Hood: Outlaws & Legends Reviews
An accessible online heist game with some fun but clumsy systems and an ugly presentation.
Sumo Newcastle's debut is an engrossing but substanceless heist game - and an interestingly grim take on Robin Hood.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a multiplayer stealth-action game that rewards sloppiness over cunning. That can be fun, but it also badly needs more content.
Hood gives you glimpses of a new and exciting multiplayer concept, but its many, many design flaws keep the game from delivering.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends has some good ideas, but the execution is a little lacking. The one mode here is enjoyable but it gets very repetitive, with the clunky combat, slow matchmaking and poor, though admittedly amusing AI, taking the fun out of it. With more variety, whether in the form of different modes or with each map having its own objectives, this could have been a winner, but as it stands it's got a lot of squandered potential.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends is an excellent change of pace from your standard online multiplayer games. The PvPvE style works surprisingly well, creating new obstacles and offering unique strategies at every corner.
Hoods: Outlaws & Legends is a intriguing PvEvP heist game, that despite technical defects and several imperfections will entertain hardcore gamers. This multiplayer game is especially recommended for those with friends to play with and won't disappoint Robin Hood fans.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a pretty good craic with a group you know, or people who know what they're doing, but a bunch of amateurs without a mic between them may struggle.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends offers players a fun and tense experience but it is oftentimes held back by technical problems, glitches, and other minor issues. When it functions as expected, Sumo Digital's game feels unique, especially when compared to most online experiences. Considering there's no narrative or single-player campaign to fall back on, the game will ultimately live and die based on its community. While many of the game's problems are not game-breaking, the server issues could be the Achilles heel if not addressed. With extensive free and premium Year 1 DLC plans already in place, Focus Home Interactive and Sumo Digital are hoping that the allure of new content and the dynamic elements of its game will keep players coming back.
The idea of trying to execute a medieval GTA-style heist while fending off other players is so good that I want it to work. This is just missing some kind of secret ingredient to make everything come together. Maybe after some time and the addition of DLC, this could be a worthwhile game to play with friends. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later, as right now Hood: Outlaws and Legends feels more like a missed opportunity than a bullseye.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends is committed to a very specific multiplayer model that may or may not have legs. The game feels unbalanced, populated by a large number of surprisingly high-level players wreaking havoc on newbies, and squads interested in subverting the flow of gameplay. Some of these issues will get ironed out in time with tweaks to balance and matchmaking but what remains is still a fairly limited experience even under ideal circumstances.
The idea is intriguing and it works, but the technical implementation leaves something to be desired and there are balancing problems. However, the question is not whether the game is fun, but for how long it will be with so little content.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Hood: Outlaws & Legends offers a barebones experience that is best played with a dedicated team of wolves. Those seeking fame and riches on their own may find themselves lamenting the lack of content both available day one and what's to come in the first year roadmap. Hood may certainly grow in the future, but the first impressions leave much to be desired.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends has several interesting concepts that, on paper, might seem refreshing for the genre. Unfortunately, clunky combat mechanics, questionable design choices, and a tedious gameplay loop lead to a rather monotonous experience.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends is a genuinely refreshing multiplayer idea that's well-executed for the most part. It's a little light on variety and doesn't offer all that much in terms of reward beyond winning matches, but there's a consistent joy to be found in its often intense back and forth tug of war for gold and glory.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends should be applauded for doing something different. In a just world, this release would steal players from larger brands and establish itself as a unique online alternative – but right now, its community is small. Assuming you can find a match, the stealth-based competitive gameplay is refreshing, and while it's not without its drawbacks, it can be seriously satisfying when you work as a team to achieve your objectives unnoticed. There's huge potential here, Sumo Newcastle just needs to find a way to keep its playerbase engaged.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends brings players into an alternate universe where Robin Hood and his Merry Men are a gang of murderous thieves. While the core heist gameplay loop offers some fun for committed players, the structure around those heists doesn't give much reason (beyond getting better) to keep playing. The thematic darkness doesn't help; when the Sherriff of Nottingham drops f-bombs and smashes people's heads like pumpkins, I kinda tap out.
The biggest problem for Hood: Outlaws & Legends is its meager content offering. There's a solid proof of concept here, but not much else. Whether it be the character roster, the lineup of maps, or gameplay options throughout each round, there's not enough here to capture the imagination. As it is, Hood feels like a forgotten multiplayer mode bolted onto a memorable single-player campaign. People remember Bioshock 2 and Dead Space 2 to this day, but few remember the included deathmatch suites. Without a big upgrade in the very near future, players will forget about Hood's similar offerings just as quickly.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends makes too little of its good possibilities and disappoints with monotonous rounds and small scope.
Review in German | Read full review
At its very core, Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a good game, it just requires good people around you to make it so.