Next Fest Review: Mistfall Hunters

The last Next Fest brought a wealth of exciting titles to explore, but for me, it’s all about those extraction games. One in particular caught my eye, and I decided to dive into the demo to see if it would become another game for my catalogue. Mistfall Hunters is an Extraction Looter, which seems to be the universal term for this genre if guns aren’t involved. 

Gameplay
It’s a fantasy hack-and-slash, drawing inspiration from Soulslikes and the action RPG genre. The game plays in a third-person perspective, lending itself more to Soulslikes. The slow movement and pace further draw comparisons, but it’s in combat where Mistfall Hunters becomes its own thing. It borrows some of the mechanics of a Soulslike, such as dodging attacks and learning enemy attack sequences. Where it differs, is in the pace of combat itself. Damage is dealt quickly, and enemies sponge damage like they enjoy it. The dodge mechanic helps you preserve health, but overall the combat is much quicker than Dark Souls. It’s likely more akin to the pace of Nioh, but without the lethality of that genre. 

A caveat to my experience with this game is that I never got beyond Normal difficulty. I really hope the Chaos mode provides more deadly PvE encounters. My PvE experience was middling. The bosses were cool and dynamic, and those encounters were interesting, but other enemies were mostly static, and you could walk past them without much trouble. There were more ‘elite’ enemies in the open world, but they were just as easy to avoid. The more I played, the more I started to realise that most teams just ran to the nearest loot encounter or boss. I don’t mind this however, as it encourages PvP and has been one of the core strengths of Hunt: Showdown. 

Classes
The class and customisation options provide a lot of interesting ways to build your character. It’s easy for games to get stuck within the tropes of fantasy classes. Mistfall Hunters doesn’t shy away from exploring new concepts. You have your traditional classes like Fighter, Rogue, Ranger, and Wizard, but they include their own spin on these tried-and-tested archetypes. I dabbled in the Sorcerer and Withered Knight, but not enough to gain a good understanding of their mechanical offerings. 
I spent most of my time playing Blackarrow, the Ranger-esque class. This was mostly because I found myself partying with melee players more than anything else, and I figured a ranged class could offer a more dynamic composition. The class had a lot of options for how to approach fights, from abilities to arrow selection. Different arrows offered a variety of options, from crowd control and area-of-effect damage, to single-target damage. I enjoyed picking which arrow to use across fights in both PvP and PvE. 

My time as a Blackarrow proved successful, especially when my frontline party members could distract opposing teams. I had enough mobility to weave away from approaching players, and there was enough skill-expression in aiming and selecting the right abilities for me to feel satisfied with successful takedowns. 
Before the servers went down, I did spend a short time playing as a Seer. This was the most unique class out of those I played. It had two modes of abilities. I only played the one that involved creating towers that provided an assortment of buffs, crowd control, and damage. My PvP encounters didn’t end well, but I could see the potential in the abilities. A skilled Seer could control the battlefield while their teammates picked off enemies. 

Customisation and Mechanics
Customisation looks like a huge part of the game. I was surprised by how many options were available across both classes and gear. Each class has access to a talent tree to further customise its abilities. The abilities themselves provide several options to influence how you play your class. In my short time playing, I found that every level unlocked new possibilities. 

Gear utilises the socket system adopted by most action RPGs, but it does more than simply bump stats. You gain access to modifiers for movement, damage, and cooldowns based on certain parameters, such as your current health. It’s not ground-breaking, but it does offer more food for thought when creating your build. 
Like most extraction games, you gain access to an auction house to buy and sell loot. There’s a tab in the main menu called Prepare, which I found particularly useful. From this menu, you can create a gear build without limitations. You can create a Rare set or even a Legendary set. Once completed, the game finds options for these slots on the Auction House. This includes gemming sockets and saves so much time. Take note, Dark and Darker, because this system is brilliant. 

Mistfall Hunters has a lot to offer. Deep customisation, dynamic PvPvE, and enough content to keep you coming back. The game doesn’t offer the hyper-competitive gameplay of Escape from Tarkov or Marathon, but that’s something I like about it. This feels like the ‘chill’ extraction game. I can dive into the world, kill some monsters, and beat up some players without the intensity of the two aforementioned games. Release is upon us, and I’m excited to pick up the game. 

• Nicholas Christensen-Secker