Hunted: The Demon's Forge
A co-op action-adventure in a dark fantasy world.
Hunted: The Demon's Forge is a 2011 action-adventure game set in a dark fantasy world. It was developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows.
The game centers on cooperative multiplayer, offering online, splitscreen, and LAN play. One character, E'lara, uses a bow and small weapons, while the other, Caddoc, wields larger melee weapons and a crossbow. Players can explore some larger optional areas, but the campaign is mostly linear with many points of no return. Spells and special attacks are available in combat and can be upgraded. Critics often compared the archery combat to the gunplay of Gears of War; Eurogamer called it a "third-person looter," Engadget labeled it a "Gears of War clone," and Metro described it as "Gears of War meets Diablo."
Cross-regional cooperative play is supported on all platforms, though random matchmaking is regional on PC and PlayStation 3, and cross-regional on Xbox 360.
The story follows two mercenaries—the female elf E'lara and the male human Caddoc—as they search for a mysterious artifact from Caddoc's vision. Events spiral out of control, involving demons, the orc-like Wargar, and a sorceress named Seraphine.
The game shares its title and fantasy setting with Brian Fargo's first widely distributed game, his self-published 1981 graphical text adventure The Demon's Forge. inXile Entertainment President Matt Findley said the game's mechanics came from his team's experience with co-op games and ideas for improving the genre step-by-step. He criticized other co-op titles for reducing cooperation to simply letting two players play together, stating that in Hunted, special skills and abilities are designed to force teamwork. Before release, Findley said a sequel or continuing series would depend on commercial success, with unused ideas and improvements to co-op planned for future installments, which could be a prequel or a new story in the same world.
Reception was mixed across all platforms according to Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave both console versions a total of 29 out of 40. The Escapist gave the Xbox 360 version three stars out of five, calling it a quick, fun diversion with storytelling that almost makes up for its flaws. Digital Spy gave the same version three stars, noting muddy graphics and questionable design choices.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Hunted: The Demon's Forge
- Developer
- inXile Entertainment
- Publisher
- Bethesda Softworks
- Director
- Michael Kaufman
- Producer
- Stewart Spilkin
- Designer
- Chris Keenan
- Programmer
- Keith Miron / Matthew Fawcett
- Artist
- Robert Nesler / Craig Drageset
- Composer
- Kevin Riepl
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows / PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360
- Released
- NA · May 31, 2011 · AUS · June 2, 2011 · EU · June 3, 2011
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game follows two mercenaries: E'lara, a female elf who uses a bow and small weapons, and Caddoc, a male human who wields larger melee weapons and a crossbow. They search for a mysterious artifact about which Caddoc had a vision, but events escalate into a chain involving demons, the orc-like Wargar, and a sorceress named Seraphine. The gameplay is mostly linear with some larger optional areas and many points of no return. Players can use spells and special attacks that can be upgraded, and the archery combat has been compared to the gunplay of Gears of War, with Eurogamer calling the game a 'third-person looter' and Metro describing it as 'Gears of War meets Diablo'.
Reader's Guide
Hunted: The Demon's Forge received mixed reviews across all platforms according to Metacritic. Critics noted its cooperative mechanics were designed to force players to work together, with inXile Entertainment's President Matt Findley stating that the general definition of co-op had sunk 'to allowing two players to play together' and that the game's special skills and abilities were intended to require cooperation. The Escapist gave the Xbox 360 version three stars out of five, calling it 'good for a quick and fun diversion' but noting the storytelling 'almost makes up for it.' Digital Spy gave the same version three stars, citing 'muddy graphics and frequently questionable design choices.' The Daily Telegraph scored it six out of ten, calling it 'decent enough' but 'disposable.' Edge gave the console version six out of ten, remarking that it 'never manages to rid itself of bugs.' The A.V. Club gave it a C, stating the game 'thinks ham-fisted cooperation is indistinguishable from effortless cooperation.' GameZone gave it five out of ten, suggesting a rental over a purchase. Metro gave the console version four out of ten, concluding that 'Gears of War meets Diablo turns out not to be a classic pairing.' Before release, Findley stated that a sequel or continuing series would depend on commercial success, with many ideas left unused and plans to improve co-op in future installments, which could be a prequel or new story in the same world.
Did You Know?
- The game shares a similar title and fantasy setting with Brian Fargo's 1981 graphical text adventure The Demon's Forge.
- The game supports cross-regional co-operative play on all platforms, but random match-making is regional on PC and PlayStation 3 and cross-regional on Xbox 360.
- In Japan, Famitsu gave both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions a total score of 29 out of 40.
- Matt Findley said the game's mechanics were based on his team's experience playing co-op games and ideas on how to improve the genre step-by-step.
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