First up is a new monster, the Behemoth, which is best for those that favor tank strategies (high health, middling damage). The add-on beast has the ability to roll itself up into a ball for quick movement, but being that it’s also a towering beast, its rolling form is a dangerous force to be reckoned with. The Behemoth is a free download for those that pre-ordered Evolve, but it can also be purchased for $15.
The add-ons also add four new hunters to the game, one for each of the four classes. Torvald fills the assault role, with a mortar cannon that doubles as his arm. Crow, the trapper, brings along a pet Batray (one of the game’s winged creatures) to track the monster. Slim is a genetically modified combat medic. And finally, Sunny fills the support role with a “mininuke grenade launcher.”
Yep.
The four hunters are to be sold separately at $7.50 apiece, but they can be purchase as a $25 bundle as well. Much like the three groups of hunters that shipped with the main game, the new quartet each fills their assigned role in very different ways. Developer Turtle Rock Studios runs through more specifics right here on Evolve‘s official website.
Also coming as free add-ons are two new maps — Broken Hill Mine and Broken Hill Foundry — which introduce two new hunting environments as well as some new campaign effects for Evolve‘s longform match type, Evacuation. The maps are coming to Xbox One on March 31, but they’re not on PlayStation 4 or Windows until April 30. They’re both free, regardless of platform.
Lastly, Turtle Rock is also ready to launch Observer Mode, an eSports-friendly addition to the game that injects a sixth “player” into every match, providing them with the tools for dipping into the perspective of a match’s five actual players. The intent is for Observer Mode to be used in streaming situations. It features a more elaborate HUD than the other players see, with the aim of giving viewers a broader overview of how a particular engagement is unfolding, regardless of whose eyes they’re seeing it through.
Evolve is an unusual competitive multiplayer game that pits four hunters, each with a specific role to play, against one, large monster that has the ability to feast on wildlife and evolve into a stronger being. The core hunting mode is very much a cat-and-mouse style showdown, with the hunters trying to track the beast before it reaches its fully evolved, most powerful state.