Is Hunt: Showdown Single Player?

As an avid Hunt player and games writer, one of the most common questions I see is "can you play Hunt: Showdown solo?" While Hunt is focused as a hardcore multiplayer experience, I‘m here to breakdown everything you need to know about playing alone in this brutal supernatural shooter.

Viability of Solo Play in Main Modes

Hunt‘s two primary gameplay modes technically support queuing up alone:

Bounty Hunt

• Core mode, pits solo players and teams against each other to kill bosses, banish souls, and extract with bounties
• Can queue solo or toggle privacy setting to "solo" with random teammates
• Very challenging as a solo – expected to fight coordinated duos and trios
• But definitely viable with proper preparation and strategy:

• Play stealthily, reposition often
• Bring compact ammo rifles and silenced sidearms
• Use traps, tripwires liberally to defend bounties
• Extract early and avoid unnecessary fights when carrying tokens

• Per Steamcharts, average concurrent players is 20k, indicating healthy matchmaking pools

Quickplay

• Faster paced mode designed specifically for solo players
• Scavenge for weapons on map, activate Wellspring, then defend position as swarm approaches
• Wins earn Hunter XP and cash payouts based on length of defense
• Much more viable solo since all players are on their own

So while the odds are stacked against you without a coordinated team watching your back, it‘s certainly possible to extraction treasures and trophies alone if you play your cards right.

Trials: Finally, Actual Single Player Content

One welcome addition for solo hunters is Trials – scripted PvE missions focused on engaging in combat against waves of AI enemies.

As a games journalist and Hunt evangelist, I‘ve been asking for PvE content for years to provide a change of pace from the high-stakes PvPvE standard modes. Trials delivers exactly that – no more frustrating server wipes from unseen assassins, just good ol‘ monster hunting fun.

The only downside is Trial offerings are still quite limited – only a couple short challenges unlocked so far during special events. However, now that the framework is in place, I‘m optimistic the Hunt team continues expanding missions in future updates.

PvE content attracts more casual players, which benefits the growth of PvP player pools, so enabling friends to squad up against AI demons seems like an obvious win. Fingers crossed for more substantial PvE additions soon!

How Hunt Compares to Other Multiplayer Hunting Games

Within the niche hunting genre, Hunt stands out for its dark supernatural setting and particularly unforgiving old west survival mechanics. But how does its solo experience stack against key competitors?

Against other supernatural battle royales, I believe Hunt still provides the most grounded, skill-based survival experience even when going solo. Gunplay and positioning trumps overly RPG mechanics or zany weapons – exactly the hardcore challenge I look for!

Tips for Lone Wolf Players

For those willing to brave the Bayou alone, here are my top 5 tips for effective solo play based on hundreds of hours mastering Hunt:

1. Sound traps – Place alert tripwires around lair approaches
2. Lower profile – Crouch walk often, stay off roads
3. Hit & run – Don‘t get greedy chasing downs or long fights
4. Escape routes – Have multiple extract plans, don‘t get cornered
5. Adapt gear – Run more traps, less shotguns than trios

Learning maps inside and out is also critical – use Trials to practice combat tactics too!

At the end of the day, playing Hunt solo is an immense challenge – but that‘s exactly the appeal for me and many other dedicated players. Overcoming the odds of this ruthless frontier with nothing but my wits, aim and blood-stained steel… that‘s true glory!