Evolve's asymmetrical fourversus-one multiplayer matches have been engaging from the first time we laid hands on the game for our February cover story, but we've been eager to see how new player-controlled hunters and monsters would shake up the shooter's intriguing mix of cooperative and competitive gameplay. Last issue we showcased four new hunters, which, like the first tier of human characters, all have their own unique weapons and abilities.
However, Turtle Rock Studios was keeping one more big reveal up its sleeve for this year's E3, in the form of the massive, Cthulhu-esque monster called the Kraken. Like the Goliath before it, Evolve's newest metamorphic beast didn't disappoint during our hands-on demo.
The Kraken provides a whole different play style and design aesthetic for Evolve's would-be monster players. Whereas Goliath's anthropomorphic frame was designed to feel familiar to anyone who has ever seen a King Kong or Godzilla movie, Kraken's body is a mess of tentacles and talons, and its face splits apart below the eyes into a long gaping maw full of deadly teeth.
The differences between Goliath and Kraken extend to the gameplay as well; Goliath is a melee-focused brute, whose thick skin and sheer power allow the creature to thrive in close-quarter encounters against the opposing team. While Kraken can bound across the ground using its arms and legs, pressing the jump button allows it to float in the direction the player is aiming. This ability to hover above the battlefield makes it perfect for ranged combat. Kraken isn't as fundamentally tough as Goliath, so gliding around the outskirts of combat and using the verticality of the environment to evade the hunters is highly recommended.
Kraken's abilities also facilitate ranged combat. Aftershock allows Kraken to smash into the ground, dealing major electrical damage to nearby enemies, but the rest of the squid-like creature's abilities can be performed from a distance,
allowing Kraken to stay airborne while on the offensive. Banshee mines are electrical orbs that slowly target nearby enemies after deployment and explode on contact. Vortex sends out a directed shockwave that blasts hunters off their feet, dealing minor damage in the process.
Finally, lightning strike summons several electrical charges that slowly converge on the player's reticle and send down massive lightning bolts from the heavens. Thanks to Evolve's recent skill-point redesign, the player controlling the monster can upgrade each ability up to three times when staging up, allowing them to spread their points out evenly or focus on maxing out a single attack or two.
Our demo on the E3 show floor pits me against two of my fellow editors and two other journalists. At the advice of a developer from Turtle Rock, I place my initial skill points in the Kraken's ranged abilities, leaving aftershock locked for later down my evolutional timeline.
I spend the first few minutes of the match getting accustomed to controlling the Kraken and feeding on wildlife to level up. The new monster's hover ability provides a good view of the map and allows me to effortlessly glide between rocky outcrops and up canyon walls. While the Kraken's spiky tentacles do a decent amount of damage against the random beasts I come across, my vortex attack proves invaluable; a single blast of the ability knocks down the A.I.- controlled beasts, allowing me to finish them off, feed, and be on the move again in a matter of seconds. It serves as good practice for the player-controlled hunters who are stalking me from the shadows somewhere out in the sprawling, open environment.
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| While the Kraken is capable of moving on the ground, you're better off using its hover ability to float above the battlefield |
I manage to stage up to level two before encountering my pursuers for the first time. Daisy, Maggie's bloodhoundesque Trapjaw companion, is the first to locate me, and the rest of the pack is hot on her heels. I make a concerted effort to stay out of range of Hyde's flamethrower to avoid becoming fried calamari. I alternate between my lightning strike and banshee-mine attacks, while occasionally using my vortex ability to keep my foes separated and blast them off of ledges. When the squad's support member – a bipedal robot named Bucket – lays down a few autonomous sentry guns that add even more firepower to the fight, I decide it's time to tuck tentacle and run. I disorient my foes with one final lightning strike, then dash off through the air.
I stay on the move and recover by feasting on more animals. Distinct behaviors start to emerge as I encounter different creatures; some species are aggressive and attack me on sight, while others are territorial and fight me for the tasty corpses I've worked so hard to attain. I do a poor job of avoiding resting flocks of Bat Rays, which kick up into the sky and alert the hunters to my presence. I wouldn't find out until after the match that my opponents were running into their own problems with planet Shear's native wildlife, which gave me enough time to evolve into Kraken's third and final stage.
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| The Kraken's banshee mines creates fl oating energy orbs that seek out players and explode on impact |
I use the extra skill points to max out my lightning strike and vortex abilities, then set out for a final showdown. I pick a fight by heading to the map's dam and attacking its large electrical generator; destroying it is an alternate win condition for the monster, so the squad of hunters double-times it to my location. However, I have no desire to squeak out an objective-based victory.
The fight that ensues is as epic as any video game boss fight, as the tide of battle shifts between our opposing teams. Bucket's sentry guns once again shower me in a hail of gunfire, and I must hover around the buildings of the facility for cover. The support character continually pelts me with rockets from his guided missile launcher, whittling away at my shield while Hyde hurls toxic grenades at me and compounds the damage with fire from his minigun. Despite the chaos, I focus my attention squarely on the squad's medic, Lazarus; he has the ability to raise his teammates from the dead, so even if I do manage to kill off one of my opponents, I'd have to guard the corpse as long as he's alive.
At times the coordinated attacks of the hunters feels overwhelming, but the newly formed crew sports a fatal flaw; they have a tendency to stick in a tight pack when on offense, which allows me to swallow them up with my maxedout lightning strikes. Eventually I kill off Lazarus, and the tide permanently shifts in my favor. Confident in my lead, I slam down onto Hyde with my aftershock attack, and finish him off with melee strikes. Bucket and Maggie put up a noble fight, but with their efforts divided and reinforcements still a minute away, they don't stand a chance. After finishing them off with punishing combos from my overpowered abilities, I destroy the generator for good measure, bringing a decisive end to the match.
The play-style differences between the Kraken and the Goliath were striking, but I was also impressed by how much the tactics vary between hunters. Lazarus' revival ability was a serious thorn in my side, but Val's medgun would have let her heal teammates from a distance, allowing the pack to split up and avoid my stronger attacks. While Bucket's sentry guns dished out a good deal of damage, Hank's orbital barrage could've punished me for lingering in one spot for too long, a bad habit I caught myself doing more than once. I can't imagine what kind of advanced strategies and ability combinations veteran players will come up with, but I'm looking forward to discovering more for myself.
The compelling match-ups of Evolve's hunt mode drew massive crowds to 2K's booth all week during E3, right up until the close of the show. Our hands-on time with the Kraken and new hunters gave us another tantalizing glimpse at the amount of variety and replayability Turtle Rock is striving to attain, and earned Evolve our Best In Show award. All that's left now is the long road to October 22, which will undoubtedly be paved with more exciting reveals.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Style: 1-Player Shooter (5-Player Online)
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
Release: October 21
