Hunt: Showdown 1896 Interview – New Technology, New Monstrosities, New Maps & A New Hunt

With Hunt: Showdown releasing on PS4 all the way back in February 2020, Crytek’s genre defining, PvPvE extraction shooter has been re-released on current generation consoles as Hunt: Showdown 1896, a newly revamped and reinvigorated version of the game that looks to expand its player base in earnest. With an all-new engine purring under the hood, a new map, new monsters, a reworked UI and so much more besides, we spoke to Crytek about Hunt: Showdown 1896 and the sort of improvements we can expect to see over the now discontinued PS4 version.

• PlayStation Universe: Arguably one of the biggest game changers for PS5 gamers in regards to Hunt: Showdown 1896 is the massive uptick in visual presentation, thanks to a new version of CryEngine together with promised 4K resolution and 60 frames per second improvements. That said, one of the key issues that PS4 gamers have had with the current iteration of Hunt: Showdown is that the faraway level of detail and draw distance is quite poor, making peering into the distance to scope out enemies a rather murky and imprecise experience. Is this something that will be addressed by Hunt: Showdown 1896’s otherwise very impressive spread of visual upgrades?
• Clive Gratton Chief Technology Officer at Crytek: Yes, draw distance and LOD have both been improved for our native support of PS5.
• PlayStation Universe: Speaking of visual improvements, what has traditionally made Hunt: Showdown feel so peerlessly atmospheric is the frankly incredible use of lighting and shadows. What can we expect in terms of improvements in these areas from Hunt: Showdown 1896?
• Clive Gratton Chief Technology Officer at Crytek: We love it when tech improvements feed into the core game experience! The improvements to Global Illumination for better bounced lighting, combined with an HDR pipeline for wide dynamic range really help to take our atmospheric environments to a whole new level!

• PlayStation Universe: I think it’s fair to say that the ‘classic’ Hunt: Showdown menu and UI experience when you aren’t in a game, isn’t as intuitive as it could be. How are you retooling the UI and menus for console gamers in Hunt: Showdown 1896?
• Scott Lussier Game Director, Hunt: Showdown 1896: We’re constantly asking ourselves if the complexity of the mechanic adds to the experience of our players or is it unnecessary. If it does, we then find a way to explain it to players intuitively. And when it comes to pain points, we look closely at Player Surveys to make the most informed decisions. We are also lucky that our is full of Hunt enthusiasts actively playing the game for of hours each week which is critical for the product to grow and polish the player experience, making the game more accessible to players across platforms.
• PlayStation Universe: The first new map in three years, Mammon’s Gulch looks to be a hugely promising playground for wannabe hunters – particularly in terms of the verticality that has been baked into its design. What are you most proud of in regards to this new map?
• Scott Lussier Game Director, Hunt: Showdown 1896: Our levels shine because of the great relationship between Art and Design teams and we’d love for players to discover and experience all the new tactical layers in Mammon’s Gulch. At the center of the map there are mountatins with lots of mine tunnels cutting through them in all directions. Will the players cut across the mines or take the longer way around? Will they bring the right equipment and how much risk are they willing to take? All of this is a result of exceptional collaboration between our Environment and Level Design teams. They’ve been working together bringing the map to life since Summer of 2022 and it shows!

• PlayStation Universe: Given the broad scope of the visual update that Hunt: Showdown 1896 brings to current-gen console users, can you confirm if support for 120hz has been included or if this might be a future to be included further down the road?
• Clive Gratton Chief Technology Officer at Crytek: We do not support 120hz at present. We’ll keep 120hz as a potential option for some point in the future but that is not one of our immediate goals.
• PlayStation Universe: For the longest time, I have adored the wicked design of Hunt: Showdown’s enemies and bosses. What have been and continue to be your main influences for dreaming up these waking nightmares?
• Scott Lussier Game Director, Hunt: Showdown 1896: Our new Wild Target is called Hellborn – a first primarily ranged Wild Target, which changes the way players fight against the enemies. We really pushed the boundaries for player experience in terms of how they find, track and fight the Wild Targets. But the lore of the Hellborn will come through during the Event, so you’ll have to wait for it to find out how this monstrosity was created.
• PlayStation Universe: Thank you so much for your time!

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is currently available on PS5 and is a free upgrade to owners of the now discontinued PS4 version.