Mistfall Hunter, developed by Bellring Games and published by Skystone Games, is now available on PC, Xbox Series X/S (Game Pass) and PlayStation 5. Mistfall Hunter is a dark fantasy action RPG extraction shooter… no wait, extraction slasher. You’ll be pitted against solo players or squads on an expansive map full of enemies and precious loot.
Mistfall Hunters is available on Game Pass; it was my friend Jack who suggested it. I hadn’t seen anything of this game beforehand, so the three of us geared up and set out to dominate the world, which didn’t last long… we got destroyed.
The Gods have fallen; Gyldenmist is consuming the world. Dew, a mysterious woman, pulls you from the depths and throws you into the bleak world to mend the shattered web of fate. Similar to Arc Raiders, I found the story to be a background set piece.
It’s an interesting premise, Norse-inspired; I feel that the story wasn’t the main focus here; it was the gameplay for me. I felt that the story was never present during the extraction runs; you’d only hear things now and then from characters in the hub.
Mistfall Hunter is, as I said, an extraction slasher. You’ll be thrust into a map with other players who are either solo or in a squad. The objective is to loot up and complete objectives. These runs help with progression, which you’ll level up and gain new skills for your chosen class. Mistfall Hunter has six classes, each with a unique skill tree. I mostly mained the merc for his heavy-hitting. Jack played a rogue who could fire crows and did so at any opportunity he could. Thankfully, friendly fire isn’t a thing. Jack would also often go invisible while tee-heeing away from players. Brendan played the Withered Knight/Loot Goblin; he did the carrying, Jack and I did the messing around, so he deserved the loot. I just ran around leading us into enemy players. Learning the game was fairly straightforward, and we got into the addictive loop of trying again for better gear. Once you’ve looted up in your match, you can upgrade your camp, which will give you better access to more powerful gear that lets you move on to other maps. It’s essentially dark fantasy Arc Raiders.
While Mistfall Hunters has been such a good time with them, there’s a lot of room for improvement. The world-building is fantastic; I love the Norse mythology, looting is fun, and the adrenaline of going up against other players is exhilarating. However, there is a lot that holds the game back from being great. The combat feels off; it never truly connects with other players or the enemy AI. The battles feel like you’re just whacking your swords at each other with no real strategy. The lag doesn’t help this either. While fighting enemies can be fun, it’s completely off. The map, while it looks great, doesn’t change much structurally; once you’ve been there a few times, you know what to expect. The gear is lacking; there aren’t many armour variations or looks. If you want more cosmetic looks, you have to pay quite a bit of money. This is not a free-to-play game; the only way to get the good-looking stuff is with your wallet. The public camp chat has no moderation whatsoever; it is vile- there’s no other word to describe it. People are saying the most disgusting things with no consequence. If you were playing this game in the family home, there’s no way to hide or disable the chat. During release, the requests for more control were ignored. However, as of August, the developers have come up with a block button, but I feel a hide chat option would be better, or auto-moderate trigger keywords; it’s not that hard. I don’t feel like there’s an excuse here for why it wasn’t dealt with sooner. As I played again after a few updates, it seems things have calmed down, though I don’t know if trolls have gotten bored or if there is a moderation system in place.
Mistfall Hunters looks beautiful; the Norse world they’ve created is a joy to explore graphically, and there’s always something new around every corner to look at when you’re thrust into the game for the first few matches. There is variation in each map, which offers enough to break it up. The armour that you do get access to looks pretty good, though again more variations would be great. The enemy design I felt was pretty good as well; there’s enough variety around to keep you engaged. The sound design matches its mythology with the music, the creatures and the characters. There are a lot of things to see and hear in the locations you visit, which adds to the immersion.
Verdict
Mistfall Hunters is a mixed bag, but it’s one that I want to succeed. It is truly unique, taking the extraction shooter formula to an action RPG and with friends it’s a great time despite its misgivings. I hope that the game keeps growing over time, adding more chat filter options, and more armour, weapons, maps and so on. From what it seems, it has been a successful launch; I just hope they listen to feedback and keep on progressing with it. However, I’m settling on a 6/10 because many glaring issues should have been dealt with sooner.
