Mistfall Hunter Review

After recently celebrating over a million players across all platforms, Mistfall Hunter is turning out to be a hit. After playing for over thirty hours on my own and also with two friends, this one has come out of nowhere and surprised me. If you’re tired of extraction games always being shooters, then this one might be right up your street. What we have here is a PvPvE extraction experience that focuses on melee combat and ranged weaponry where precision matters.

Developed by Chinese studio Bellring Games and published by Skystone Games, the game is now available on Xbox Series X/S. At the time of writing its also available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and features Xbox Play Anywhere functionality, bringing the ability to play on PC and Handheld devices all with one purchase or subscription.

Gameplay

As with most action RPG-style games, you’ll be given a choice of character. You can customise your player or choose a preset; there are plenty of cosmetics down the line which alter appearance. The main premise is to dive into runs, sometimes with specific objectives, or you can choose to ignore them and just go off looting. Resources that you bring back can be used to upgrade your base, your kit and more.

Whilst there are only two maps at launch, they are both fairly large. It’s impossible to cover the entire expanse of each area, so repeated runs are required. Objectives are encouraged if you want meaningful progression and access to rarer loot. What I didn’t like about looting was that when you’re part of a squad, it’s basically who gets to the loot first that takes it. Whilst being with friends, it could be shared evenly and strategised; with randoms it’s a free-for-all.

Precise Yet Satisfying Combat

Combat is probably the part of the game I enjoy most. Every character and class has their own unique style of combat, weaponry and their own branching skill trees. Approaching AI enemies and online players is a game of patience, precision and managing your health and stamina. Whilst you can heal, it doesn’t always happen in an instant, and you may need to back off from a fight. This isn’t always possible if the enemy is intent on slaying you off and stealing your loot.

Visuals & Audio

Presentation for the most part on Xbox Series X was spot on. There were moments, though, where I noticed a bit of frame drop, particularly when slaying larger enemies. It wasn’t game-breaking by any means, but there was a noticeable stutter at times. Enemy variety is pretty decent, and the fluidity of combat enhances the animations you see on screen, all of which looked superb on my giant 77-inch LG C5 OLED TV.

Environments are well designed with several points of interest and lots of hidden areas to explore. The only downfall is that, with two maps at launch, it isn’t long before you learn where everything is, and doing lots of runs in the same surroundings becomes quite repetitive. Audio design is decent, and it does become quite clear when you hear another squad in the area. They have nailed the sound effects and how you can hear other combat going on in proximity.

Final Thoughts

Mistfall Hunter is a great time on Xbox Series X/S and fantastic fun as a squad of three. If you’re a fan of extraction shooters, then you may appreciate the difference in this game. It’s atmospheric and can be tense, especially when encountering other solo players or squads. Its satisfying combat and runs that have that constant risk in return for reward are what keep the gameplay loop satisfying. The developers have recently unveiled a compelling roadmap that should keep things interesting. Overall, it’s well polished and will keep you coming back for countless hours if you love the concept of diving in and extracting loot and going back for more.