14 DAY TRIAL // 
The crossbow fires three projectiles at a time, covering a decent arc in front of Vesper. One hits the red slime orb and it splashes into a platform I can use to dash to another piece of solid ground. Another, luckily, kills one creepy monster that was moving toward my character while cloaked. I move to a nearby spot that allows me to refill my bullets before pushing to my destination.
A certain sound reveals that more invisible enemies are around. I move backward to avoid a strike that could take around a third of my health away and slash with my own weapon. I kill one of the creatures and, because I spot the shape of another, I switch to the crossbow and deal with that one as well.
I get a little reckless once I see the door that leads out of the area and allow one of the cloaked monsters to slash me. I dispatch him and go through, only to be immediately faced by two big armored brutes. My dash is extremely useful here. It makes it easy to avoid their strikes and the ranged attacks coming from the room's corners. I use a rose to top up my health and then dismantle the enemy group without getting hit. Executing moves almost flawlessly is crucial if I want to have a chance to deal with the inevitable boss fight.
Hunt the Night is developed by Moonlight Games and published by DANGEN Entertainment. I played via Steam on the PC. The title combines classic platforming action with tough combat scenarios with a dash of exploration.
Players will become Vesper, member of an order called The Stalkers. The world she inhabits has a day-night cycle that allows humanity to flourish when the sun is up and has it destroyed by monstrous forces when it goes down. Her organization managed, by paying a blood price, to create a day that lasted for hundreds of years.
But now the night is coming again and Vesper is the last hope when it comes to fighting the many servants of darkness. During the story’s second chapter, a spirit named Umbra starts providing help, and she also meets several other stalkers. This is a lore-filled world and it's interesting to find more details about what’s happening but no story beat breaks out of the dark fantasy mold.
Gameplay in Hunt the Night features classic exploration via platforming, centered around a dash move and slime that will drown Vesper if she lands on it. Later, when Umbra is present, exploration also happens in ghost form, although its use is restricted by available magical energy. The game features timed platforming challenges that can take a few tries to master.
Hunt the Night uses a top-down look, allowing players to always have a clear idea of the challenges of the battlefield once the main character enters combat. Vesper isn’t very fast but the dash makes her hard to hit, as long as players keep an eye on the energy level on the top left.
Our heroine wields two weapons at once, one melee and another ranged, offering flexibility in combat. A variety of close-quarters weapons allow players to find an approach they like and focus on it. Kill enemies to get bullets back and don’t ignore her special power or the ability to use a flower to gain back health.
Normal enemies pose a threat but can be handled relatively easily by carefully using abilities and the two types of attack, even when the game forces players to battle them in tight spaces and with clear lines of sight for their ranged attacks. Then a boss appears and the game’s difficulty shoots up. They have different phases, hit very hard, and use surprising moves. It takes time to understand their patterns and patience to devise and implement a plan to defeat them.
Hunt the Night relishes difficulty and wants players to be perfect both in terms of planning and execution to make progress, especially when dealing with bosses. I understand that a tough challenge is something that many players love, mainly because of the sense of accomplishment that comes with overcoming it.
But a game does not exist only to cater to a small group of dedicated players. This is where accessibility comes in. When I was dying for the 20th time to the first boss, knowing what I had to do but failing to execute, I felt nothing but frustration. At this point, I wanted the game to either automatically activate some aids to get me past the finish line or to give me the option to lower the difficulty.
As it stands, Hunt the Night will be a great top-down action title for players who love a challenge and don’t mind having to run through the same sequence multiple times. Beating a room or boss after repeated failure feels like a big achievement. But this very approach can frustrate players and lead to a spiral of declining combat performance.
Hunt the Night is certainly stylis and its graphics show off the fantasy world in cool ways. This is pixel art but the execution is better than for many other titles in the genre. Levels mix the grandeur of monumental architecture with oozy, gross organic material. Players really get a sense of the corruption threatening the world and there’s also plenty of personality for both the main character and the many enemies she faces.
I also mostly like the sound design. The soundtrack swells at the right moments and knows how to underscore the peril of each boss fight with unique tracks (they can become repetitive because those fights take so many tries). Weapons swish in a very satisfying way and paying attention to the soundscape is important when facing invisible enemies.
The Good
- Solid combat mechanics
- Interesting universe
- Great boss design
The Bad
- Boss difficulty spikes
- Timing on some platforming challenges
- Save point positioning
Conclusion
Both the world and the presentation are good enough to keep players interested. There's also nothing better than finally winning a fight you've previously lost tens of times. Hunt the Night could have used a few extra concessions for newcomers but it's one of the best top-down combat-focused experiences for players who want to be challenged.
A review key was provided by the publisher
