Hunt: Showdown's new map has banks, saloons, a quarry, and a mansion with a blood fountain
"We know it's been a long time coming, and we appreciate your patience"
There's a new map available on Hunt: Showdown's PC test servers.
DeSalle is the game's first new virtual playground for three years, and is expected to join existing maps Still Water Bayou and Lawson Delta later this summer (or Q3, if you're in the southern hemisphere).
"So, what awaits you in DeSalle?" the Crytek team teases in a new blog post. "DeSalle is designed to bring you a wide range of new gameplay possibilities and experiences. It brings a new foreboding autumnal theme to the bayou and 16 distinct new areas, bringing together two sprawling urban towns, plus industrial and farmyard areas."
The new map reportedly "combines a lot of the forest and vegetation from Still Water Bayou and many of the interconnected compounds and boss fight areas from Lawson Delta" in a bid to offer more approaches and routes to mix up the gameplay. It also "brings a lot more verticality to play as well, with plenty of areas for you to take the high ground".
There's also farms, saloons, banks, churches and more to explore, as well as a prison, watermill, a large quarry, coal mine, and a "creepy mansion" complete with a blood fountain.
"This is a big release for us, and a lot of work goes into the creation, design, and balancing of a map," the update adds. "We know it's been a long time coming, and we appreciate your patience. Now it's over to you – we can't wait to see you securing bounties in DeSalle, and we look forward to all of your feedback."
ICYMI, an "unannounced AAA project" is in the works at Crysis and Hunt: Showdown studio Crytek, and a job listing suggest it's a first-person shooter sandbox.
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We first reported on Crytek's next game back in September last year, but we had little to share beyond a list of job titles, none of which indicated the type of game seemingly in development. This time there were ten listings for Crytek's Frankfurt HQ dedicated to the unannounced game, but it's the ones for game designer and senior game designer that ask for applicants with "a deep passion for gaming, preferably FPS sandbox games".
"Hunt: Showdown is one of the best co-op experiences in some time, but the game relies on people to populate the servers in its distinct blend of PvPvE, and if those people aren’t there, it makes for a very off-kilter game," we explained in a feature last year.
Here are all the new games of 2021 (and beyond).
Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.