For starters, there’s a new map in the form of Mammoth’s Gulch, which encompasses 16 unique compounds and various different environments, from mines to burnt and abandoned towns. There’s also a new target, called the Hellborn, which, in Crytek’s words, “moves frantically to slag trespassing Hunters, scorching everything in its considerable reach”, and is best dispatched with speed, given the fact that its “raging howls” can attract other Hunters to your location. Meanwhile, all of Hunt: Showdown’s previous maps will also arrive in remastered and overhauled form with a free post-launch update that’s yet to be dated.

Then there’s the new in-game Scorched Earth event, which will run from now until October 7, bringing new story details about Mammoth’s Gulch, as well as rewards in the form of new equipment, ammo, and weapons. On top of that, Crytek is also introducing a battle pass, as well as a new weekly challenges system. 

Crucially, Hunt: Showdown 1896 also sees the first-person shooter upgrading its engine. Now running on CryEngine 5.11, the game now boasts enhanced visual fidelity, and improvements across lighting, animations, audio design, and more. On PS5 and Xbox Series X, it runs at 4K and 60 FPS, while on Xbox Series S, it targets 1440p at 60 FPS. Other, gameplay-related improvements encompass improved controls, new wildlife, gunplay enhancements, and more. 

Meanwhile, as previously confirmed, this update also means that Crytek is no longer supporting Hunt: Showdown on PS4 and Xbox One. A free upgrade path is available, but going forward, the game will be unplayable on last-gen consoles.

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Check out the full patch notes for its big update through here, and watch its launch trailer below.

Specifically, Hunt general manager David Fifield confirmed in a recently released developer update video that when Hunt: Showdown upgrades its engine this August, it will switch to running natively on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, which in turn means its last-gen versions on PS4 and Xbox One will no longer be supported once the update is live.

That means that not only will future updates not be available on last-gen consoles, the game will become entirely unplayable on those platforms. Fifield assures in the video, however, that players’ accounts and their ownership of any and all DLC they have purchased will remain intact and transfer over to the game’s current-gen version at no cost, so those who have either a PS5 or an Xbox Series X/S will be able to continue playing without too many issues.

Details on exactly what the upcoming summer update will entail exactly in terms of other improvements and feature additions are currently scarce, but Crytek says it will be releasing regular update videos over the coming weeks to remedy that. The update itself is set to go live on August 15.

Hunt: Showdown is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

The event also brings with it a new Wildcard Condition, dubbed Ash Bloom, which involves flurries of insects and ash affecting visibility and keeping animals in the zone in a constant state of alert. Check out the Ash Bloom in action in the trailer below.

The three Pacts players can pledge to are dubbed The Demented Pact, The Drowned Pact, and The Grounded Pact. Each Pact comes with its own exclusive new Traits, like Shadow Leap, which allows Hunters to teleport directly a monster’s location, killing it instantly.

Hunt: Showdown is a competitive shooter that pits teams of Hunters against each other as they also try and track down dangerous and grotesque monsters in the area to take down. Killing the monster rewards players with bounty tokens which then have to be extracted. Players carrying bounty tokens can be killed by other players, however, and have their tokens stolen as a result.

Hunt: Showdown is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

METRO EXODUS

The Metro series has always prided itself on pushing the envelope with its visuals, and Metro Exodus certainly didn’t disappoint on that front either. From how spectacularly it realizes all of its many post-apocalyptic environments to how thoroughly it immerses players in its world with its diegetic and detail-oriented aesthetic, Metro Exodus is still one of the best-looking games out there, over four years on from its launch.

DOOM ETERNAL

There aren’t a lot of studios out there who can boast an equal level mastery over both game design and technology as convincingly as id Software can, and DOOM Eternal is a perfect example of that. Not only are its hellish battle arenas a veritable attack on the senses in the best way possible, the game also excels at making every combat encounter feel breathtakingly explosive in a way that very few of its peers are capable of.

HUNT: SHOWDOWN

Crytek is no stranger to developing visually spectacular first person shooters, but Hunt: Showdown in particular deserves a special mention. The game boasts all the technical polish and obsessive attention to detail that you’d expect from a Crytek joint, but on top of that, it’s also uplifted by some of the strongest art design we’ve ever seen in a shooter, allowing its dark fantasy horror world to come to life in spectacular fashion.

RAINBOW SIX SIEGE

Rainbow Six Siege might be nearly a decade old, but that just makes its technical accomplishments that much more impressive. From the destructibility and dynamics of its environments to the impressive coat of polish that encases every inch of the experience, there’s so much about this game that can still easily be described as best-in-class, several years on from its initial release.

CYBERPUNK 2077

Even when Cyberpunk 2077 was as broken as it famously was in the immediate aftermath of its launch, it was still easy to see how impressive it was on a visual level. Now, with three years of updates and improvements under its belt, it’s nothing short of a graphical masterpiece. No matter where you are in Night City, it’s hard not to be taken aback by how gorgeous it looks and the painstaking attention to detail it exhibits on a consistent basis.

WITCHFIRE

Witchfire launched in early access earlier this year after years of anticipation, and instantly impressed the masses in more ways than one- its visuals being chief among them. The dark fantasy aesthetic of the setting alone is enough to elevate Witchfire’s visuals in and of itself, and the fact that the game has the technical chops to be able to properly back its artistic ambitions only makes it that much more an impressive graphical ride.

HALF-LIFE: ALYX

VR may not have managed to permeate the gaming mainstream the way many had hoped it would, but in Half-Life: Alyx, we do have at least one major game that truly demonstrates just what a AAA VR megaton can look like. Not only does the game look excellent on a consistent basis, it’s also crammed full of a level of interactivity and attention to detail that you would think would have necessitated some technical sacrifices in a virtual reality game. That Half-Life: Alyx so confidently has its cake and eats it too probably doesn’t get enough credit.

BATTLEFIELD 5

For all the problems DICE’s games have launched with over the years, one area that the studio is pretty much always guaranteed to excel in is the visuals. Take Battlefield 5, for instance- a game that divided fans upon release, but in spite of its issues, stands as one of the best-looking shooters you’ll ever play. From the snow-encased Norvik to the war-torn ruins of Devastation to the wide, open spaces of Panzerstorm, every map in Battlefield 5 is gorgeous to behold.

STARFIELD

It’s fair to say that Starfield has plenty of rough edges on the visual and technical fronts, but for all of its many typical Bethesda flaws, it’s still a game that’s capable of taking your breath away with its graphics. Whether you’re looking at the futuristic city of New Atlantis stretching out in front of you or standing on a desolate planet and watching the sun rise over the horizon, from time to time, Starfield showcases just how incredible it can look when it isn’t being bogged down by technical issues.

WOLFENSTEIN 2: THE NEW COLOSSUS

It’s hard to believe that Wolfenstein 2 is over six years old at this point, because even it certainly doesn’t look its age. Though perhaps not as much of a visual stunner as something like DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is still a gorgeous game. From the detailed character models to the explosive and gleefully violent combat, there’s plenty about this game that still stands out on a technical level.

FAR CRY 6

Ubisoft has got the balance between scope and visual fidelity down to a science by this point, and Far Cry 6 illustrates that point perfectly. You’d expect that a game as massive and sprawling as this one would have to make significant cutbacks in the graphics department, but that most certainly isn’t the case here. The level of detail and fidelity that Yara’s many biomes boast is partly why exploring Far Cry 6’s enormous map is as engaging as it is.

GTFO

You don’t need a massive budget of dozens of millions to make a visually impressive shooter, as evidenced so convincingly by GTFO. Made by indie Swedish studio 10 Chambers, the co-op horror shooter flexes its technical muscles almost constantly, immersing you in is terrifying reality that much more. GTFO’s impressive visuals alone making it worth checking out, even if its uncompromising approach to difficulty might turn some people off- though of course, for many that’s exactly what makes the game as good as it is.

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE

The Resident Evil franchise has always been associated with cutting edge visuals, especially in its RE Engine era, and Village, like all of its siblings, demonstrates the series’ graphical mastery every step of the way. Whether it’s the varied and horrific environments of the titular village and the areas surrounding it or the many monstrosities you clash horns with throughout the experience, there’s no shortage of things in Resident Evil Village to remind you of just how impressive a AAA flagship Capcom release can look.

DESTINY 2

As a game that’s over six years old, Destiny 2 maybe doesn’t have the wow factor that many of the other games on this list do, but the fact that it is still comfortably earns itself a spot here is testament to just how good it looks. On a technical level, the looter shooter is one of many fine examples of Bungie’s mastery and knowhow, but it’s with its stellar art design that the game really cements itself in your memory.

DEATHLOOP

Arkane Studios’ games have never really been leaders of the pack with their graphical ambitions, but even though Deathloop isn’t the most technically impressive game you’ll ever play, it’s hard not to be impressed by how good it looks. A lot of that is obviously down to its unique art style and aesthetic, but the game is no slouch on a technical front either. The end product is one that looks significantly better than you’d expect from an Arkane game.

Resident Evil Village

The Resident Evil series has seen its fair share of remakes in the form of the stellar Resident Evil 2 and the disappointing Resident Evil 3, but it has consistently delivered high-quality follow-ups. These include Resident Evil 7 and its follow-up Village, the latter of which represent the best of what the series offers. Resident Evil Village majestically swerves from one kind of horror to the next without any hiccups, and the action keeps pace with the changing scenery and shifting mechanics. The core gameplay of shooting down zombies is much faster than Resident Evil 7, but it retains the heft and groundedness of a survival horror game that comes together to make it one of the best in its class.

The biggest feature of the new update is the addition of a new boss category. Dubbed Wild Targets, the first boss in the category is Rotjaw, who hangs out in the waters of the Bayou rather than inside a compound like other bosses in the game.

The event also brings with it three new pacts—Primal Pact, Smuggler Pact, and Grounded Pact. Each pact brings with it a host of new lore, along with new legendary weapons and equipment associated with the factions.

Players can unlock rewards from the event by earning Event Points, which is done by completing in-game challenges and interacting with, or destroying Ship Alters all over the Bayou. Players can make use of single-use Burn Traits during the event to give them an extra boost in capabilities.

Tide of Shadows is slated to come to the console versions of Hunt: Showdown at a later date.

Two new tutorials have been added to the game as part of the update. Narrated by Doug Cockle—known for voicing Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt—the tutorials have been split into teaching players basic and advanced concepts. Completing the tutorials will reward players with a Tier 1 Hunter, alongside rewards earned in the tutorials.

The basic tutorial will teach players Hunt: Showdown‘s core mechanics, including controls, gunplay, and monsters. Advanced concepts taught to the player in the second tutorial include using clues to locate the boss targets, how players can fight these targets, and how to banish them before extracting with their rewards.

The update also brings with it two new questlines—The Ward of the Reptilian (which will be available until May 1), and Vengeance of the Skinned, which will be available later. The questlines offer new activities and rewards, and team members can now also contribute to your questline progress.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Before Electronic Arts, live service, and tie-ins with every new film, there was LucasArts’ Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Published in 2005, it featured first, and third-person perspectives with four multiplayer modes and 24 maps. Of course, along with a campaign of 18 missions, there was Galactic Conquest, where players led their fleet through the galaxy and conquered or protected planets.

Upon encountering an enemy on a planet, it would shift to combat, resulting in massive battles. With the addition of Heroes, new modes like Hero Assault, and more content than its predecessor, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is still a strong benchmark for Star Wars titles.

The studio has ultimately released a short teaser on Twitter that shows off how this equipment will be usable in the game.

Considering the setting for Hunt: Showdown, Crytek’s teases have started laying the foundations for how such an item would fit into the game’s overarching narrative.

The studio has been describing how beetles work with their handlers to scout out the surrounding area, giving their handlers better situational awareness in the process. Crytek has been tweeting out quite a bit of lore surrounding this, including a final blurb about scientists being yet to have concluded their research on the subject.

There has yet to be an official confirmation of such an item—being beetles or otherwise—making its way into Hunt: Showdown. Considering how much of an impact such an item would have on the game, however, it will likely be added alongside a major update that potentially brings a new Monster to its bestiary.

As current findings are relatively new, and scientists have yet to conclude their research, we can only assume that further information will be revealed in the near future regarding this species, and their origins. pic.twitter.com/OfRPlCSZiN

— Hunt: Showdown (@HuntShowdown) September 22, 2022

The Serpent Moon live event will bring a new supernatural infestation of snakes to the game. Serpents will start showing up in snake dens throughout the bayou, nad players must capture the sankes and sacrifice them on altars. Rewards for taking part in the new event include Blood Bonds and weapons.

Tying in to the new mechanics revolving around snakes, players will have access to new Event Traits to help them with the new objectives: Beastface reduces the reaction range of snakes, Serpent increases the distance from which snake sacrifices can be made, and Poison Sense will identify nearby poisoned players through Dark Sight.

The Serpent Moon event will also allow players to play as new Legendary Hunter Viper. A new feature with Viper is that the character will see visual changes through different stages of the event. The number of stages will depend on the player’s progress through the event. There is also a new battle pass system, dubbed The Gilded Path, which allows players to choose between free, standard, and premium paths.

Two of Viper’s progression paths are available through the free path in the new battle pass, alongside weapons and Blood Bonds. The standard Gilded Path adds on four stages of Viper’s evolution, and the premium Gilded Path adds 3,000 Event points on top.

There are 11 rewards during Serpent Moon, with new weapon rewards including the “Antosha” Caldwell Conversion Chain Pistol, and the “Lucidus” Vetterli 71 Karabiner Silencer. The premium Gilded Path includes weapons like the new “Snake Oil Ward” antidote shot, and the Winfield 1873 Swift rifle “Slither”.

Hunt: Showdown‘s Serpent Moon event is kicking off alongside a new DLC bundle for the game—The Prescient—which includes new Legendary Hunters and Legendary Weapons. Serpent Moon is live in Hunt: Showdown on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.