Devil’s Hunt (PC) Review

In Devil’s Hunt, Lucifer has a job opening, and with the only other option being an eternity of suffering in hell, Desmond feels he’s the man for the job. You see, Desmond does not handle the ramifications of failure and setbacks well. In fact, Desmond handles it so poorly that after a day of compounding failure and heartbreak decides to drive his car off a bridge rather than confront his emotional issues and shortcomings. So after signing on the dotted line, he becomes one of Lucifer’s Executors, basically a leg-breaker for the devil, collecting on past-due accounts by punching things in the face. In addition to returning him to earth, as an Executor, Desmond is given powerful abilities that augment and improve his otherwise amateur skill set. However, in between punching demons, murdering his ex-best friend, and creeping on his widowed fiancee, Desmond is left to wonder exactly why the Devil chose him to do his bidding on Earth.

Despite this being a cliched tale of Faustian rebellion, Devil’s Hunt is an engaging action-adventure with challenging combat. There are several features added to the basic three option gameplay that makes things interesting. One is the revive system, on your eventual death you can force a revive by spamming the action button. This feature isn’t unlimited, with your third death being final. Another is the skill tree system which you can use to make Desmond stronger and have more abilities. It’s complex enough to allow customizable gameplay, but not so large as to feel overwhelming. However, one of the reasons combat is challenging is due to the limitations of the combat style. Desmond is an amateur boxer, which makes him an in-fighter with his feet planted firmly on the ground. While the unlockable abilities help, there is a noticeable lack of smoothness when dealing with groupings of enemies that is often a hallmark of this genre.

Though the action portion is pleasantly demanding, the adventure portion is almost the exact opposite. Level progression is very firmly tethered to rails, with no question on where to go or how to proceed. Exploration is more of an afterthought than a main feature, lacking challenging puzzles or a reward system to encourage you to examine your surroundings. There are items to discover that add depth and information to the story-line, but they are meager when compared to the actual level size.

Devil’s Hunt is an enjoyable action-filled slugfest. While the story has an overused plot and there are questionable thematic choices, neither effect gameplay enough to avoid playing. While nothing stands out as innovative or groundbreaking, there is enough enjoyable content to make it worth the purchase.