Status:
Complete and Play Tested
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Hunted: The Demon's Forge (PS3) Review
Released in 2011 by inXile Entertainment, Hunted: The Demon's Forge attempts to blend third-person, cover-based action with traditional dungeon crawler fantasy elements. Its a gritty, co-op focused hack-and-slash experience that offers some refreshing ideas, but theyre buried beneath repetitive combat and uneven design.
Gameplay & Mechanics
| Feature | Description | Verdict |
|---|
| Cover-Based Combat | Third-person shooting mechanics with bows and spells, plus melee options. | Functional but clunkyfeels more like Gears of War with swords than a fluid action-RPG. |
| Character Pairing | Play as either Caddoc (tank/melee) or Elara (ranged/archer). Each has unique skills, and the AI or a second player handles the other. | Co-op shines, but AI partner is unreliable. Solo play suffers. |
| Spell & Ability Upgrades | Find crystal collectibles to unlock magic attacks (freezing, mind control, fire bursts). | Light customization exists, but its shallow and linear. |
| Exploration & Secrets | Levels are linear with hidden paths and puzzle doors. Deathstones offer lore. | Encourages slight exploration, but map design is mostly narrow corridors and arenas. |
The games strength lies in cooperative play, with combo abilities and revived teammates encouraging synergy. Sadly, combat quickly turns repetitive due to lack of enemy variety and unresponsive controls.
Story & Setting
You control a pair of mercenaries:
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Elara, a sarcastic elf archer.
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Caddoc, a cautious, muscle-bound warrior.
Theyre drawn into a dark fantasy quest involving possessed villagers, demonic creatures, and a mysterious woman guiding them through visions. The dialogue tries to be witty but lands inconsistently, and the plotwhile serviceablerarely becomes compelling.
Tone: Grimdark with a tongue-in-cheek flair
Themes: Slavery, corruption, demonic rituals, redemption
The chemistry between the two leads is a highlight, even if the script cant always keep up.
Graphics & Presentation
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Visuals: Environments are bleak stone ruins, caves, and dungeons. Theres little variety or color. Character models are well-detailed but animations can feel stiff.
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Performance: Generally stable, with only occasional frame rate dips during effects-heavy combat.
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Audio: Voice acting is solid, especially Caddoc. The score is serviceable fantasy fare, but no standout tracks.
While the game looks fine for its era, its art direction leans generic, and it lacks the atmospheric punch of better dark fantasy titles like Dark Souls or Dragon Age.
Modes & Extras
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Crucible Mode A custom dungeon builder where you can create combat arenas and challenge waves of enemies.
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Multiplayer Couch and online co-op supported, and it's the way to play. AI is prone to freezing, bad decision-making, and poor combat support.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Co-op design encourages teamwork and synergy
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Dark fantasy setting with some lore depth
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Crucible mode adds replay value for action fans
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Unique blend of cover-shooting and swords/magic
Cons
Combat grows stale fast due to repetition and clunky feel
Linear level design with limited incentive to explore
Poor AI partner when playing solo
Dull visuals and generic fantasy environments
Final Verdict
Hunted: The Demon's Forge is a bold experiment that tries to combine fantasy dungeon crawling with modern third-person shooting mechanics. While it succeeds in co-op chemistry and a few cool ideas, its ultimately dragged down by tedious combat, dated visuals, and half-baked systems.
Score: 6.3 / 10 Best enjoyed with a friend and low expectations. Theres fun to be had, but the game often fights itself more than the demons it features.
