Evolve Review | Front Towards Gamer

Rhys Egner of FTG: You probably know Turtle Rock Studios as the folks who brought you Left 4 Dead (in collaboration with Valve). While the game largely centered around cooperative play, one of the major draws of the zombie slaughterfest was Versus mode, wherein two teams of four players would play through the game’s levels, with one team (Survivors) trying to get as far as they can while the other (Infected) play as various zombie types and try to stop them. It’s easily one of the most well-known examples of asymmetrical multiplayer, a new subgenre of competitive multiplayer that pits two teams with very different attributes against each other. Also seen in games like Aliens Versus Predator and Haze (remember Haze?), it’s a trend that’s cropped up here and there over the course of competitive multiplayer. Then along comes Evolve, promising one of the most wild asymmetrical setups yet: four hunters, one monster. Not only do all four hunters on any given team handle completely differently, but playing as the monster may as well be an entirely different game (and that’s no slight against it). It’s a really wild concept, but I’m kinda mixed on the whole thing.