Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Reviews

We have rounded up four more reviews for inXile Entertainment’s attempt at blending the old-school dungeon crawler with the modern action genre, although, judging by the mixed reception Hunted: The Demon’s Forge has received so far, the attempt doesn’t seem to have been as successful as the developers would have hoped.

NZ Herald, 3/5.

For all its ills, Hunted is enjoyable. The action is good fun, and there is something attractive about the lead couple – they breathe life into what could have been a write-off. The biggest question is about longevity: not everyone will want to turn back to this once the 12-14 hour story mode has been completed.

GamerNode, 3/5.

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge is basically a straight-up, poin- A-to-point-B action game… that looks like a dated RPG. Alone, the game is pretty boring, but with a friend Hunted becomes less of a chore and even exciting. The focus is clearly on the cooperative mechanics, and that is where the game feels the best. There are better co-op experiences out there, but Hunted will appeal to gamers who have played those already, and are looking to play with someone else during the summer gaming lulls.

GameZone, 5/10.

All told, Hunted offers a modicum of playing pleasure on a slow weekend, but a rental would be safer than a purchase. The visuals seem dated in a few spots, and in fact, the game sounds better in most areas than it looks. The music is particularly strong, probably one of the few things that Hunted gets right, but scarcely enough to warrant a purchase. Irksome gameplay and unpolished graphics keep Hunted grounded in the realm of (decent at best.) With so much potential, it seems a more serious execution could offer better things in the future.

Thunderbolt, 8/10.

With a dearth of comparable games on the market, a title like Hunted stands out simply due to its unique, cooperative take on the third-person action/adventure genre. Thankfully, InXile’s offering deserves your attention for far more than just its focus on co-op; this is a well-crafted, engaging adventure with some great wargar-skewering action and compelling interaction between its two protagonists. Add in an epic, bombastic orchestral score by Kevin Riepl (he also worked on Gears of War) and a surprisingly robust and easy-to-use level creation tool and you have one of the better games to be released so far in 2011. Highly Recommended.