written by Johann Sulaiman
Did anyone ask for a cross between For Honor and Assassin’s Creed? No? Well, you are going to get one anyway. At least that is what the debut trailer of HOOD: Outlaws and Legends seems to indicate.
Thematically, the latest game from Sumo Newcastle, a subsidiary of Sumo Digital, takes clear inspiration from the Robin Hood mythology. Players find themselves in a medieval setting with a tyrannical government that is misappropriating the hard-earned coins of the people, possibly for some nefarious purpose (what else is new?).
Enter not one, not two, but four roguish outlaws teaming up to breach the government’s vault to take back the people’s gold, or hoard it for themselves, who knows with these morally gray outlaws? The trailer actually shows our heroes breaking open a modestly sized treasure chest rather than a vault. This could mean the people’s riches are scattered across multiple locales, with players being treated to different map layouts and enemies, or it could mean the game takes place in a very small village. I am guessing it is the former.
One thing we do know is that our player characters are free to go about their mission by sneaking around in soft lambskin sandals and taking cover every three seconds, or by cleaving apart every guard that stands between them and their mission.
If this sounds like your cup of tea, I hope you also dig multiplayer, because that is what HOOD is—a competitive PvPvE game that supports up to eight players. Instead of one human-controlled team of four, there are two human teams looking to outwit, outplay and outlast each other and the AI guards.
Combat is brutal and very reminiscent of For Honor, where the camera hovers just behind your character so you can admire your bloody handiwork. Speaking of handiwork, you will have access to a medley of melee and range accoutrements to maim your enemies. Whether combat is a tactical game of knowing when to strike, dodge and parry, or a simple button mashing affair, remains to be seen. What we do know is that every strike has a visceral impact upon meeting flesh and bone. Yes, if it is not already clear, this is a mature-rated game with explicit gore.
According to the game’s director, Andrew Willans, the team is going for realism. A character who is carrying away a treasure chest will suffer a debuff to movement, and the amount of ammunition you can carry is limited to what you can salvage from your environment and other characters.
As you may have guessed, working well with the three other mates on your team is key to winning, which most likely means that each character on a team will have a unique skillset that will come in handy for specific scenarios.
Character classes will be present. If I know my video games, expect a big brutish character wielding an equally large sledgehammer who can absorb a lot of damage but lacks speed. There will be a slight, nimble character with a crossbow who is physically unimpressive but fast. Throw in an all-rounder character for newbs who cannot decide on a playstyle and you have the pillars of the cast.
No word on what will happen if one team has a shortfall of players. Does an AI bot take over? Knowing how incompetent AI friendlies tend to be, one cannot help but feel that the team with fewer human players will be at a significant disadvantage.
At this stage, we also do not know if there are plans to include a single-player campaign, because that will most certainly affect the final price. As it stands, HOOD does not look like it has enough under the hood—pardon the pun—to warrant a full $60 price tag.
It might be worth mentioning that developer Sumo Digital’s last major game release, Crackdown 3, did not fare well. The long-awaited third outing in Microsoft’s beloved open-world action adventure game series was criticized for having a dated design and mediocre graphics, despite being in development for an eternity.
Here is to hoping that HOOD turns it around for the English studio. We know they are capable of producing quality titles, having made Forza Horizon 2 and LittleBigPlanet 3.
HOOD is published by Focus Home Interactive and will be available on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X some time in 2021.