A Combination Between Battle Royale and MOBA In This New Title Hunter’s Arena.

With the end of the recently Games Developer Conference, we now know more and more about the upcoming games of the smaller game studios. One notable mentioned will be Hunter’s Arena, the first installment of the indie Korean studio Mantisco. Developed using Unreal Engine 4, the game is a PvP title with a variety of modes. However, during the convection, there was not enough space to show the core Battle Royale aspect of the game. Instead, Mantisco only showed a playable version of the game with a one on one tag team mode. The followings are some important factors from the observation from the game:

• Hunter’s Arena was formerly known by the name Project W, which was initially developed in June 2017. Full-scale development only started far later in August 2018. Beginning as an indie studio, Mantisco has since then grown to 42 strong.
• The game was crafted utilizing the Unreal Engine 4, which will be released firstly on Steam and later Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 platform. A localization for mobile phone will also be underway, however, it remains unclear whether a cross-platform play will be available for the game.
• The game is described to be a combination between two popular genres which are Battle Royale and MOBA.

• As for the Battle Royale aspect, the game main map is said to able to contain 50 players, the size of the map will approximately be half the size of the Sanhok map in PUBG. This is probably not going to be a big concern for Hunter’s Arena, as the game’s action will most likely be close quarters combats. There are no long-ranged characters found in the game yet.
• And for the MOBA aspect of the game, in-game players can hunt for monsters in order to become stronger. Moreover, they can be stealthy by hiding on bushes. All in all, the game might have some similarities to that of the Shadow Arena in Black Desert Online with some different features, for example, party and dungeon play.
• To further explain the MOBA part of the game, there will be mob spawns similar to that of many MOBA games which grant players with experience points, as the more difficult monster will give player equipment. As for raids and dungeon, they will demand teams to complete. In short, it is a map with a variety of activities happening.

• There is not much to say about the aspect of Battle Royale, however, Mantisco studio claims there will be transport mechanics that will do more than just taking people around the map.
• As mentioned above, for demonstrating the Battle Royale aspect of the game, it will take 15 people to do so according to the studio. However, it was not a possibility during the Games Developer Conference because there was not enough space.
• Therefore, the only thing that was demonstrated during the Conference was the game’s combat mechanics and graphics, which were the aspect that Mantisco takes most pride in.
• It is stated on Korean media that Hunter Arena’s combat feels similar to that of Tekken’s mechanics with the floating and juggling combos. Moreover, successful hits and blocks sequences will result in the ultimate skill action.

• The developers are currently dealing with 15 characters, however, the team only aims to have a more realistic 8 characters to launch this year. This may seem a bit insufficient compared to the 50 players out there. Nevertheless, we hope to find out more about this from Mantisco later.
• Three game modes will be available in the game, which is the PVE (Person Versus Environment), Tag Team, and Battle Royale.
• PVE can be described to be a mode where players have to defeat constant rounds and waves of monsters.
• According to Mantisco, the game can be experienced with a gamepad, however, it is best to enjoy the game by a mouse and keyboard. The game’s default mechanics will share some similarities with that of League of Legends.

• Different from other Battle Royale games, Hunter’s Arena focused on close quarters combats, in which players can find difficulties in starting a fight. Mantisco has come up with a way to counter this by providing players with bushes to hide and make surprise attacks or simply jump off a cliff to ambush another passing player.
• Hunter’s Arena is set to launch on Steam, however, it is unclear whether Mantisco has confirmed a business model or not. Closed Beta Tests and Focus Group Test will begin in South Korea from April.