-

• Matches Predator movies.
  
• A lot of visual customization.
  
• Some creative mechanics.
  
• Fun with friends, but not in solo queue.
  
• Original soundtrack.

Cons-

• Long queue times even with crossplay.
  
• OP Predator.
  
• Lacking graphics.
  
• Huge matchmaking skill gap.
  
• Absence of variety.
  
• Shotguns are useless and rifles have sh*t ton of ammo that you can spray for ages.

🏷️Tips to new players:

• If you are playing as Predator- You can regain health by eating up pigs that wander around the map. The more time you take to claim the trophy, the more XP you get.
  
• If you are playing as Fireteam- Covering yourself with dirt makes you undetectable from thermal vision. The predator makes random growl noises, so keep your ears active.

✉️Miscellaneous Information:

Field lockers-
Each chest is stuffed with a random trio of rewards, and you can earn them through either levelling up or spending some of that sweet Veritanium you’ve been stashing away. Loot drops come in five different colours, signifying the rarity of a particular item: Blue is Common, Purple is Uncommon, Pink is Rare, Red is Exotic, and Gold is Mythical.

Recordings-
Different recordings can be acquired in the main game that expands the Predator lore. They are divided into two types: OWLF Recordings and Dutch's Tapes. The firsts are collectibles found randomly on the map while the laters are unlocked by raising levels.

Info about DLCs
They are expensive compared to the offered content. All of them are just customizations with nostalgic voice lines. Except for the rocket launcher and map DLC.

😇Honest Rating:

It might be the best result from the idea of PVP Predator vs Fireteam. But the idea itself is a failure. There’s no way you can keep a 4-player multiplayer-only game alive without any variety progression. Unlike Dead by Daylight, Predator attains low scores for the fun aspect.

Rating: 6/10

Reviewer: Guri
Keep an eye on the trees.