Review: Evolve offers an incredibly fun twist on multiplayer shooters

When you were a kid, were you afraid of monsters? Did you worry about the boogeyman in your closet or some nasty beast under your bed, preparing to eat you piece by piece as you slumbered?

Well there were never any monsters under your bed but there are on the planet Shear in “Evolve,” the latest multiplayer shooter by Turtle Rock Studios.

Evolve isn’t your run-of-the-mill first-person shooter either. Where most multiplayer shooters rely on team deathmatch or free-for-all frenzies, Evolve presents a unique “4 vs. 1” dynamic which pits a team of four hunters against one massive monster.

Much like Turtle Rock’s engaging team-based shooter “Left 4 Dead,” Evolve doesn’t have an overarching narrative or campaign mode, rather, the game world and characters are fleshed out through the course of dialogue and encounters during gameplay. Hints about the game world and the motivations behind characters and corporations are hinted at, allowing interested gamers to understand more about events before and during the game.

In Evolve, humanity has progressed to such heights that deep space exploration and planet terraforming have become possible. Far away from earth, located in the “Far Arm” of the galaxy, the planet Shear was becoming colonized but as humanity expanded, several species of never-before-seen and deadly monsters began attacking the settlements. More than just wild beasts, these monsters displayed an intelligence not seen in any of the other dangerous wildlife on Shear. The colonists, desperate to survive and flee the planet, hired a team of hunters led by legendary planet tamer William Cabot (a playable, support class character).

These hunters each specialize in a unique role – assault, support, trapper and medic. There are three different playable characters in each class (more to be available via DLC), and while each character has different weaponry, each class also has one constant ability (like the assault class’ personal shield or the medic’s health burst). Only one character in each class is available at the start of the game and the rest can be unlocked through leveling up the newest (or first) character’s weapons or abilities.

There is a large emphasis on teamwork in Evole, as each character brings special attributes to the battle. 

Each team of hunters is made up of a trapper, support, assault and medic character.

Assault is the main damage dealer and tank of the group, bringing several different weapons to the table as well as a personal shield (and in the case of Parnell, an ability which boosts damage output, firing and reload speed).

Medic, like the name suggests, heals teammates and two of the three classes utilize sniper rifles which can mark weak spots on a monster. Val and Caira also have abilities to restore health along with the standard health burst but Lazarus has the unique ability to bring players back from the dead. (Hunters can be downed by the monster twice and are out of the game the third time down and need to wait for a dropship to bring them back to the fight.)

The trapper’s main role is finding the monster and each of the three playable characters has a different method of doing so. Maggie has a trapjaw (sort of a dog mixed with a big lizard) which can sniff out the monster’s trail. Griffin utilizes sensor spikes which can be tripped by the monster and Abe uses tracking darts which can be fired directly at the monster or into prey animals, revealing his location on screen. Each also has a weapon to slow the monster (such as Maggie and Griffin’s harpoon gun and Abe’s stasis grenades) as well as the mobile arena, which generates a forcefield around a small area for 60 seconds. This dome traps the monster inside to keep it from escaping as well as allowing hunters to enter but not exit. Though, it’s better to use this early on in the monster’s evolution (the quote “I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re trapped in here with me” from the movie Watchmen comes to mind).

Finally, the support class offers a little bit of everything. Each character has a powerful main weapon as well as a cloaking device which can make the entire team invisible, but each has two unique abilities as well. For instance, Hank can call in an orbital strike on a small area which does massive damage and also uses a portable personal shield to make any other hunter invincible while it’s aimed at them. Bucket can lay down up to five auto-turrets to fire on the monster as well as detach his head and use it as a UAV (Bucket is also a robot). And Cabot can use radioactive dust from his ship, the Laurie Anne, to highlight the monster for a short time as well as having a damage amplifier which, when fired on the monster, doubles the amount of damage it takes from the other hunters.

Each hunter has a unique play style and it’s a testament to Turtle Rock’s excellent design that no one specific assortment of characters could be considered the best. Each hunter has interesting strengths and weaknesses and it’s up to you to figure out which work best for you.

(From left) The Goliath, Kraken and Wraith each have their own unique abilities and tactics.

But four-on-one sounds unfair, right? You might think that – until you’ve actually faced the three monsters in Evolve (with a fourth on the way soon, which was free with preorder and soon to be available via DLC).

Each monster has their own set of offensive abilities which can be used to both attack prey as well as the hunters, in addition to a standard melee attack.

The Goliath is your standard brute, with more health and armor capacity than the Kraken or the Wraith. Goliath hits harder than the other two current monsters and also has fire breath and the ability to leap great distances.

The Kraken is somewhat physically weaker than Goliath but makes up for it with an array of devastating abilities, like its banshee mines and lightning strikes. Kraken has the ability to generate bio-electricity, which is uses in several attacks, and also allows the monster to hover and glide short distances.

The Wraith is physically the weakest though its strength lies in deception and surprise attacks. With the ability to deploy decoy Wraiths (which also deal damage to prey and hunters), the Wraith specializes in separating groups of hunters as well as being able to buff its own speed and attack damage for short periods of time, causing massive damage with its scythe-like appendages.

At the start of each game, the monster has a short window of time to move about the map before the hunters arrive. Each monster has three stages of evolution, which are triggered by killing and consuming the native wildlife that appears on each map. Animals provide varying amounts of energy toward evolution and most are docile though some can be dangerous and aggressive, posing a threat to hunters and to monsters alike. These larger animals offer the most energy toward evolution and some also offer unique buffs, which can be taken advantage of by hunters and monsters.

There are several different gametypes in Evolve such as Defend, Nest, and Rescue but the main mode is Hunt, where a team of four hunter hunt down a monster across one of Evolve large, amazingly realized 12 maps.

These games by themselves can last anywhere from 5-20 or 30 minutes, depending on player skill level, though those who want a more involved experience can try their hand at Evacuation.

In Evacuation, four hunters and a monster will battle across 5 game types but the twist is that each victory or defeat causes interesting consequences for the ensuing rounds. There are several different modifiers, such as including armed colonists to help hunt down the monster or a crashed ship which leaks radiation to make native wildlife more deadly and aggressive. Evacuation ends with a Defend showdown where the monster starts at Stage 3 evolution (with two minion monsters) has to attack three generators, the third of which is powering a colonist escape vessel.

The planet Shear a dangerous place, especially
with packs of trapjaws roaming about

Evolve is playable offline though it is more fun to play against real human opponents, as their tactics are much more unpredictable than the computer (which has a tendency to be very unforgiving though also very predictable). Evolve even offers basic and advanced video tutorials on each hunter and monster to help aid in players ability to enjoy playing. I’ve learned several neat tricks about general gameplay as well as interesting tactical ideas for each monster from these videos.

Evolve isn’t your traditional shooter. It requires a different way of thinking than a majority of other FPS titles out there and even though it seems to be lacking on content at first glance, no two games in Evolve are the same. The several different modes and wealth of unlockables will have dedicated players hooked to the experience as well as offering casual fans a uniquely fun time that no other game has ever presented quite so well.

It should also be noted that Turtle Rock, though offering many cosmetic DLC packs for sale at launch, is offering all upcoming map packs for free. Additionally, they’ve stated that even though future monster and hunter DLCs won’t be free, you won’t be locked out of certain games or modes if playing against players who have purchased them, in the interest of not dividing the community.

Overall, Evolve offers an experience like no other game ever has. Its interesting characters, monsters and beautifully detailed worlds need to be experienced first-hand because words can’t do them justice. While it’s not quite the same if you don’t have friends to play it with or online capability to play with other humans, Evolve is still one of the most unique and interesting shooters that has ever been created.