➤ Hunting Simulator 2, the review 🎮

La Hunting Simulator 2 review speaks of a title that tries in every way to make you forget the first, mediocre chapter but, as we will see, it succeeds only in part, while improving it in various aspects. Being a hunting simulator does not have a real story to tell: chosen between being a man or a woman, the player simply has to reach one of the six hunting spots available, two set in the Colorado plains, two in the Texan desert and the last two in Europe, setting out in search of prey to be killed.

In total, the animal species to be hunted in exchange for money are thirty-three (deer, moose, rabbits .. there is a bit of everything), while the equipment consists of 160 weapons, accessories and clothes. Each species requires the possession of the appropriate license to be killed, licenses that can be purchased from the computer located in our hunting house, where we can also improve our equipment and hang the trophies obtained by playing. If we want the outline of Hunting Simulator 2 it ends here, in the sense that the rest is all practical.

dog

Started on tutorial the classic hoarse voice of those who have spent their lives sipping beer and smoking while keeping their feet on the carcasses of their prey and now can't wait to spout some anecdote to anyone who gives them confidence, introduces us to the rudiments of the game and to the most interesting: the presence of a canine companion (a Labrador Retriever, a German Shorthaired Pointer or a Beagle) who will keep us company during the long hours of hunting and who will be very useful to follow the movements of the animals. Told in outline, the gameplay of Hunting Simulator 2 is really very linear: found the trace of an animal, you have to follow it until you reach it, alternating moments of research with others of waiting.

Il dog in this it will prove to be a precious help, because thanks to its powerful sense of smell it will take care of following the tracks for us. Giving him orders is really easy: just call up a radial menu and select the action to make him perform among those available.

If we want we can also gratify him (a happy dog is a dog that does his job better). The Tracks to follow are basically of three types: footprints, remains and blood, the first two are difficult to identify and require great attention. Especially where the grass is tall you can spend many minutes looking for them. The latter are more evident, but require a wounded animal and tend to get lost in the environment.

Gameplay

Of course, the difficulty in reaching a prey is not a big problem at a qualitative level, given the genre to which Hunting Simulator 2 belongs. when not hours, spent wandering in search of game are part of the game and avoid turning it into a normal FPS. In addition to the dog, to help the player there are other very useful accessories, such as lures or lures, without forgetting the binoculars.

When in the presence of a huntable animal, all that remains is to stand still, raise the rifle, aim and shoot. Hit the vital organs it is not easy, since the weapons, especially the cheaper ones, tend to sway a lot and the pans are always around the corner. To have a better chance of succeeding, in addition to buying better weapons, you can climb on the turrets, where there is also less risk of being seen or heard. When you are satisfied with the hunt you can go back to the starting hut and sell the prey, or you can keep some as a trophy.

The six wide maps included in the game are distinguished from each other not only by the biomes, but also by the fauna and the level of challenge they offer. Let's say that the starting point for everyone is definitely Colorado, with its soft terrain and excellent visibility, while the two European maps are the most complex to tame, due to the luxuriant vegetation, which greatly limits visibility, and the terrain conformation, much more rugged than that of other maps.

Defects

During the first few game sessions, Hunting Simulator 2 seemed like a worthy competitor to theHunter: Call of the Wild, but as the hours went by, a few emerged defects which dampened our enthusiasm a lot. For example, the fast travel system is really bad: the game allows you to move quickly only when you have found a camp ... the problem is that the latter are quite rare and are not indicated until you have found them. Wouldn't it have been more realistic to provide the player with a map with all the camps marked? In this way we would have avoided having to retrace the very long routes on foot and we could have planned our travels much better.

Another problem is the ethical system (yes, it is a hunting game but it has a moral system), which prescribes the killing of an animal with a maximum of two bullets. Shoot the third one and you will be sanctioned for your conduct.

Now, the fact that a game in which you shoot Bambi wants to cheer us up is a little laugh, but what's ethical in finding a gasping prey and not being able to put an end to his suffering, because otherwise you are considered bad hunters?

Finally, the biggest problem is following the trail. Basically doing it without using a dog is a frustrating operation, given when they are difficult to spot, but using the dog continuously reduces a lot of the gameplay to chasing it. Repetitiveness is always around the corner. Some might argue that it is a choice due to the desire to make the game more realistic. Maybe yes, but the fact remains that we are dealing with a much more arcade title than other exponents of the genre, such as the aforementioned theHunter: Call of the Wild, so why look for realism precisely on elements that ultimately worsen enormously the gaming experience?

From a technical point of view, Hunting Simulator 2 is a decent title and nothing more. Some landscapes are very beautiful, the animals are well made and have decent animations, but it's seen better elsewhere. The overall style is also really poor. Let's say it's a very cheap representation of the hunting world. As this is not a triple A production, you can be satisfied.

Comment

Digital Delivery Steam Resources4Gaming.com

6.8

Readers (3)

6.6

Your vote

Hunting Simulator 2 manages to do half what it sets out to do. It is not as despicable as the first chapter, but it still has too many game design limitations, some of which are very annoying, to aspire to the title of king of hunting simulators. Graphically discreet, but capable of keeping you busy for a very long time, we recommend it only if you are a fan of the genre and have nothing to play at the moment.