Apr 14

Apr 14 Review | Hunt The Night - Missing Some Magic

One of my first ventures into the indie game scene was the top-down action of Hyper Light Drifter. To go even further back, one of my first experiences with video games was the birdseye action in A Link to the Past. So when Hunt the Night appeared on my radar, I was very interested. Hunt the Night is a top-down pixel art action game developed by Moonlight Games. As someone who enjoys retro-style action games, I was intrigued by the premise alone - hunt down evil beasts in maze-like environments, with huge bosses similar to something out of the Monster Hunter series.

In Hunt the Night, you play as a member of the Stalkers, a group of humans dedicated to eradicating violent creatures that only come out at night. The game's atmosphere and environment perfectly fit the story, with a dark, moody color palette and eerie music that sets the tone right from the menu screen.

The game begins with a short pre-rendered cutscene that stays within the pixel art aesthetic. However, it feels slightly off, and this feeling persists when you start playing the game. The slow movement speed of the character is a red flag for what you’d expect to be free flowing action. While you do get a dash ability during the tutorial section, it has its issues, and it can be frustratingly finicky to control. Often leading you to fall off the edge during movement-based puzzles due to the dash's momentum.

While movement doesn’t feel as good as you’d hope,combat mechanics in Hunt the Night are solid, and it's fairly standard for a retro-style action game. You get a three-hit combo, a dash, and a long range gun. These weapons don’t change massively over the course of the game but combine in ways that add some welcome complexity that keep fights feeling fresh throughout. Additionally, you get different items from chests that allow you to customise your build.

However, the game's risk-reward system feels inherently unbalanced, making the equipment you pick up essentially useless. One of the first items I picked up were called Lacerators. They are claws that are supposed to be “extremely fast” but move at about the same speed as the default swing. Since they’re supposedly faster than other weapons, they also do less damage, making you hit enemies more. All this weapon ended up accomplishing was making the game even more difficult, and I’d find the similar issues with heavy weapons - they were slower but didn’t seem to cut down my enemies any faster.

*Nic Cage voice*: I want to take her… Face… Off.

The areas in Hunt the Night are well-crafted, and the pixel art of the environments really shines. Environments like the grotesque gothic castle lined with a questionable, gooey substance, the lush but melancholy grassland, or the frigid snowlands you find as you progress all look great and are thoughtfully detailed. The sound design is also good, thanks to small details like the squelches of your footsteps running across the gooey monster-flesh-looking floors, the satisfying clang of your sword connecting with enemies, and the eerie score that permeates the journey. However, despite the beauty of the world, the character designs and art in Hunt the Night are comparably simplistic and do not fit with the detailed environment. The running animation feels awkward, and it detracts from the immersive atmosphere created by the rest of the game.

Overall, Hunt the Night has promising aspects but it's held back in frustrating ways. On paper, the game is an interesting combination of classic top-down action games, a dark aesthetic, and Monster Hunter-style bosses. However, it misses critical mechanics like fluid movement and meaningful equipment customisation. The environments are well-crafted but are hampered by odd character designs that don't quite fit. Despite its flaws, Hunt the Night is an ambitious first outing for an indie studio. With refinement and attention to detail, Moonlight Games has the potential to create an excellent title in the future.