Way of the Hunter PS5 Review – Hunting simulators are relatively few and far between, probably because the snowflakes out there are unable to determine the difference between a game and reality. Yes, I don’t agree with hunting in the real world however as far as a game I find them enjoyable and a great way to pass a few hours.
Way of the Hunter PS5 Review – A story-based game?
Become the new owner of a hunting lodge nestled among gorgeous habitats and rich animal populations. Explore vast open world environments across the USA and Europe. Hunt with a premium selection of firearms and equipment. Enjoy the perfect hunt on your own or with a friend in multiplayer coop.
This authentic hunting experience lets you explore and hunt in large open-world environments in the USA and Europe. Discover true to life animals in beautiful natural habitats and handle various detailed and highly realistic weapons.
Face the challenges of ethical hunting, supported by a compelling story, or simply enjoy hunting the rich environments freely.
Way of the Hunter official site
Way of the Hunter is an open world hunting simulator set over two vast lands, one within the US and one in Europe. An overlapping story ties everything together. Both maps boast an area of roughly 55 square miles each and believe me, playing the game they do feel vast and rich in detail.
The protagonist of Way of the Hunter gets to become the owner of a hunting lodge in the Pacific Northwest. Obviously, the purpose of that lodge will upset above said snowflakes, but this is where the family run occupation has taken place for years and is somewhere to display your kills.
It is possible to approach the game in one of two ways. Follow the story, which sets out various tasks and builds a back story to the family business, or go off and do your own thing. Ultimately most will choose the first option, especially those that are new to hunting sims, before enjoying the freedom that the game does have to offer.
Saying that however, following the game still doesn’t make things easy. Tasks involve hunting a certain animal which can be found in a group of similar species and having to kill them in a specific way or driving to someone else’s faraway lodge to deliver a book which will test your navigation skills. It doesn’t help that a lot of the tasks are vague at best leaving you wondering round for hours wondering what you’re doing.
Way of the Hunter PS5 Review – The hunt is on
Hunting is obviously at the core of the game and the game does promote ethical hunting throughout (if that is possible). To help you find animals that you are looking for, you get to use your hunter sense which helps to display the sounds of animals that are close. Yeah, you read that right, you have to see a sound. Also, when looking at those sounds it will bring up the details of the animal that has made those sounds.
The same can be done with a set of binoculars when hunting for your specific prey.
The game does take a lot of patience. Go running after your prey and they will run off making you have to try and track their tracks along the ground. This does feel glitched, however. Hunting Simulator 2 did this much better. The tracks seem to disappear or head off at random angles which makes them nearly impossible to follow.
Get lucky and finally track and kill your bounty and you can either ‘harvest’ your kill to make some quick cash to buy better rifles and sights etc or you can use the taxidermy option to display the kill in your hunting lodge.
You can see your kill shot when you finally get to your kill which does add a nice depth and then gives the options above.
Money is key to progression in the game. As above, it can be used for better equipment but can also be used to buy access to other hunting areas by ways of a hunting permit. You don’t have to buy permits; you can gain access to these areas by doing favours for the landowners through tasks.
Way of the Hunter PS5 Review – Idyllic scenery?
The entire environment in which the game is set does look great as well as being unbelievably expansive. It’s definitely one of the bigger areas I have had the chance to explore in a game for a while.
Driving out into the wilderness in your offroad vehicle however does bring up some serious frame rate issues with the game. I have never seen the frame rate of a game drop this badly over the last couple of generations of console. I felt that it was so bad it could induce an epileptic fit in someone that is prone to them. On the whole it is pretty stable if you play the stealthy approach to it. These frame rate issues do still present themselves in cut scenes however and do need to be addressed.
The other confusing part of the game is the selection method of your setup. It’s difficult to quickly swap between your binoculars to your gun when you really need to get it out for a fast kill. I would have preferred a weapon wheel in the game so that you can easily select a rifle and appropriate scope to go with it. The controls just feel really clunky right now and not easy to navigate although you do get used to them after a few stressful hours of your prey getting away.
Way of the Hunter PS5 Review – The prize kill
The game is really fun to play and loose hours with but there are a few too many issues that don’t make it a fantastic game. A day 1 patch didn’t clear up enough of the issues the game has to make it a brilliant experience. That being said, don’t completely dismiss the game as there are also some great positives to it and certainly don’t dismiss it for the content of the game.
