For the uninitiated, Evolve is a four versus one game where the group pursues the alpha predator. It plays like a highly charged game of Cat and Mouse, with the monster getting a twenty second head-start to comfortably situate themselves in the wild, consuming various wildlife to grow stronger.
There are unique albino monsters strewn about the landscape that provide various buffs, but aren't available to the Monster. Both parties can find these unique creatures and wipe them out in order to gain access to their buffs, which could make them a potentially contested hot spot, depending on the circumstances. Each party has a variety of perks they unlock as they play the game and level, unlocking various abilities like reduced jet pack charge time, reductions to damage, and buffs to run speed, jump height, or even self-healing. The creature gets access to various things like increased climb speed, faster feeding speed, or the same buffs to offense and defense. They add an extra degree of customization that really opens up some different ways to play.
The wildlife provides another layer of strategy to the gameplay, as there are a number of creatures that are incredibly dangerous to the hunters as well, though not nearly as difficult to take down.
Unaware players can find themselves wandering into dens of poisonous reptilian life-forms, or being dragged under water by massive crocodile-like behemoths and a smart player in the monster’s position would be wise to exploit their environment.
The aspect of teamwork is central to Evolve, and the team is only as strong as the weakest link. You not only need to be aware of the surroundings to keep track of your adversary, you also need to be ready to provide your friends with assistance, freeing them from the jaws of carnivorous plants or aforementioned monsters. There are currently eight unique hunters, with two settling into each of the four roles, and while they fulfill similar duties, they also have their own special abilities, adding yet another layer of depth to the game.
The example I came across during my time with the game was the Support Role. Hank, the first hunter in this position can call down orbital strikes, provide his allies with a shield buff, and create a cloaking area of effect that keeps his allies concealed, allowing them to set up a potential ambush. His robotic counterpart, Bucket offers some unique differences though; with the ability to set up a group of turrets, and use his own head as a mobile camera to keep eyes on the beast if necessary.
The alien is left to fend for themselves at the start of the round and is notably weak, but they have their own ways to turn the tide of the fight.At the start of the round, an alien has three points they can divvy up between their four unique powers, providing various tactical advantages to accelerate their evolution. As they evolve, they gain more points to spend on the abilities and can focus on what is working best for them, allowing for some variation between play-styles. Playing as the alien is fun as well, as they can scale almost any surface on the maps and it makes each map a joy to maneuver around as you evade your enemies.
The Goliath, the iconic monster of the game, can spew fire, perform a bone crushing charge attacks, a leaping smash that blasts hunters away from the point of impact, and even pick up boulders to hurl and deal damage. He’s an absolute blast to play if you manage to survive to Level 3, but even at Level 2 he is a force to be reckoned with. I've yet to play the Kraken, but it plays much differently than the Goliath when it comes combat.
Where the Goliath could be considered the “Warrior” archetype, the Kraken is the “mage”. Turtle Rock has a third creature planned for release but there is no information about it yet. It's safe to assume that it will be a “thief” style creature where it focuses on kiting and dealing damage over time, but having less health and armor to soak up damage.
The game’s name is unfortunately similar to a stance I feel with the development of the game itself. It’s still got some work that needs to be done before I’d consider dropping the money on it. Launch issues aside, the multiplayer appeared to be stable the same day it was open for Alpha, and they've added a few patches to further enhance the experience. The game overall seems to run alright, though I've seen and also experienced some odd stuttering, even after tweaking options in the game. The lack of customization on PC options is surprising too, as tweaking further settings could help increase performance. The Cryengine is a finicky beast and I won’t really fault Turtle Rock for this, but the game would definitely benefit from a bit more optimization all around. There are also a number of loading screens, and while the times aren't too bad, the frequency of them can start to get old after extended playtime. Once in game, it seems to run fine for the most part and I actually noticed very little, if any lag once actually in the game which is a huge plus. The issue is that between the waits to find a match, as well as the load-screen frequency that it seems like this aspect still needs some polish.
The multiplayer menus are a little convoluted as well. You currently cannot queue as a party of five with a friend taking the role of the monster. You can only party up with 3 other people, with the last slot being filled by a random player. This will change on launch, as the studio has already mentioned, but that’s not the main complaint.
The problem I have with the set-up is the “preference” system. It’s a good idea on paper to try and get each player to test the various roles, but I feel most people would be playing in groups with their friends already, and I think they’d be better suited to try out the roles at their own pace, as some roles are more unorthodox to play. After a match is concluded, the players can choose to rematch, but there seems to be no control over the option or even the ability for the game to cut down the wait time once all roles have confirmed their set-ups. I hope some work is also done on the lobby system itself, as having a higher degree of control would be of great benefit.
Despite these gripes and the overall hiccups during this Big Alpha, I found a lot of raw potential at the heart of this game and I only bring these issues up in the hopes that the product shines brighter for it at launch. It’s actually a bit of a unique coincidence how the state of the alpha is synonymous with the monster you play as. It’s full of raw potential but still needs work in order to excel, and Turtle Rock has created something that is definitely on my radar.
I hope they seize the potential of what they've created as it could be a fresh co-op experience.
- Scott Sullivan
