Delightfully stressful experience!

[jolynsbass]

I just completed my first Bear hunt challenge (where the bear hunts *me* - 2nd attempt, 1st completion). Man, it was intense! I survived about a half dozen maulings, barely by the skin of my teeth, for example: having just been attacked for the second time by the bear, coming up with 5% health, sprinting for the nearest shelter, trying to avoid a nearby wolf, literally freezing to death, out of water and badly dehydrated, stumbling through the farmhouse door with a scant 2% condition remaining, trying to find the nearest toilet to guzzle water from, to keep from dying! It was so much fun! I really didn't know if I'd make it - By the time I reached mystery lake, I'd used all my flare gun shots long ago, and all the hand-held flares, and was down to a half-burned torch as a last defense. Pathetic, really. When I saw the Trapper's Homestead, I was so excited I'd finally made it. What a super fun challenge, and really difficult (especially for someone who is less familiar with Pleasant Valley than all of the other maps...)

The constant stress of having to look around and be hyper-vigilant for an incoming bear attack was really intense and very enjoyable on a deep level. I found myself relying on a totally different set of character skills - repairs were super important, fire starting was not, sprinting and tiredness management was very important (much more than usual).

The only way it could have been better would be to let the player actually shoot that rotten man-eating beast! If not "in-game", then a little cut-scene or animation/picture of the bear laid down and the player standing triumphantly with smoking rifle in hand... It would add a stronger sense of closure to a wonderfully desperate bid for survival. Even without that though, definitely fun - I will be trying this challenge again and again!

Kudos to Hinterland for their great development on this excellent game!

[Patrick Carlson]

On 5/29/2016 at 10:39 PM, jolynsbass said:

I just completed my first Bear hunt challenge (where the bear hunts *me* - 2nd attempt, 1st completion). Man, it was intense! I survived about a half dozen maulings, barely by the skin of my teeth, for example: having just been attacked for the second time by the bear, coming up with 5% health, sprinting for the nearest shelter, trying to avoid a nearby wolf, literally freezing to death, out of water and badly dehydrated, stumbling through the farmhouse door with a scant 2% condition remaining, trying to find the nearest toilet to guzzle water from, to keep from dying! It was so much fun! I really didn't know if I'd make it - By the time I reached mystery lake, I'd used all my flare gun shots long ago, and all the hand-held flares, and was down to a half-burned torch as a last defense. Pathetic, really. When I saw the Trapper's Homestead, I was so excited I'd finally made it. What a super fun challenge, and really difficult (especially for someone who is less familiar with Pleasant Valley than all of the other maps...)

The constant stress of having to look around and be hyper-vigilant for an incoming bear attack was really intense and very enjoyable on a deep level. I found myself relying on a totally different set of character skills - repairs were super important, fire starting was not, sprinting and tiredness management was very important (much more than usual).

The only way it could have been better would be to let the player actually shoot that rotten man-eating beast! If not "in-game", then a little cut-scene or animation/picture of the bear laid down and the player standing triumphantly with smoking rifle in hand... It would add a stronger sense of closure to a wonderfully desperate bid for survival. Even without that though, definitely fun - I will be trying this challenge again and again!

Kudos to Hinterland for their great development on this excellent game!

Thanks for letting us know how the challenge went for you. Nice work! Interesting to hear as well how the objective made you rely on some different character skills. As for taking down the angry bear, keep an eye out for The Hunted: Part Two.

 

[Nasdaq401]

3 hours ago, Patrick Carlson said:

Thanks for letting us know how the challenge went for you. Nice work! Interesting to hear as well how the objective made you rely on some different character skills. As for taking down the angry bear, keep an eye out for The Hunted: Part Two.

 

Part two you say! !!!!

[jolynsbass]

6 hours ago, Patrick Carlson said:

The Hunted: Part Two.

 

Part two! Sounds awesome!

Update: I tried it again, and was able to complete the challenge in 4 days, 4 hours. I managed to get mauled (again) only 1 time, though at one point I was dashing into a cabin, with the bear so hot on my heels as to allow him to gouge me as I slammed the door shut on his paw! Intense! I really like how sometimes the bear is scared off by a flare, sometimes he seems to be waiting patiently for it to burn out so he can devour you, and at other times he just says "That looks too tasty to back down - Rrrawrrr!" and then he charges you and chews on your abdomen, ignoring your pathetic protests of "I had a flare!"

Another fun aspect of the challenge is the way you think about weight (or at least the way *I* do, in the challenge.) In opposition to ordinary sandbox mode, where I frequently go a bit over the carrying limit, not minding a slightly slower speed in order to carry that last bit of deer meat, the bear hunting me relentlessly causes me to try and discard all less critical items to keep weight low, so that as I am sprinting often/tiring out, I won't lose speed as quickly from being overburdened as my max carry limit drops from the increasing fatigue.

There is nothing quite like the constantly mounting tension as you pass several minutes without seeing the bear, knowing that at any moment, he could come charging around that next rock, with barely a moment for you to react. Absolutely loving it! Looking very much forward to "Part Two!"

[Dahoset]

i dont play enough to know all the map so i tried at least 10 times before i survive this challenge 

it s a really great experience  Jolynsbass say it vrey well

but i was really really really frustrate when i open the door ...and i win thas all ..

i thought i ll have to shoot down the bear ...at least put a cut scene or anything else  

thx fo the game

[jolynsbass]

6 hours ago, Dahoset said:

i thouht i ll have to shoot down the bear ...

Sounds like we may be doing that very thing in "The Hunted: Part Two" challenge mentioned by one of devs above... So, getting to the cabin is just the first step. I hope we don't have too long to wait before we can finally give that bear what's coming to him!

[MueckE]

In a positive way, i am pretty jealous reading your post   It is like it should be, like if the intention for the challenge is fullfilled, and thats great. When i read the describtion of the challenge i instantly was thinking about how to do it very fast, so i didnt had this nice and intense feeling you discribed. In my first run, i made it in 1 day and a few hours and i didnt see the bear at all after leaving the basement. In all other runs i made it in under 15 hours and almost never saw the bear / had to use the flare gun / never was attacked. Now i am a little bit afraid the same will happen in the hunted part two. I guess it will be something like: Go from Trapper's to ... (DP?) and finally kill the bear. So i already know the best way, places to rest on the way, best spots to savely kill the bear and so on .... I still will have fun with it - but not in the way you have. So thank you for sharing this