Respawn Monday #10: Mistfall Hunter is an Extraction Soulslike Gem
Last week was a big surprise for me as all week was mostly me enjoying the extraction action RPG Mistfall Hunter through PC Game Pass. With no prior knowledge about the game, but with an interest in anything extraction, I jumped in with few expectations and left the weekend with the need to play as much as I can. Some thoughts.
Extraction Soulslike done right?
When Dark and Darker was introduced, many flocked to the concept as a high fantasy action RPG where you can lose all of your gear if you die or fail to extract in a match. It was challenging, but too frustrating to find actual progress, and the combat is too stiff to get that satisfying feeling when fighting either a player or the PVE content scattered in each map.
Mistfall Hunter is an extraction action RPG without the issues found in Dark and Darker. It looks and runs smoothly, combat is actually fun to engage and master, and the progression isn't crippling as I feel like I'm moving forward despite some of the losses.
It's a solid balance felt almost immediately in my first day with the game. The gameplay loop pushes me to play more, and the auction house and the many vendors can be upgraded for access to more features and gear. Over 20 hours in, I still see goals I'm hoping to complete, items I want to grab, and challenges I hope to overcome as there are bosses that I have yet to beat.
Mistfall is a premium product wrapped in Free-to-play features
The biggest issue that could be a problem in the long run is the systems attached to the game. The blacksmith can create gear for you if you have the right materials, but you have to wait two real-life hours for it to complete. It's something you'd see in free-to-play games like Warframe, where crafting requires you to wait.
Another system is their take on safe pockets, an inventory slot where, if you die in a match, you won't lose the item stored in it. By default, every player has one slot, but can be given a second or third slot when equipping a better safe pocket, and these pockets, when activated, will only be available for the player for a limited time. For example, I got a voucher to use the safe pocket with two slots for just three real-time days. There's even a scavenger system that lets you send a scavenger team out to get items for you, and they usually go back in two hours.
These are just some of the many systems and concepts you'd expect from a free-to-play game, and it's weird to see as this is a premium product as the game costs $25, or PHP 799 for those in the Philippines. It's effective as I log in to get things set, and it makes things more accessible; it's just an awkward feeling of practices that push players to engage or even spend in a premium product.
So far, it's not pay-to-win, but I could be wrong as I've only been playing since launch.
Will share more in the coming days or even weeks, but so far Mistfall Hunter is surprisingly good for what it is. I only tried one of the six playable characters, which each have their own playstyle I wish to explore. I'm also curious about how much content the game has as it only features two maps with different difficulty options. We'll see how much meat these two spaces have in the long run.
About the Author - Carlos Hernandez
Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.
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