Yes, You Can Play Co-op Multiplayer in Way of the Hunter
Way of the Hunter features a multiplayer mode that lets you team up with friends for thrilling cooperative hunting across expansive environments. You can explore and track animals together in sessions for up to 4 players.
An In-Depth Look at Multiplayer Gameplay
Unlike some hunting games that tack on lackluster multiplayer, Way of the Hunter designed their co-op experience to compliment the main singleplayer campaign. Serious gamers will find plenty to love about the flexibility and fun of multiplayer.
Multiplayer Progression Carries Back to Singleplayer
One of the best aspects is that your progress persists between both modes. Unlocking fast travel points, gaining cash and XP, locating need zones and more gets retained when playing multiplayer maps. This helps avoid frustrating duplication of effort.
Access to DLC Content via Host‘s Ownership
Even if you haven‘t purchased certain DLC yourself, you can utilize that extra content when playing in a session hosted by someone who owns it. This makes it easy to preview potential DLC purchases.
Multiplayer Performance & Critical Reception
In their in-depth review, IGN praised Way of the Hunter‘s multiplayer for avoiding common technical issues:
"Multiplayer performs well from a technical standpoint. Connecting to both public and private games rarely took more than 30 seconds, and I never suffered game-breaking desyncs or crashes."
Early reception from the Steam community also indicates solid multiplayer functionality:
"My friend and I tested the multiplayer yesterday and we had no technical issues at all. We could hear each other clearly and there was no lag or rubberbanding."
So while limited to 4 players maximum per session, the co-op offering seems stable and resilient based on initial feedback.
Flexible Play Options With Friends
You have control over deciding to either host your own co-op session, set a private server for just your invited friends, or take your chances on public multiplayer servers with random players. The ability to toggle private versus public adds plenty of flexibility.
Comparison of Multiplayer Options in Major Hunting Games
| Game | Co-op Player Count | Progression Saved | Flexible Server Settings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Way of the Hunter | Up to 4 | Yes | Yes |
| theHunter: Call of Wild | Up to 8 | No | Yes |
| Deer Hunter | No Co-op | N/A | N/A |
Key Tips for Multiplayer Success
Follow these proven tips from the Way of the Hunter gaming community to get the most gratifying experience:
- Unlock outposts first in singleplayer – Focus on unlocking fast travel outposts in your singleplayer save file before jumping into multiplayer. This makes return visits much simpler.
- Physically travel to host‘s location – To receive full rewards and progression, you need to physically trek over to wherever the host player currently is on the map before hunting together.
- Set server settings properly – Double check your Session Settings are configured for either Friends Only or Public depending on your preferences before finalizing.
My Take As An Avid Gamer
As someone who has put over 50 hours into the Way of the Hunter single player campaign, how does multiplayer stack up? I‘m thrilled with how seamlessly and smoothly it integrates with the core offline experience.
The ability to maintain consistent progression between modes is a huge bonus. And joining up with 3 other players to methodically track trophy animals through lush forests or over rolling prairies delivers primal excitement. Communicating to perfectly coordinate shots in tense situations gets the adrenaline pumping!
The only downside is the limit of 4 players maximum per session. With vast maps, more players could reasonably be supported. But for a first attempt at multiplayer from the studio, it surpassed my expectations with plenty of replay value to keep me engaged for months to come post-release.
Looking Ahead – What About Future Support?
In a promising display of continued support, the development team has already outlined ongoing plans for improving and building upon multiplayer:
"We are also continuously working on improving multiplayer stability and connectivity as well as adding new features and enhancements in future updates. Stay tuned!"
Forthcoming features like private multiplayer trophies and rankings may provide even deeper motivation to dive into co-op play once implemented.
So not only does Way of the Hunter deliver a polished day one multiplayer play option, but the future continues to look bright in this department as well. For gamers craving the ultimate hunting party experience, this has to be on your radar!
