In the last month, Evolve, the much-lauded asymmetric multiplayer game has shed nearly 6% of its already meagre, diminished player base. At least it has for the PC version, according to Steam-tracking service Steamcharts. With an average number of daily players now hovering around 396 players a month, it’s not a stretch to call the game dead.
And yet, Turtle Rock soldiers on. This week, they’ve released a new batch of content – including a new hunter (which players need to pay for) and a new map (which, as with all maps, is free). Title update 5 brings with it a new Trapper, named Jack.
“Evolve’s newest Hunter, Jack (Trapper), joins the team with an all-new set of abilities and weapons. Jack, who refers to himself as The Jackal, scrounged the industrial ruins to build his trapper arsenal. To pack a punch, Jack dual wields a pair of pistols, enabling him to reload one pair while firing the other. To track and trap the Monster, Jack uses a hacked Survey Satellite to locate enemies and his Repulsor gloves to stop the Monster in its tracks.”
The newest map, Murder Pits, has a bunch of challenges contained within its arena-focused layout.
- ‘Jail’ houses dangerous wildlife, freed by doors that open randomly;
- ‘Outhouse’ is a straightforward arena encouraging control of the high ground;
- ‘Quarry’ carves out a tall, narrow environment stacked with rooms;
- ‘Saloon’ features a series of rooms surrounding a deadly Tyrant pool;
- ‘Slaughter House’ contains two chambers separated by a wall that can only be opened by the Monster.
The Title update also features Hunt 2.0, which is a fancy word for a rejiggered matchmaking service. Here’s what it adds and changes:
- You can now play exclusively as Monster or Hunter;
- You will never join a match in progress;
- Improved matchmaking that incorporates skill level;
- Revamped leaderboards that divide players among five divisions, with tiered rankings within each division
Title Update 5 is also the biggest balancing update the game has received, details of which you can read in the game’s Patch 5.0 Notes. For the 3 of you who still regularly play the game though, here’s are the core changes coming to the gameplay:
Core Gameplay Balance Improvements
This is one of the biggest balance patches Evolve has ever had. Like many other features this update, we’ve worked hard to address feedback and develop creative new ways to enhance gameplay in Evolve. This update, the meta is Evolving (grooaaannn)
- One of Evolve’s biggest balance patches with changes to Monster abilities and Hunter jetpacks
- Improved, fast-deploying domes!
- Major changes to some of the Community favorites such as Bucket and Torvald coupled with an improved Behemoth.
- These changes to the core gameplay will give both Hunters and Monsters a whole new (and more balanced) world to hunt in.
It seems like a nice update – but I have to wonder if it’ll actually be appreciated by enough people. My own copy of the game sits on my shelf, gathering dust – and I have no intentions, frankly, of ever playing it again. While it was certainly fun, balance issues and the need to play with a dedicated team all the time made playing Evolve a chore. I think the asymmetrical aspect of it didn’t help either – and was probably a bigger detriment to the game’s longevity than the teamwork required. Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six do just fine, after all. Playing as the monster is a terribly solitary experience, and being the end boss just wasn’t as much of a draw as anyone at Turtle Rock or 2K had hoped.
Last Updated: August 13, 2015
Ir0nseraph
August 13, 2015 at 08:10
This game needs to evolve into a free to play, then I will try it.
Admiral Chief on the mend
August 13, 2015 at 08:13
^This
Dutch Matrix
August 13, 2015 at 08:14
^This thing is back?
Admiral Chief on the mend
August 13, 2015 at 08:22
I have to keep an eye on you crazy folk every now and then
Dutch Matrix
August 13, 2015 at 08:22
Don’t make me poke you in the ribs! 🙂 With my finber! Finger!
Admiral Chief on the mend
August 13, 2015 at 11:08
You can poke the ribs. They are actually one of the few things still functioning properly
Hammersteyn
August 13, 2015 at 08:44
Publishers and common sense goes hand in hand like China and safety regulations
Ir0nseraph
August 13, 2015 at 08:59
0_o the dust hasn’t even settled 🙂
Hammersteyn
August 13, 2015 at 09:02
Indeed, sad about the people who perished.
Viking Of Science
August 13, 2015 at 08:15
what’s evolve?
Brady miaau
August 13, 2015 at 08:46
Edit* I know, cause you have said so before, you are a scientist.*
It is this thing where all the animals started out as something different and then, due to environment needs or keep up with the jones needs, some of them started to slowly change over a long period. This continued and continued until we got the perfect specimen.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/35e9a80e249dd516bbbb93ac00aa93e2c8aefd45c91077a543cd7c13b7234e42.jpg
Viking Of Science
August 13, 2015 at 09:11
But that’s Evolution, though….
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 13, 2015 at 08:59
The winner of over 60 awards at E3 and the game you need to keep in mind every time a breathless article about how super awesome an upcoming MP game is.
Viking Of Science
August 13, 2015 at 09:11
#SP4LYF
BurninZ
August 13, 2015 at 08:17
yay
Hammersteyn
August 13, 2015 at 08:46
Maybe they are arguing that if they release more DLC that people have to pay for it will bring the numbers back?
Brady miaau
August 13, 2015 at 08:47
worked for WOW, right, must work for them.
Hammersteyn
August 13, 2015 at 08:52
Did it work for WOW? The last DLC I mean
Brady miaau
August 13, 2015 at 08:58
Seems so, but I only read newspapers, not play or active in those communities.
Hammersteyn
August 13, 2015 at 09:02
ditto
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
August 13, 2015 at 08:54
Yawn. Wake me up when we get more ME/SW:BF/Fallout news.
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 13, 2015 at 08:57
…
Brady miaau
August 13, 2015 at 08:58
Law and order….
Nikola
August 13, 2015 at 09:10
My opinion why the game failed is simple no real single story campaign (even COD has one) and for you to play it properly you need pre-set team of friends playing with randoms a game like this will be difficult and that is my worry about Rainbow Six multiplayer but that at least has a campaign!
Sageville
August 13, 2015 at 10:22
Look, the game is good, I’ve actually played a good bit of it.
But I do think in part the story issue is true, but the main problem was the matchmaking, on release day it took 20 – 30 minutes to get a match, a few weeks later sitting in a random queue got no matches (I.e. no matchmaking) now there isn’t enough base to do anything.
It’s sad, the gameplay was good.
Nikola
August 13, 2015 at 11:33
Yeah I do not doubt gameplay was good it looked fun but yeah that being said I didn’t even know about the whole matchmaking issue that just makes it works..