Where a lot of high-concept games start with big promises and end in scaled back disappointment, Evolve achieves exactly what it set out to do. Through an array of intelligent design choices, developer Turtle Rock Studios has created a smart, asymmetric, multiplayer monster-hunting game that plays unlike anything else. It’s tactically deep, bursting with character, and once you get past its mildly obtrusive progression system, it offers a level of nuance rarely found in multiplayer shooters.
A core concept as novel as assuming control of a hulking behemoth and facing off against four player-controlled humanoids could easily have fallen into gimmick territory, if not for the thoughtful way that Hunt, Evolve’s core mode, is structured. Having the monster start out relatively weak, only to feed and grow in power as the match progresses generates a lot of tension for both sides.
The monster needs to move quickly and carefully, balancing the need to put distance between itself and the hunters with the need to find food to level up. It’s a high-stakes tightrope act that requires good map knowledge, and a strong grasp of the monster’s surprising number of non-combat abilities like climbing, sneaking, and sniffing around. For as effectively as they exude an intimidating physical presence, playing the monster successfully requires patience and skill. Overpowering the hunters is really just your reward for outsmarting them, which makes ripping them to shreds as a max-level monster feel just as satisfying as it looks and sounds.
As the hunters, the continually interesting challenge is to find a cunning monster that doesn’t want to be found amidst the sprawling and beautifully realized planet of Shear. Fresh tracks and startled birds are among the more obvious clues, but following them like a bread crumb trail is rarely enough. You need to reason out where the monster is headed, and make effective use of your team’s amusing sci-fi gadgets. You might tag tempting wildlife with a tracking dart, so that when the monster eats it you can get a bead on its location, or pursue a monster with an unmanned drone to relay his position to your teammates. Since every second that passes without the monster in your crosshairs is another step closer to it becoming nigh-unstoppable, hunts are every bit as thrilling as they are nuanced.
Though it’s hard to take it all in when you’re embroiled in an intense monster fight, Evolve looks and sounds remarkably good. The ground rumbles deeply with Goliath’s every step, and Kraken’s Lightning Strikes light up the screen, sending Hunters tumbling in every which direction while startled wildlife scatter in fear. Each individual element is well executed, but combined as whole during a match’s most pitched moments, the complete picture really is a sight to behold.
The true beauty of Evolve, though, is in the subtle details that flesh out its world, its characters, and its mechanics. Characters preen and pose on the title screen, emoting with a cartoonish flare that makes each one memorable. From playful pre-match banter to defiant mid-match monster-taunting, the plentiful voice overs are well written and delivered. Maggie in particular stands out with her fiery intensity and rich cultural history, which gets unpacked in pieces the more I played her – and after more than 20 hours played, I’m still catching bits I never heard before.
The real genius behind Evolve’s gameplay is the way each character’s abilities synergize, and how each has importance beyond its basic functionality. For instance, Val’s tranq gun is primarily used to slow the monster’s movement, but since it reveals the monster’s position through walls, it allows Cabot to make better use of his structure-penetrating rail cannon. It can be tough to land a hit on a moving target with Hank’s Orbital Strike, but once Abe tosses out a Stasis Grenade or two to lock the monster down, you can nail it with no problem. This leads to some rich decision-making at the character select screen, where team composition becomes incredibly important. Evolve is full of tactical possibility, and fortunately, the AI-controlled bots are good enough to test a lot of this stuff out when playing single-player.
Annoyingly, some of that possibility sits locked behind a progression system that, while not unreasonable, feels unnecessary. With all 12 hunters, three monsters, and all their perks unlocked, Evolve feels complete and fully fleshed out, but getting there can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks depending on how good you are and how frequently you play. This makes Evolve seem more limited than it actually is at first, which is a shame because once it’s all opened up, it’s anything but.
With the default Hunt mode being so central to Evolve’s identity, it’d be easy to forget about the Nest, Rescue, and Defend match types, but I’m glad I didn’t. Their more straightforward, objective-focused styles make for a nice change up, and they all provide new opportunities to apply your characters’ skills and gadgets in different ways. Bucket’s Sentry Turrets and Markov’s Arc Mines take on a whole new importance in a mode like defend, and Lazarus’ ability to bring colonists you’re trying to rescue back to life effectively gives the team more time to get to them. Considering that Evolve’s unique mechanics feel specifically crafted for Hunt, the fact that they work in equally interesting ways in the other modes was a pleasant surprise.
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