On May 7th, the new PvP game Hood: Outlaws & Legends was launched in Early Access. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch tried the game yesterday. While he found it very enjoyable right away, there are still two major criticisms that must be addressed.
What is Hood? In this new PvEvP game, two rival gangs of 4 players each try to steal a treasure from the state and bring it to their own village, just as Robin Hood robbed the rich in the legends.
Specifically, players must steal the key to the treasure chamber from the Sheriff, a powerful NPC, find and open the treasure chamber, and then take the treasure to a location from which it can be transported. However, many NPCs and, of course, the opposing player team will hinder them.
How is the game? I have now spent nearly 5 hours with the game and had many fun rounds. I was particularly impressed by the fast-paced action with the combat system and the many strategic options surrounding capture points and the various tasks in the game.
Unfortunately, I also immediately identified 2 major weaknesses that the developers should definitely work on. But one step at a time.
You can also watch a video presentation of Hood by our colleagues from GameStar:
Complete Overwhelm at the Beginning, Steep Learning Curve in Match 3
How is the introduction to Hood? Hood starts with a tutorial that you must complete and cannot skip. In doing so, you learn the important basics, such as taking out enemies and the general gameplay mechanics surrounding keys and treasure chests.
The really cool part is that you get to play the role of all 4 playable characters:
- Robin is an archer and can instantly kill enemies with a fully charged headshot
- Marianne is the hunter and can become invisible and directly assassinate enemies
- Tooke is a mystic and can heal allies
- John is the melee fighter and can become quite tanky for a certain period of time
In a match, it can be beneficial to use each character at least once, as each provides special bonuses. John, for example, can lift gates with brute force, while Robin is particularly good at providing visibility. However, it is also possible for all 4 team members to use the same character.
The First Match: I started my first round together with 3 friends in voice chat, and of course, we all played a different character. As a ranger/hunter main in MMORPGs, I of course chose Robin as my character.
At that point, we all had no experience with the game. Accordingly, the first round went chaos.
One of my friends, who played the mystic Tooke, ran straight ahead and beat up the first villager he saw. As a result, the entire village raised the alarm, and we first had to beat up all the NPCs instead of carefully sneaking toward the castle. That was by far the dumbest thing we did that evening.
While we were still fighting with the NPCs, the opposing team was already in the castle and had stolen the key from the Sheriff, which caused panic among us.
However, we were also so overwhelmed by the map that, despite the large glowing indications of where the key is located, we couldn’t really catch up with the enemies. In the heat of the battle, our John also dropped the gate too early, which decapitated our Marianne. Bad luck!
Fortunately, there is a respawn timer of a few seconds and various spawn points on the map that can be captured. By the way, we only really noticed those in round 3; before that, we always respawned in the village at the bottom end of the map.
In our efforts to get across the map to the enemy player group, we attracted the attention of dozens of NPCs who gradually took apart our group. I still somehow reached the opponents and even secured a kill, but then round 1 was already lost.
Steep Learning Curve and Lots of Fun from Action-Packed Fights
How did the next rounds go? Always better. We achieved a victory in match 2 – but it was a dirty one.
At the end of a round, you have to use a winch to get the treasure onto your own boat. It’s just a shame if you get killed right then. Because that way we could use the winch directly and steal the treasure that the opponents almost brought us.
The longer we played, the more we started to develop tactics and run across the map together with a plan. We captured the spawn points or managed to steal the key first.
One of the most important learnings for us was to always drop the treasure close to its original respawn point. Because even if the enemies control all other capture points, you still have a relatively short distance to run.
How do the fights proceed? Hood relies on a very action-packed combat system. So you need to aim precisely with your attacks. There is also the possibility to block and dodge with a jump.
With the many NPCs and other players, things can get really action-packed and chaotic at times. However, if you want, you can approach the situation in a stealthy and tactical way with Marianne’s assassinations or Robin’s headshots. Both work without any issues.
Isn’t the gameplay eventually predictable? Possible, although after 5 hours and about 10 matches, I can say that the developers at least put some thought into it:
- There are different maps that are sometimes very differently structured
- In each match, the Sheriff, from whom you need to steal the key, follows a different route
- The treasure chamber is always located in a different place
This has already provided a lot of variety in the early rounds of Hood. You can learn more about variety in the game in our developer interview: In Hood: Outlaws and Legends, heists don’t go as planned – and that’s good.
Major Problems in Matchmaking and Balance
What wasn’t so good about Hood? Even in my first match, I noticed the poor matchmaking. We were four players, all at level 2, which you automatically reach when leaving the tutorial. However, in round 1 we encountered players of levels 37, 20, 14, and 2. No wonder we hopelessly went under.
With higher levels, you unlock new talents for the playable characters. Therefore, it is twice as annoying when experienced players are matched up with beginners.
In the rounds that followed, we faced enemies of levels 20, 30, and even 45. To give some context: after 5 hours, I’m at level 19, while a colleague leveled up a bit faster through more kills and key captures. Nevertheless, these players must have had at least 8 hours played, while for us, it was the very first round.
The second major flaw for me is the balance. This particularly affects the character John, who is extremely valuable to the team by opening gates and simultaneously becomes nearly unkillable for a brief period through his ultimate ability.
However, I see hope here that the developers will intervene quickly.
Matches without voice are less enjoyable: After my first rounds with friends in voice chat, I have now also played 3 matches without them. And they were hardly enjoyable.
Because the precise agreements on who goes where and where the opponents are can theoretically be carried out with the in-game markers, but this was far too seldom utilized by my teammates. All 3 rounds were somehow lackluster, and if I had played like that, I probably would not have been so enthusiastic about Hood.
I must admit that this is not necessarily a problem that Hood: Outlaws & Legends has exclusively. Coordination is essential in other PvP games as well. But especially here, where sneaking and ambushing can be employed, I immediately noticed the lack of communication.
So if you want to play Hood, I recommend doing it with a good group in voice chat.
Conclusion: A Great Fun, Even Though Issues are Still Noticeable
After about 5 hours of gameplay, I can say that I had a lot of fun with Hood: Outlaws & Legends. Rarely has an entry been so chaotic while simultaneously motivating me to do better next time. I personally just love the setting, the beautiful graphics, and the idea of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Robin Hood is such an iconic figure that still ignites the imagination today.
Hood convinced me especially through the action-packed fights and the beautiful graphics. The castles and environments look incredibly beautiful.
In my opinion, the game currently has clear weaknesses in matchmaking and class balance. Additionally, my colleague Benedict Grothaus reports connection issues with the game, especially when he is the host. However, I personally could not confirm this.
Personally, I see myself playing Hood primarily with my friends. Playing alone did not engage me as much because the agreements and strategies were not clear. The nearly 30 euros that Hood costs on Steam was worth it to me already.
Alexander Leitsch
MMORPG expert at MeinMMO
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