Mistfall Hunter Review - Dark Fantasy Extraction ARPG

Mistfall Hunter is the latest PvPvE extraction game with a twist. It was developed by Bellring Games, an independent studio based in Hong Kong, but instead of being an FPS like most extraction games are, Mistfall Hunter is set in a dark fantasy Nordic setting with action RPG gameplay, bringing a fresh take on the extraction genre. If you are an ARPG player who is curious about the PvPvE element of extraction shooters, read on to find out our initial impressions on the game.

Key Takeaways

• Dark-fantasy ARPG twist on extraction: class-based third-person combat replaces FPS formula.
• Combat is weighty and visceral, six distinct classes; skill/talent builds let you respec freely.
• Limited maps and QoL gaps; PvPvE ambushes frustrate, but stable servers and cosmetics-only shop.

Story and Settings

Being a multiplayer-centric game, there aren't a whole lot of story elements, but the game does set up the world and why you are there. It's set in a world where the old gods have fallen and the threads of fate themselves have been severed, giving rise to the Gyldenmist that spreads madness and corruption across the lands.

Players take on the role of a Glydhunter, who is a resurrected warrior unbound by fate, scouring the lands corrupted by the Glydenmyst to collect the blood of gods in order to heal the world. It is a simple premise that serves its purpose of providing players with a battleground where they can fight each other and loot to their heart’s content.

Gameplay

The game starts with choosing your class and creating your own character. While there are multiple presets you can choose from, you can also customize your appearance. Even though the customization options are not the most in-depth, there are still some options to choose from.

Like most extraction games, Mistfall Hunter’s primary gameplay loop consists of upgrading your home base, equipping yourself with the best gear available, going out to explore a map to find better materials, using them to upgrade your base to access even better gear, and repeating. The core gameplay loop remains the same here, and the main difference is in the type of game the extraction aspect is now centered around.

Exploration

While the game currently offers only two maps to explore, each map is decently large with multiple points of interest, and due to the nature of the game, you will need multiple runs to fully explore a map. Each map has several objectives that players can complete to gain rare and valuable loot, and these can range from going to a certain area and interacting with an object to killing certain enemies.

Since these objectives can only be completed by one player or one squad per match, it is generally a race and those are the points where you are most likely to encounter other players. Each map also has multiple elite enemies that players can take down to gain loot of higher rarity and a Myst Lord, which is the ultimate challenge for a particular map.

Combat

Mistfall Hunter aims to provide fast-paced third-person action RPG combat combined with the action and excitement of an extraction game, and it delivers a solid experience. With six different classes with their own unique playstyles, the game offers stamina- and cooldown-based, visceral, intense combat where a precisely timed hit with a combo or a perfect dodge will determine the difference between going home with a good haul or losing everything you have on you.

While the classes and weapons are what you’ve come to expect from a medieval fantasy action game with swords and sorcery, with each class locked to specific weapon types, they allow players to have different and unique playstyles between individuals. For example, the Blackarrow class is a fully ranged class centered around using arrows, while the Warrior uses either a hammer or a sword and shield, which revolves around close-ranged melee combat.

Both the melee and ranged weapons have a standard attack combined with multiple skill slots where you can equip a number of different skills. While the combat of the ranged attacks mainly boils down to using your different ranged attacks and then managing your dodges and stamina to stay out of the reach of your opponent, the combat shines, especially with the melee classes.

For example, the Withered Knight class, which uses Greatswords and a Polearm with a Shield for its weapons, has two different weapon types that focus on different playstyles. Playing with the Greatsword puts an emphasis on chaining together your skills into a combo to deliver swift and devastating attacks, and the Polearm and Shield rely more heavily on blocking incoming attacks and using super armor to counterattack during openings.

The combat feels satisfying, especially when you win a duel against another player who is also using a melee class, and you crossed steel and were left standing, the victor. While there is undoubtedly a noticeable amount of jankiness to some of the interactions between players or between the player and the enemy, the combat feels hefty, weighty, and delivers a satisfying experience.

Skills and Talents

Outside of classes and weapons, players can further differentiate their playstyles through the skill and talent trees. While it's not a sprawling one filled with tons of options by any means, each class has access to multiple different types of skills they can equip. With each weapon type having up to only three skill slots, players can choose the ones that fit their playstyle most, and this allows unique player expression even when two players are using the same class with the same weapon types.

The talent tree allows players to specialize in a particular playstyle even further by giving upgrades to certain skills that will change the way a player uses a certain class, such as choosing between different types of magic for the sorcerer class or different types of bonuses following a block using the shield.

Since the talent points can be redistributed at any time without the need for additional resources, it gives players room for experimentation and to find the best playstyle that fits each person individually.

Base Management

Outside of combat, once you have successfully escaped, you return to your humble base complete with most of the features you have come to expect from an extraction game. This is where you will store and manage the loot you have collected, upgrade and repair your gear or forge new ones, and buy and sell materials. There is also an auction house where you can either find rare materials needed to upgrade your base or sell surplus ones. This is also where you will find Dew, the Fategoddess, whom you need to talk to in order to level up and gain more skill and talent points.

Enemy Variety

Being a multiplayer game, without a doubt your biggest challenge will be when you’re fighting against other players, but Mistfall Hunter does have a decent amount of enemy variety, ranging from undead such as Draugr to beastmen such as Lizardmen and Harpies. While the two maps only offer a limited number of enemy types, they do provide different challenges with their variety of move sets and attacks.

Designs, Visual, and Audio

In terms of graphical design, although the game isn’t the best-looking by today’s standards, it looks decent, especially considering this is a multiplayer game. The art style helps it stand out from other ARPGs to a certain extent, but you will not be surprised by the things you see.

Audio design can either make or break an extraction game, as it is an important way of getting information, and the audio in Mistfall Hunter does a solid job. The sounds of your strikes and spells sound satisfying, which helps with the overall feel of the combat. While you’re out exploring, you can also clearly hear the footsteps and any sounds of fighting that might be happening in your immediate vicinity.

Overall Experience and Impressions

Being an extraction RPG, your experience will vary, as there are a lot of variables. You can have games where you barely run into another player and just fight the various types of enemies, or you may run into multiple PvP fights in a session. Being a PvPvE game, there is always a risk of another player ambushing you while you are fighting a boss, and such instances can be really frustrating.

That is all part of the extraction genre experience, though, and for Mistfall Hunter, the experience, for the most part, has been combat on sight. No jolly cooperation. The servers have been stable during my playthrough, and I didn't run into any connectivity issues, but there have been some issues regarding server location if Steam reviews are anything to go by.

Also, the game follows the traditional extraction loop of collecting different resources to upgrade different aspects of your base; it does not have any means of tracking specific resources. While this is not a game-breaking feature (or lack of), it did leave me wanting more quality-of-life features, especially when compared to other games of the same genre.

Another point to note is that the game does have an in-game shop where it sells items, but these are purely cosmetic in nature, and they do not affect your gameplay in any way. For the entry fee of 25.99 USD for the standard edition and 39.99 for the deluxe edition, which includes cosmetics, Mistfall Hunter provides a PvPvE extraction experience for the ARPG fans.

While it is not breaking any ground or bringing anything new to the genre, it is worth checking out if you are an action RPG player who has been wondering what the “extraction shooters” are all about, or you're simply curious about how an extraction game based around third-person action ARPG gameplay would work. But if you weren’t interested in “extraction looters” in the first place, Mistfall Hunter won’t be changing your mind anytime soon.