The developers of Evolve took part in an “Ask me anything” session on reddit and revealed many exciting details about the past and future of the asymmetrical shooter …
Free2Play and too little content
A recurring topic is the demand for Free2Play and the accusation that Evolve offers far too little content for $60 compared to the predecessor game Left4Dead. The developers believe that about 3-4 times more work went into Evolve than into L4D, and this is reflected in the content and gameplay options. Numerous points have been listed to support this claim:
- L4D had 4 survivors, with no special equipment and a total of 8 weapons. Evolve had 12 hunters at launch with 36 unique weapons/items.
- L4D had 5 special infected, of which only 4 were playable and each had only one ability. In Evolve, there are more than 20 different types of wildlife and 3 monsters with 12 different abilities, perks, and talent points.
- While both games launched with 16 different maps, in Evolve, 12 of them can be played in different modes and influence the next map in more than one way.
- L4D had no progression system. There were no levels, no perks, and no customization options – all of which is not the case in Evolve.
More maps and adaptations in the future
The team is extremely pleased with how well the Meteor Goliath has been received by players. In the future, there will also be further adaptations of existing characters – even for the hunters! The next planned adaptations are “Lightning Markov” and “Rogue Val“. What exactly differentiates these two from their original designs is not yet known. Like the new Goliath, the adaptations of the hunters will also be free, as will new maps that are currently in development.
The lore of Evolve
Many players wish for more information about the game world of Evolve. They ask questions like:
- Where do the monsters come from?
- What motivates the individual hunters?
- Why does the planet look the way it does?
It was then expressed that the developers love the backstory as well and that there are already many details hidden in the game – and not all of them have been found yet.
There are certain dialogues that only play when a specific hunter group looks at a very specific object on a specific map – and is not in combat with the monster. They definitely see this as an area for improvement. Most players enjoy the dialogues that are played within the landing ships, but very few know about the conversations that are only present on the surface of Shear.
Pricing and DLCs
At TurtleRock, the pricing structure and publication policy of the DLCs were also seen as a problem, but they emphasized that this was entirely in the hands of 2K. For this reason, the developers held back a little, probably to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes – but they are confident that 2K has learned from the past months and will make appropriate changes. The prices for the DLCs have already been reduced, and this is likely to continue in the future.
Satisfaction with the Free Weekend
The developers are particularly satisfied with the impact of the Free Weekend. Numerous players stated, “If only I had played Evolve earlier. The ratings online put me off, but the game is much better than I thought it would be.” In general, the developers are very proud of their game and believe it has the potential to be taken off the shelf by friend groups for years to come to play a few rounds – because Evolve is fun and the type of fun is timeless.
Anyone who has not yet been tempted to try Evolve should consider the current offer on Steam – the base version now costs only €15 and the “Monster Race” edition, with all previous DLC characters, costs €30.
