Huntin' Buddies

refunded

Huntin' Buddies feels like another game that could be really good but misses the mark. I get the impression that it's another "pump and dump" indie game, where we won't see any meaningful updates after the initial launch, I hope i'm wrong, but that's the vibe I got from the Discord. I like the concept of the game but it feels a little half baked. I bought the game on sale for $4, so it's really a matter of "you get what you pay for." The game comes with all the jank you've come to expect from an "Indie game." You can take that as you will. Things clipping through players and player models stretching and flopping around. The graphics are as you would expect from indie games now days, low quality- but some would say that's part of its charm. The progression is always the same. When you start the game you work through the same contracts every time, and it doesn't take long before you've mastered it. Unlike other games of this style, there's no real "score" to beat. The game doesn't randomize, there's no consequence for someone in your group dying and no real reason to "keep going." A couple hours of gameplay and you've pretty much done it all. The upgrade system is good and bad. The concept of the shop is good, but it seems to ultimately fall short. You can buy stamina and health upgrades, which seem to be about the only worthwhile purchase- however once you use them there's no real way to keep track of who has what. It's a minor inconvenience but it is what it is. Personally, I think group-wide upgrades would work better. It would give everyone something meaningful to work toward and make earning money feel more important. Outside of the personal upgrades, there isn't much reason to buy anything from the shop. You can buy a bigger flashlight, but other players can't even see your light, which seems like a strange choice in a co-op game. You can buy things like a flare gun, but I couldn't figure out much of a practical use for it. It's hit or miss whether the flare is even visible, and there doesn't seem to be much reason to use one anyway. You can also buy ammunition, but fresh ammo spawns every day, so we never really found ourselves needing to purchase it. The overall difficulty is also very basic. There's no real difficulty progression, very few meaningful threats, and almost no repercussions for death. The monsters feel like the part of the game that should really shine, but you quickly realize they're not much of a threat. There's rarely a reason to hide or run. You can pretty much face every monster head-on without much trouble, and even if you die, it isn't a particularly big deal. If your friends don't manage to revive you, you aren't losing everything you've worked for. Finding your contracted animals is probably the hardest part, mostly because you have to wander around the woods until you happen to find them. There doesn't seem to be much actual "hunting" involved. Some animals may favor certain areas, but most of the time it feels like you wander around until you run into your target and then shoot it. There's not much tracking, strategy, or skill involved. At the $4 sale price, it could be worth a couple hours of entertainment, but I really wish there was more to it than that. It doesn't seem like the dev is real interested in supporting it long term, so what you see is likely all you will ever get, so it's hard to recommend this to anyone.