Hunt the Night is a top-down souls-like dungeon crawling adventure RPG (..and breathe) title some are comparing to classic Zelda games and Bloodborne, but what do we think of this curious clash of genres?

At the heart of Hunt the Night is a story of Vesper, a hunter charged with well err.. hunting the Nigh, the titular evil which has spread over the lands, once kept at bay by the magical Seal of Night, now broken and spread throughout the world, engulfing it in darkness and evil. You must collect the fragments of the seal to return the light and restore balance.
Developed by Spanish start-up Moonlight Games who pride themselves on their love of retro – specifically 16 bit games, the game absolutely drips with 90’s charm. Every on screen pixel is utilised to execute a beautifully realised gothic horror setting, shrouded in darkness where unspeakable things wait at every turn.

The battle and movement mechanics excel with a combination of ranged attack such as shotgun, handgun, crossbow (all upgradable), and melee weapons, paired with a dash mechanic (which uses a stamina bar) giving you not only a speed advantage in battle but a number of frames of invulnerability to execute devastating punishment on foes, and magic with which to dish out beatings. You do have limited ammo for your ranged weapons, but this is topped up through close quarters melee attacks, meaning you’ll not be able to cheese your way through encounters from distance. You’ll quickly find your rhythm in Hunt The Night and encounters will swiftly become almost as balletic as they are furious. The only real downside I found was that there was no map to consult, so I’d be backtracking to places over and over in a state of confusion at times.

Most puzzles are straightforward enough and involve finding items or moving / opening things in a particular order, all easy enough if you’ve explored thoroughly and consulted the various journals / writings / conversations.

Boss battles will test your mettle as there are typically no punches pulled affair, but as with all games of this nature you’ll soon learn patterns and be able to swiftly deal with whatever nasty you face.

The game runs as well on a Steam Deck as it does on a desktop / laptop PC so is the ideal retro-RPG affair for on-the-go-gaming.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with Hunt The Night and at just £16.75 on Steam this really isn’t a gamble you can lose, especially if you hanker for ARPG’s of yesteryear, which seep love from every inch of its design. Just note, there is very little handholding in this game and it can be brutal at times.

You have been warned!

Developer: Moonlight Games
Release Date: Apr 13, 2023
Platform: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation & Xbox (Console release date TBC)
Reviewed On: PC
Publisher: DANGEN Entertainment
Genre: Dark Fantasy Action-RPG

TGS would like to thank the publisher for the review code supplied for the purpose of this review. For more information please e-mail [email protected]

Hunt The Night

£16.75

Pros

• Excellent combat
• Stunning pixel art
• Tough as nails!