Skinwalker Hunt (Native American First-Person Supernatural Horror)

 

How did I miss this one?!!! I hate myself. Some years ago I reviewed a game, in fact it was one of the first videogame reviews I did, for indie cult hit Witch Hunt by one-man Ukrainian dev Andrii Vintsevych. It was an incredible, and challenging, 18th century first-person survival horror terror hunt for a witch and her insidious creations (including a living, giant tree of sacrificial horror). I try to pay attention to programmers like this, because they lack the advertising power of AAA companies and are sadly underappreciated in most cases because, well, they’re like one person interested in the art. Officially known as “Gua,” I did a check on him to see about recent work and learned that two years ago damnit, he released a more ambitious, and awesome title, Skinwalker Hunt. Holy shit buy this.

   

Though similar to Witch Hunt, Skinwalker Hunt is far more dense in its approach, and non-linear. Taking the role of an unnamed Native American supernatural hunter, your task is to go through various areas to locate and destroy a skinwalker, a shapeshifting entity that in original Navajo lore is typically an evil spellcaster that can transform. Here, as the hero, you navigate different maps, including one in Chernobyl, to bleed away at the skinwalker you’re actively hunting while avoiding possessed animals and worshippers, among various mysteries of the landscape. Gua has always been a master of detail, and Skinwalker Hunt is a new achievement in this regard with millions of small elements that draw the attention and develop the sense of supernatural mystery; abandoned homes, human remains on random points of the road, mystical healing herbs, and so forth, fill out an unstated tale in each map of the skinwalker’s effect on the natural world, symbolic of humanity’s encroachment on nature and the dangers of technology. Throughout each area are various pieces of equipment to make your hunting skills stronger and more efficient, including a shotgun and flares, but what makes Skinwalker Hunt truly amazing is the basic design. This is, obviously, a hunt, and you have to learn to hunt to succeed, paying close attention to the terrain and using your traps to complete the kill. With a leveling feature and tons of cool unlocks, it’s one that needs more attention so this guy can dish us out something even more wonderful.

 

Skinwalker Hunt Official Steam

Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Skinwalker Hunt
Gua (developer and publisher)
4.8 / 5