A Robin Hood game with PVP and PVE mechanics sounds like a good idea, it makes you wonder, is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it? Let’s discuss. Outlaws & Legends is a multiplayer game that has both PVE and PVE elements. The game is set in the Robin Hood type universe with the same premise. It is based on the idea of taking from the rich and giving it to the poor just like the lore. There is a great amount of stealth in the game and matches are heists on a big map. The inclusion of PVP makes it a unique kind of game. It is a creative and unique take on the Robin Hood universe.
Aside from NPCs, every match will have two opposing teams fighting against each other for the treasure. This adds a PVP element to the game making it a unique kind of experience. Players have to worry about both the NPCs and the other team. This adds a sort of tension to the situation which makes the game interesting. It is a medieval tale that combines PVE and PVP elements to presents a new type of gameplay that makes you wonder, is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it? Let’s find out in the review.
Premise
The game is set in the Robin Hood type universe where players have to steal from corrupt rich and give it to the poor. A team of 4 players will start from one end of the map and make their way to the treasure. A match can be divided into three different steps. First, the team will break into the castle so that they can reach Sheriff that has the key. Then, players will steal the key from Sheriff which is the only unkillable person in the game similar to Nemesis from Resident Evil. The Sheriff cannot be killed and players are supposed to take the key from him through sneaking around. After taking the key, players will open the treasure and escape with the chest which is the final step.
Another team of 4 players on the other side of the map would be doing the same thing. Teams are not only expected to take the treasure but also stop the opposing team from escaping with the treasure. Throughout this process, players will face both NPCs and members of the opposite team. So the PVE and PVP elements of the game work simultaneously. Developers said that they took cues from Hunt: Showdown and PVP & PVE elements along with the grim nature of the world which is the only similarity that I can see. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it for its setting? Well, there is more to it.
Characters
A team contains 4 players and there are four characters in the game at the time of this writing. Players have to choose one of these 4 characters. The developers have deliberately changed the names of characters to make it a little different. Each character has certain types of abilities and attributes that make it different than the others. Read about characters in detail.
There is John the Brawler who is John the little from the tale. He can take more damage and has a big hammer. John is not that useful when it comes to stealth since his character is all about brute force. His special ability increases his offensive and defensive attribute.
Rob The Ranger is Robin from the tale. He is a sniper and he uses the bow to take down enemies from distance. He is like a jack of all trades but is not as powerful in frontal combat as John. His special ability allows him to use an explosive arrow which can be pretty useful.
Marianne The Hunter is Maid Marion from the tale. She is all about stealth and her weapon is a crossbow which allows her to target enemies at medium range. She is not useful in frontal combat and is more effective for silent takedowns. Her special abilities allow her to go invisible for a short time.
Tooke The Mystic is a Took from the tale. He is a supporting character and uses Flail as a weapon that can stun enemies. He is a supporting character and can heal allies. Tooke’s combat abilities are mediocre at best. His special ability allow him to highlight enemies for allies and heal allies that are in his range. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth its characters well, there is more.
Level Design
There are only two maps in the game at the time of this writing. Maps are good and have a dark feeling to them. One map has a graveyard and swamps while the other is snowy mountains. The inclusion of such areas makes maps not only more varied but also provides opportunities. You can use swamps and other such locations to sneak up on enemies. Maps are well made and have a good art design but there are only two maps at the time of this writing. More maps are coming with new updates so we are going to have to wait and see. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it to you for its level designing? There is a lot more to the game.
The major issue with the game is the short time it takes to familiarize yourself with the game. There are two maps and four characters. Players will get familiarize with both maps and characters after playing the game for a few hours. After that, there isn’t much to do as you will have to keep on following the same cycle. It gets repetitive after some time, that is how PVP games work but since there is only one game mode and two map, the situation is worse for it.
Combat
Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it for the combat? Let’s discuss. There are dodges, parries, heavy attacks depending on the character. Since different characters have different attacks their proficiency in combat varies. Melee combat is not the strong suit of the game so don’t expect amazing melee combat. The stiff movements of characters make it seem bad. Guards will stop you from achieving your goal. The Sheriff will also join the combat which can turn combat into a mess since he can’t be killed. However, the Sheriff can be stunned for a comparatively longer time which gives you time to be stealthy again.
Hood: Outlaws and legends also have stealth kills that allow players to take down enemies with a single hit. The problem with stealth kill is that they can be abused easily because the window for a stealth kill is large. Players can even roll up on enemies and take them down. Both teams can abuse the stealth kills, a sudden kill in the middle of frontal combat can frustrate you. Just spin around enemies and perform the stealth kill as soon as the option appears.
Stealth
Stealth is a major part of it and the game wants you to use stealth to be successful. However, head-on assault is also an option. Players have to use stealth to avoid gate closure because it takes time to open the gates again. This will allow the other team to move ahead of you. You can still catch up to the other team but you have to play it more intensely.
Different characters have different stamina and health bar that will impact their performance in combat. Despite having different vitalities, a few hits can kill a character though their health will have an impact on how much damage they can take. In theory that seems great since it is a PVP game but practically that makes a mess out of things. Your character will keep on coming back and dying which seems awkward for the type of game it is. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it to you for its consistent stealth? There is still more to it.
Even if there is a huge emphasis on stealth, brute stealth is still an option. Players can even complete the entire match through head-on combat alone and this is how everything falls apart. John can open gates with brute stealth so you won’t even have to worry about gate closure. However, the gate can crush John if not careful enough. In the last phase, frontal combat is more rewarding since you will be making your escape with the treasure. The last phase also has a lot of emphasis on PVP which can make stealth nearly worthless.
General Gameplay
It needs more game modes to become more engaging since it only has one mode at the time of this writing. The basic concept is good as it is a brand new take on Robin Hood as a PVP game. Hood: Outlaws and Legends is developed by the developers of Hitman 1 and 2. You can see the essence of Hitman games during the gameplay. The game can become better with tweaks and updates.
Voice acting is good but it’s not that best which is understandable since it is not a story-driven game. Characters have monologues and silent assassinations can also trigger dialogues which makes them seem livelier. The visual effects that attacks produce are good. Feedback of attacks and the way enemies respond to attacks is also quite good. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it for its general gameplay? Let’s discuss more of its aspects before concluding.
The Home Base
There is a home base in the game that players can use between matches. The home base allows you to group up with friends and do match-making. There is also a level-up system so the more you use a character the better it becomes. Players can buy different weapons and cosmetics for all four characters using gold that they earn from completing matches. Buying a powerful bow or hammer will increase the damage output of the character that is using that weapon. The home base also allows you to equip perks that you have unlocked.
After each match, Hood: Outlaws and Legends let you decide where you want to invest gold. Investing in hideout will level up the hideout and unlock new items. The second option is getting the money into the purse which lets you keep and later use it to buy stuff. Progression is good and you can level up quicker than most other such games. There is not much to grind for as you can hit the cap pretty quickly.
The Match
Rounds start quiet and then steadily go towards more action. You have to find the key without alerting anyone because doing so can prove a hindrance thus giving an edge to the other team. When enemies get alerted they will close certain gates. You will need to kill all the enemies in that area to open the gate or use John to lift it with brute strength. It takes time to do so which can be advantageous to the other team. Robin can also use rope arrows to create new paths which can act as shortcuts. So the amount of time it takes for you to reach the treasure can be impacted by the character you are using.
Players need to steal the key without alerting anyone. Once you get the key from the Sheriff then you can then use it to open the treasure and get the chest. Johan has the ability to walk faster while taking treasure than any other character. There are also capture points throughout the maps. Capturing these points allow you to respawn closer to the objective rather than start from the beginning of a map. The opposite team can also capture these capture so it goes both ways.
After taking the treasure you are supposed to bring it to the crank and use it to extract the chest. Both teams can use the crank to extract the treasure but the team that brings the treasure down gets to be the winner. Even if a team loses they will still get points for using the crank. So a team can have more points even if it ends up losing. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it for its game mode? Let’s discuss some more.
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The PVP and The PVE
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a good PVP game that has PVE elements as well. The PVE elements present the game in a new spectrum making it more interesting. It gets intense once you come face to face with enemies. Each character can also pick up a throwable in the world. Depending on the character, it can be a smoke bomb, flash bomb, poison bomb, or explosive bomb. If the ultimate ability gauge is full then players can unleash the ability on enemies. The fall damage is inconsistent and needs fixing to be balanced. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it to you for the integration of PVP and PVE elements?
Once you meet the enemy team then it’s all about frontal combat and stealth is of little consequence. The last phase is usually the biggest part of the match since you have to fight the enemy teammates in that phase. Enemies can also lead the opposite team right to you which can break the stealth approach. Castle guards might attack you giving the other player ample time to escape. Hack & Slash seems more rewarding than stealth even though the game emphasizes stealth.
The Balance
Players can choose to be any one of these four characters. The entire team can also use a single character. A team could even have all Robin so there is no restriction in regards to that. It’s not like not having a specific character is going to make it impossible to win. However, certain characters do make a noticeable difference.
The efficiency of a character also depends on the phase of the match. Since the first two phases have more stealth, Marianne performs better in it. The last phase is more about head-on attacks, so John performs better in it than any other character. You can still take him down with the side assassination tactic but he will still be better than any other character in frontal combat.
Depending on the character players are using, their performance will vary based on the phase of a match. However, frontal combat can be effective from the beginning to the end making the stealth completely useless. A team can have all Johns and smash their way throughout a map. So there is an issue with the balancing of characters and the game. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it to you for its balancing? Let’s discuss the multiplayer element before deciding.
As A Multiplayer
Multiplayer games are better when played with friends and that true for Hood: Outlaws & Legends as well. Communication is the key to success and good communication with teammates can make everything easier. Competent teammates who know what they are doing can help you dominate. You will sweep through everything with ease. It can feel kind of awkward since other multiplayer games don’t make you that dominant with communication alone.
There is no skilled base matchmaking so you can end up playing against a veteran team even if you are playing the game for the first time. Playing against a veteran opponent can be a disaster since all their weapon will be high level and they will have more experience. There is also a year one pass which helps you level up quickly. Such things are becoming more common in pay-to-play live service games, they give you an in-game advantage which is something that I oppose. Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it to you as a multiplayer game? Well, let’s find the final answer in the verdict.
Verdict
Hood: Outlaws & Legends has a good concept that is offering a new take on the Robin Hood games. It is a good game with a good concept but it is different. The PVP and PVE elements of the game work in complete integration to provide a different kind of experience. There is stealth in the game and it will remind you a lot about the multiplayer mode of old Assassin Creed games. The game wants you to use stealth but brute force is more rewarding. The game does not penalize you enough for not using stealth.
There is not enough content to keep players engaged for long. Maps and new content will be part of the game through future updates. There are balancing issues with the game and some characters are more powerful. Especially John the Brawler who is op when it comes to frontal combat. The game has good stealth but not good combat in general. Characters are stiff and attacks are just random swings. It needs teaks here and there to become better.
Now let’s answer the question Is Hood: Outlaws & Legends worth it? Well, the answer to that depends on what you expect from the game. It is a $30 game which is less than half theprice of a next-gen game. It has a good concept but it might not be to the liking of some players. The game can be good for some players and creates a loyal following. The combination of PVP and PVE elements makes it a different kind of experience. If you are coming at it with an open mind and are not expecting too much then it can be a good game.
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