Thanks to a newly launched website and YouTube trailer, we know that Expansive Worlds and Avalanche Studios will be releasing theHunter: Call of the Wild in early 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGOTYfGMyoE
For the unblooded, the awkwardly named theHunter (won't somebody think of the writers!) is a free-to-play hunting game currently available on Steam, using Avalanche's proprietary engine to provide gorgeous visuals and a surprisingly deep simulation of man vs. animal. Players are able to triangulate the positions of animals by their sound, and track individuals through footprints and scat. Always make sure you're downwind, and never ever sprint unless you're sure something won't hear you. I played it way back in 2010, and I enjoyed what I played.
theHunter: Call of the Wild looks to follow in the same tracks. Placing you in gorgeous surroundings (powered by Avalanche's new Apex engine), theHunter: Call of the Wild pits players against a 50 square-mile world filled to bursting with life, using advanced hunting knowledge to bring down their prey.
Step into a beautiful open world teeming with life, from majestic deer and awe-inspiring bison down to the countless birds, critters and insects of the wilderness. Experience complex animal behavior, dynamic weather events, full day and night cycles, simulated ballistics, highly realistic acoustics, scents carried by a completely revamped wind system, and much more.
It appears that a lot of the depth from the first game will return for theHunter: Call of the Wild. Developers have promised the wide variety of weapons will return, with hunting rifles, compound bows, crossbows and more available. Each weapon will also have different types of ammunition, with different projectiles being more effective against different quarry. Buckshot might be of little use against a deer, but it's the perfect tool for taking down turkey. With any luck, the same wind, smell, and animal calling mechanics from the first game will make the transition as well, preserving the depth of a true hunting simulation.
Take on missions and challenges from the locals, or go off the beaten path. Discover lookouts, hunting towers and outposts. They will allow you to move swiftly and effortlessly throughout the massive open world.Critics made much of the terrible microtransaction system from the first game, and with good reason. In order to hunt all the animals, you had to pay a monthly license fee - a subscription in all but name - and all but the most basic ammo would need to be replenished between hunts. It appears that instead, theHunter: Call of the Wild will be dropping that in favor of a premium pricing model with some items behind microtransactions.
Not only that, Expansive Worlds and Avalanche has promised that multiplayer co-op will be possible, allowing up to eight players to co-exist in a single world, working together to secure the kill, or competing for the largest trophy.
theHunter: Call of the Wild will be releasing on steam in early 2017, with a closed, limited beta planned for the 6-9th of December. Sign up for the beta on the official website.
Will you be trying your hand at theHunter: Call of the Wild's simulation of the wilds? Have you tried theHunter previously? Let us know in the comments below!
