Predator: Hunting Grounds – Our opinion in three minutes – Video test

Video test Predator: Hunting Grounds – Our opinion in three minutes

Although many productions have broken their teeth trying to format, Illfonic, the dads of Friday The 13th: The Video Game once again decide to play the card of the asymmetrical game by bringing to the world Predator: Hunting Grounds. A title incorporating the codes of the cinematographic saga born in 1987 and staging a military unit facing a Predator in a scorching and lush jungle. Will the new production of Illfonic succeed in pleasing fans of FPS or is it content to satisfy lovers of Predator films? Answer in three minutes!

Like Evolve, Friday The 13th or Dead By Daylight, Predator: Hunting Grounds offers two devilishly opposite gameplay. Players can therefore be part of a team of four commandos or embody the famous character of John McTiernan. In the first case, therefore, the aspiring soldiers must play cooperatively in order to fulfill various objectives in the time available, such as murdering computer-controlled targets, burning illegal cargoes or collecting confidential documents, but unfortunately for them, by In addition to being in conflict with local authorities, these commandos are chased by an agile and invisible threat led by a fifth player. It is obviously the Predator. To escape the latter, the commandos must work hand in hand, use their military equipment and above all remain grouped, an isolated player is easy prey for the Predator.

For its part, the player who plays the Predator must annihilate the members of the opposing team using the advanced technology made available to him, starting with his thermal vision which makes it possible to track down his prey more easily. This alien can also become invisible thanks to its state-of-the-art camouflage or even climb trees to discreetly pursue its victims, but beware, you must use all of its features wisely since the Predator can be easily shot down … and that's where the first big problem with this new production. The lack of balance between the two camps is detrimental to the proposed experience. Unlike Jason Voorhees, a practically invincible character instilling fear by his mere presence, the Illfonic Predator never worries his opponents. On the ground, the advantage is to the survivors, thus giving the impression that it is the commandos who hunt the monster and not the reverse. Even if there was an imbalance in the gameplay, it would have been more relevant if it were the Predator which was very difficult to defeat.

Unfortunately, this lack of balance is not the only flaw in this asymmetrical game. Indeed, when playing Predator: Hunting Grounds for the first time, the first thing that stands out is the graphic quality of the software. In other words, the game is ugly. He suffers from a pronounced aliasing and an artistic direction without charm. If it were only that, it would be fine – the title does not benefit from the same budget as a triple A – but it is not the case. The production is also very poorly optimized, which means that the game does not run at 60 or 30 frames per second, at least on PlayStation 4. Other problems arise in the game, starting with a matchmaking whimsical, camera issues and multiple bugs sometimes preventing our monster from attacking or even forcing us to restart the game.

Fortunately, just like Friday The 13th: The Video Game, the new production of Illfonic is catching up by addressing itself exclusively to fans of the saga. For that, the title multiplies the winks to the saga and more particularly to the very first film, and it must be admitted that it is a real pleasure to hunt on the official music composed by Alan Silverstri or to hear in game cult quotes like the timeless "You don't have a lucky charm". The game is also catching up by offering many objects to customize your commando, but also and above all your Predator. Helmets, shoulders, armament, skin from 1987, from Predator 2, everything is there! However, despite all these objects to unlock and the two gameplay with opposite objectives, the title gives the impression of going in circles. Predator: Hunting Grounds is stingy in content. It only offers three different cards. Cards of reduced size and which unfortunately all look the same.

Unsurprisingly, Predator: Hunting Grounds is above all a production aimed exclusively at fans of the cinematic saga. He is therefore satisfied with the union minimum to set up his one and only game mode opposing four commandos to the famous creature. This is all the more damaging since production brings with it a complete arsenal and more than welcome little ideas. But this is not enough. Hopefully, the game will improve over time, for example by offering more varied cards, better balancing and optimization to match.