It's no secret that I haven't been all too kind to some of the previous Dread X Collections (DXC). I've yet to play through and review 3, but I had many choice words to say about C1 and C2, specifically 2, which I ended up leaving a negative review on. Imagine my surprise when the publisher of these collections added me as a friend, looking for more feedback, and even gave me a key. What a nice surprise! How could I not immediately play through and give my viewpoints? TIME TO SLANDER!

No, but seriously. I'm giving this the same scrutiny and praise as I would for any other DXC, free key be damned (though I am thankful). DXC: The Hunt, is a more than noticeable improvement over the first 2 collections (again, haven't played the 3rd, but that one looks pretty good, so not sure if it's better than that one yet). I was pleased to see that the approach for this collection did something that I was hoping for, where more time was given on fewer games to really flesh out something more polished and refined. As a result, there is not even a single title in this specific collection that I could deem as a "total trash" game. Neat!

Much like C2/3, you start off in a hub-world, which is a game in and of itself. I'm not generally the biggest fan of this sort of thing, but it's done well enough here, and is fairly straightforward to navigate, with logical progression to events. In addition, you could always choose the "freeplay" mode if you wanna jump straight into the 7 main games within this collection, though you can easily access them all anyway shortly after starting the story. No need to collect keys or whatever to unlock them, as all are available to play in whatever order you see fit. I consider this an improvement, and like being able to pick and choose what looks like the most fun.

The games themselves, as mentioned, have had more time and effort put into them, and it shows. 6 out of 7 of the titles are 1st-person, and one is 3rd-person. However, it's important to note that, even though these are higher quality titles than what has come before (at least compared to SOME offered previously), these are still very clearly indie, and won't be fooling anyone into thinking they were made by a big team. I mean, they had 10-20 days. If you're expecting something crazy high-tier, that's on you.

As before, I'm going to leave a brief comment on each of the games in the collection, though I can't delve in deeply due to a tiny word limit on Steam reviews. To all the devs who put their hard work into this, I'm sorry if my words are upsetting. I know that you didn't have a huge amount of time/manpower to work with, and each of you clearly put in a hell of a lot of effort, which should be commended regardless. I'm not taking any of my words back though!

Rose of Meat was the first title I tried, and boy, what an introduction. Certainly the most ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up entry in the collection (which I am highly into), you're a poor fisher who has to escape an island filled with all manner of absurd looking beings, accomplishing tasks for a few of the curious inhabitants of the island. Body horror is a big theme here, and is used to great effect. The developer made the absolute most of the limited timeframe, and put something together where all the cut corners and concessions were far less noticeable than they would be otherwise. It's a fun experience that doesn't outstay its welcome. That said, I do fear that the game is perhaps just a bit too confusing in some ways, and more explanation on how certain mechanics worked wouldn't have been amiss, and some of the, let's say, encounters in the title, feel just a bit unfair, but that said, thankfully, this lack of explanation doesn't impact the game negatively in any extremely meaningful way. Great experience, this one.

Uktena 64 is a fairly straightforward hunting experience (though with an expected Dread X twist). I felt this one was a bit rocky in some ways. It dragged on a bit too long in the middle for my liking, and had a somewhat strange ending that I wasn't quite fond of, but the actual last fight was fun enough, and the scares that did exist were decent enough in their own way.

The House of Unrest was a decent title with a neat twist at the end that left a smile on my face, though much like with most of this collection, it really wasn't particularly scary, which I kind of felt the developers were trying for, considering all things. Pacing was good though, even if the combat was lacking.

Axis Mundi is probably the only title that required any amount of typical FPS skill to beat, at least if you play on the hard mode. A ghost hunting game where your weapon is a camera (cough cough fatal frame cough). Again, pacing here was good, though a bit of jank soured the experience a bit, like one puzzle in particular near the end that... wasn't really a puzzle, since just interacting with everything solves the "puzzle". I also managed to have 3 hands at one point, 2 on a camera, and 1 on a lantern. That was the scariest thing I'd seen so far! Body horror man, it's legit.

Seraphixial is... well, I wasn't a big fan. I mean, again, don't get me wrong, lots of effort put into it, clearly. In terms of visuals and especially audio design, it's great stuff, at least in terms of being interesting. However, loud noises do not a scary enemy make, and the other scares it tries to pull off are admirable, but it doesn't quite have the budget to make it work (not the devs fault, but... yeah). Quite a lot of gunplay in this one, which is a shame, since weapons don't feel good to use with weak sounds and poor enemy AI. The final boss was especially garbage. Just a bullet sponge that follows you around and does one attack when it gets close. Strong in some ways, disappointing in others.

Black Relic is basically a poor man's Resident Evil 4. It's the only third-person title, and the enemy design and AI is really remarkably similar to RE4. Influence was clearly drawn here. Sadly, I also wasn't too thrilled here. The visuals are decent enough, but the game is damn dark, and the lantern is basically useless. It hardly lights anything up, and you basically need a crossbow out for most of the time you're playing. I know it's an aesthetic choice, but I felt the dev went a bit overboard here. Basic actions stop the player dead in their tracks for a slow animation to take place, which feels pretty annoying. I felt it would be better if there was no ammo limit to begin with (which there is, and is tiny), since reloading already takes ages, and ammo boxes are everywhere anyway, which just adds more wasted time. The healing system is also extremely forgiving. It kind of makes you wonder, what was even the point of a health system if death is basically an impossibility? Bosses were also just awful. Again, simple run-towards-player AI that simply soak up a few more shots than basic enemies.

The Fruit is a poor man's Amnesia, at least upon first glance. However, it does end up not being quite the same sort of thing after a few minutes. Out of all the games in the collection, this one is probably the most substantial in terms of content. In most ways, this is solid, though some sections could have used a bit more polish, like a certain section that suggests you "slip" off a slope, but if you don't do it precisely how the game expects you to, you just die, needing to redo a climb over again.

In short, I'd say that this collection is far more consistent in quality compared to the first 2 collections, which is great, and that quality as a whole is far higher, which is even better. No title ever infuriated me, and I can't say I regret the time spent on any one of these. DXC: The Hunt is a great addition to the Dread X series, and is well worth your time, if you're into this sort of thing.

Good job, DXC team. Good job.

Want to keep updated on games I recommend? I'm a curator! Follow me here!

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Neonetik/curation

It's no secret that I haven't been all too kind to some of the previous Dread X Collections (DXC). I've yet to play through and review 3, but I had many choice words to say about C1 and C2, specifically 2, which I ended up leaving a negative review on. Imagine my surprise when the publisher of these collections added me as a friend, looking for more feedback, and even gave me a key. What a nice surprise! How could I not immediately play through and give my viewpoints? TIME TO SLANDER! No, but seriously. I'm giving this the same scrutiny and praise as I would for any other DXC, free key be damned (though I am thankful). DXC: The Hunt, is a more than noticeable improvement over the first 2 collections (again, haven't played the 3rd, but that one looks pretty good, so not sure if it's better than that one yet). I was pleased to see that the approach for this collection did something that I was hoping for, where more time was given on fewer games to really flesh out something more polished and refined. As a result, there is not even a single title in this specific collection that I could deem as a "total trash" game. Neat! Much like C2/3, you start off in a hub-world, which is a game in and of itself. I'm not generally the biggest fan of this sort of thing, but it's done well enough here, and is fairly straightforward to navigate, with logical progression to events. In addition, you could always choose the "freeplay" mode if you wanna jump straight into the 7 main games within this collection, though you can easily access them all anyway shortly after starting the story. No need to collect keys or whatever to unlock them, as all are available to play in whatever order you see fit. I consider this an improvement, and like being able to pick and choose what looks like the most fun. The games themselves, as mentioned, have had more time and effort put into them, and it shows. 6 out of 7 of the titles are 1st-person, and one is 3rd-person. However, it's important to note that, even though these are higher quality titles than what has come before (at least compared to SOME offered previously), these are still very clearly indie, and won't be fooling anyone into thinking they were made by a big team. I mean, they had 10-20 days. If you're expecting something crazy high-tier, that's on you. As before, I'm going to leave a brief comment on each of the games in the collection, though I can't delve in deeply due to a tiny word limit on Steam reviews. To all the devs who put their hard work into this, I'm sorry if my words are upsetting. I know that you didn't have a huge amount of time/manpower to work with, and each of you clearly put in a hell of a lot of effort, which should be commended regardless. I'm not taking any of my words back though! Rose of Meat was the first title I tried, and boy, what an introduction. Certainly the most fucked up entry in the collection (which I am highly into), you're a poor fisher who has to escape an island filled with all manner of absurd looking beings, accomplishing tasks for a few of the curious inhabitants of the island. Body horror is a big theme here, and is used to great effect. The developer made the absolute most of the limited timeframe, and put something together where all the cut corners and concessions were far less noticeable than they would be otherwise. It's a fun experience that doesn't outstay its welcome. That said, I do fear that the game is perhaps just a bit too confusing in some ways, and more explanation on how certain mechanics worked wouldn't have been amiss, and some of the, let's say, encounters in the title, feel just a bit unfair, but that said, thankfully, this lack of explanation doesn't impact the game negatively in any extremely meaningful way. Great experience, this one. Uktena 64 is a fairly straightforward hunting experience (though with an expected Dread X twist). I felt this one was a bit rocky in some ways. It dragged on a bit too long in the middle for my liking, and had a somewhat strange ending that I wasn't quite fond of, but the actual last fight was fun enough, and the scares that did exist were decent enough in their own way. The House of Unrest was a decent title with a neat twist at the end that left a smile on my face, though much like with most of this collection, it really wasn't particularly scary, which I kind of felt the developers were trying for, considering all things. Pacing was good though, even if the combat was lacking. Axis Mundi is probably the only title that required any amount of typical FPS skill to beat, at least if you play on the hard mode. A ghost hunting game where your weapon is a camera (cough cough fatal frame cough). Again, pacing here was good, though a bit of jank soured the experience a bit, like one puzzle in particular near the end that... wasn't really a puzzle, since just interacting with everything solves the "puzzle". I also managed to have 3 hands at one point, 2 on a camera, and 1 on a lantern. That was the scariest thing I'd seen so far! Body horror man, it's legit. Seraphixial is... well, I wasn't a big fan. I mean, again, don't get me wrong, lots of effort put into it, clearly. In terms of visuals and especially audio design, it's great stuff, at least in terms of being interesting. However, loud noises do not a scary enemy make, and the other scares it tries to pull off are admirable, but it doesn't quite have the budget to make it work (not the devs fault, but... yeah). Quite a lot of gunplay in this one, which is a shame, since weapons don't feel good to use with weak sounds and poor enemy AI. The final boss was especially garbage. Just a bullet sponge that follows you around and does one attack when it gets close. Strong in some ways, disappointing in others. Black Relic is basically a poor man's Resident Evil 4. It's the only third-person title, and the enemy design and AI is really remarkably similar to RE4. Influence was clearly drawn here. Sadly, I also wasn't too thrilled here. The visuals are decent enough, but the game is damn dark, and the lantern is basically useless. It hardly lights anything up, and you basically need a crossbow out for most of the time you're playing. I know it's an aesthetic choice, but I felt the dev went a bit overboard here. Basic actions stop the player dead in their tracks for a slow animation to take place, which feels pretty annoying. I felt it would be better if there was no ammo limit to begin with (which there is, and is tiny), since reloading already takes ages, and ammo boxes are everywhere anyway, which just adds more wasted time. The healing system is also extremely forgiving. It kind of makes you wonder, what was even the point of a health system if death is basically an impossibility? Bosses were also just awful. Again, simple run-towards-player AI that simply soak up a few more shots than basic enemies. The Fruit is a poor man's Amnesia, at least upon first glance. However, it does end up not being quite the same sort of thing after a few minutes. Out of all the games in the collection, this one is probably the most substantial in terms of content. In most ways, this is solid, though some sections could have used a bit more polish, like a certain section that suggests you "slip" off a slope, but if you don't do it precisely how the game expects you to, you just die, needing to redo a climb over again. In short, I'd say that this collection is far more consistent in quality compared to the first 2 collections, which is great, and that quality as a whole is far higher, which is even better. No title ever infuriated me, and I can't say I regret the time spent on any one of these. DXC: The Hunt is a great addition to the Dread X series, and is well worth your time, if you're into this sort of thing. Good job, DXC team. Good job. Want to keep updated on games I recommend? I'm a curator! Follow me here! https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Neonetik/curation