Predator Hunting Grounds: PS4 Review

Predator Hunting Grounds: PS4 Review

Developed by Illfonics
Released by Sony Interactive Entertainment

Illfonics' follow up to Friday the 13th sees the studio take on another franchise.

This time it's the 80s classic Predator, and the game throws you deep in the jungle where you play either as the Predator, hunting out a target and wiping out those who stand in your way or as a fireteam tasked with various side missions and a chance to take down the predator.

But that's about it - a lack of content makes the Illfonics game feel less than the full meal - even if it is a blockbuster morsel in parts.

Multiplayer and online always, Predator Hunting Grounds really does have something to offer - but it just feels so undercooked.

Matchmaking is currently a bit choppy at best, with long waits to saddle up as the predator (upwards of 20 minutes), and up to two minutes to play on as part of a team - if you're lucky.

The thrill of playing as the Predator in the new various jungle maps is tantalising enough though. 

Set in the South American jungles, the maps can be a nicely dense affair with trees, foliage and height giving you more than enough options to help plot the demise of your enemies. And yet they are also repetitive offering very similar edges and little else new in the way of things.

Given the task of taking out a target from the guerillas infesting the jungle, the Predator uses the usual skills of heat-seeking and leaping through trees, cloaking and targeting missiles to its advantage. It's here that there is a feeling of being part of the film franchise.

The controls are simple at best, and there are some passing thrills as you execute soldiers and hunt.

Currently the game is more slanted towards the fireteam and AI Enemies are easily dispatched, making missions more like a procedural than anything else. That's not to say they're not enjoyable, it's more a feeling that they're disposable at best.

The game's sole raison d'etre appears to exist on the desire for its fans to play on as the Predator and simple grind on and level up - which only appears to unlock cosmetics and extra weapons.

While the game offers some promise, it's to be hoped there's a bit more of a post release content plan because currently, it has the potential to honour the hunter's legacy, but it's yet to be seen fully how that could remotely transpire.