The “Evacuation” Campaign and Its Game Modes
If you want to play for a longer time with or against a fixed team, you should take on the campaign mode of Evolve. Here, 5 maps with different modes are played one after the other. It always starts with “Hunt,” meaning the hunting described above, but the second match will be a different mode.
In “Nest,” the hunters must destroy 6 eggs within 10 minutes, and the monster must prevent this. In “Rescue,” the team needs to find and evacuate a total of 5 wounded civilians before the monster can kill 5 of them.
The last map is always “Defend.” The hunters must protect 3 generators in turn, while the Stage 3 monster must destroy them. The creature is supported by small Goliaths that spawn every 30 seconds. To balance this out, the hunters cannot die permanently here but respawn after 40 seconds with the drop ship.
All the mentioned game modes are exciting and varied, but they don’t entertain as much as the “Hunt” – it is simply the heart of the game, and the entire atmosphere thrives on this mode.
Map Advantages and Autobalance
“Evacuation” also offers some more special features. The winning faction of a round receives an advantage in the next match. If the hunters win on the map “the dam,” the facility is put into operation, and electric fences limit the area for the monster player in the next mission.
If the monster destroys the dam, the next map is flooded and filled with carnivorous fish, which pose further dangers for the hunters. Overall, there are 40 of these advantages and disadvantages, some of which are really amusing, while others hardly weigh in.
[intense_blockquote color=”#ffffff” font_color=”#f24343″ width=”30%” rightalign=”1″]No matter how you look at it, the “autobalance” function has too much impact.
In contrast, however, is the game’s “autobalancing.” To compensate for unfair matchmaking, the game adjusts the strength of both factions based on the ongoing campaign. If the monster has won twice in a row, it will be significantly weaker in the third round and deal less damage – even though it benefits from the “map bonus” from the previous round. While this system ensures that even significantly inferior teams can celebrate successes, it is a thorn in the side for most. Why should I win all 4 starting rounds just to deal only 50% damage in the final?
Many players intentionally lose one or two rounds to avoid losing because of the Autobalance in the end. This is demotivating and incredibly annoying. Furthermore, it is simply absurd when even a Stage 3 Goliath cannot beat anyone in close combat because the Medic can easily heal against it. No matter how you look at it, the “autobalance” feature has too much impact.
The Single-Player Mode
Yes, Evolve can be played alone. Is it fun? Definitely no, at least not longer than an hour. Maybe I’m leaning a bit too far out of the window because I have mostly played multiplayer, but playing against bots is hardly enjoyable.
When playing the monster, it is incredibly easy to lead the computer opponents around by the nose. Only the bot of the support “Hank” is quite usable, as he shields his teammates faster than the human eye can see. Otherwise, you can clearly notice the programming weaknesses of the colleague bots. They blindly run into every trap, shoot at the monster when it flees (which only speeds it up), and overall act rather foolishly when it comes to using their abilities.
The AI of the monster, however, is reasonably solid but does not really convince either. It stealths even when you shoot at it and rarely utilizes the tactical advantages of its surroundings. But to be honest: Who expected anything else from Evolve? The focus is on the multiplayer mode, and it is much better done.
I will only fire up the single-player mode when I want to quickly achieve some mastery on a specific hunter – because all progress is transferred to online matches.
