Evolve Reviews
Evolve is fun when it works but has a habit of being hurt by its own ambition. Play with friends to get the best out of this game.
There's an ambitious and wonderfully tense multiplayer game hidden somewhere deep inside of Evolve, and on the rare occasions you can coax it out with perfectly balanced teams and a little luck, you'll understand exactly what Turtle Rock was aiming for. More often than not, however, you'll find yourself stuck in another dull and lengthy traipse through the jungle with an unsatisfying and lopsided payoff, made all the worse by a lack of substance or long-term appeal.
Evolve can be good fun. But between those moments of entertainment, the experience is often interrupted by unbalanced mechanics and matches that are over before they begin.
Finally the 4v1 multiplayer shooter Evolve is here! With the game being primarily developed for online play, just how much fun and life is there to be had in the game from the team that brought us the awesome Left 4 Dead series.
Evolve has rare highs hidden amongst tedious lows. When the title hits its stride, it is easy to see why it was designed in this way. Hunting down and killing a Monster or successfully overwhelming Hunters through clever hit-and-run attacks is amazing. Unfortunately, far too often, the game devolves into long, boring periods of wandering around followed by brief, intense moments of excitement. It might be a realistic depiction of hunting, but it doesn't make for engaging multiplayer gameplay. Playing with friends helps alleviate some of that, but it also means Evolve isn't something you can pick up and casually play. Add in some balance issues and a general lack of content, and Evolve is a difficult game to recommend. There's a very fun core game here, but it's so buried that most players won't find it.
Evolve is a novel take on the cooperative and competitive multiplayer genre. The game is packed with interesting ideas but some work better than others. The fact that characters are locked at the beginning weighs it down by a wide margin and the erratic matchmaking also puts a damper on the whole thing.
Yes, Turtle Rock has a proven track record with Left 4 Dead, and I do enjoy a good player vs. player game every so often, what I can't quite decide on is if Evolve is going to live up to its heritage and grow on people enough to still be relevant in a few months or if it will succumb to the Titanfall effect: Hot out of the gate, but assuming room temperature not long afterwards. My head hurts.
Evolve is a game that perpetuates and demonstrates the fun of online cooperative gameplay. Whether it's the A.I. combatants or online friends there's excitement to be found. Since the game relies on its multiplayer as its bread and butter, it's going to have to do a lot more in the long run should it hope to sustain any longevity.
In short: not quite the evolution in multiplayer gaming we hoped for. Get friends together or good all-round players and Evolve can be a blast, but anything less than that and you'll be bored in far too short a time.
Much like Titanfall, Watch Dogs and Destiny, Evolve likely serves as a good proof of concept for what will probably be a superior sequel. Turtle Rock's unique title has enough novelty to capture player interest for the next few weeks, but it is not a Left 4 Dead level game that will keep everyone engaged for years on end.
Evolve is brilliant in the right circumstances and with the right people, but it's hard to unreservedly recommend to everyone. Those with dedicated teams will get the most out of the game while those in matchmaking will find mixed results. Still, Turtle Rock deserves recognition for attempting - and almost nailing - such an ambitious project.
Some interesting new approaches to classes that are now familiar, the DLC brings some cool things to the table. While it can't fix the core issues with the game, it adds some fresh content for those who are still playing and looking for something new.
In emphasizing level progression, skill growth, and unlockable characters, Turtle Rock smothers Evolve's premise.
When 'Evolve' hits all the right notes it succeeds at delivering a tense and dynamic boss battles, but if just one thing goes wrong it loses its appeal rather quickly.
[C]onsidering some of the subpar game modes, I can't help but feel this package could have been something bigger.
At its simplest, Evolve is one of the best new ideas to be turned into a game of recent times, invoking so many monster and alien films along the way. Its attention grabbing hook can only take it so far, though, and Evolve needs you to persevere through the first few hours as you get to grips with the hunt and learn how to play the game. Admittedly, it can be hit and miss when paired up with AI players through matchmaking, but as with so many games, it can be pure gold when played with friends.
Fun, if overly frantic, Evolve is a genuinely unique online offering. Its intriguing ideas don't always pay off, and content-wise the game is a little bare bones, but hey, monsters!
Evolve broke my heart.
Evolve offers an excellent mix of competitive and cooperative gameplay but it is buried behind a muddled progression system and lengthy matchmaking / loading times.
Evolve is a content light asymmetrical multiplayer game that asks far too much from its players, often requiring an organised group to get the full experience. Without any singleplayer content, it is a hard sell to anyone individual.