Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Hunter: The Reckoning – Wayward delivers a tight, action-oriented experience that thrusts players into the beleaguered town of Ashcroft. Right from the opening moments, you’re thrust into the heart of the undead infestation, balancing melee combat, ranged firepower, and supernatural Edges. The controls feel responsive, allowing you to chain attacks fluidly while keeping an eye on your ammo and Edge meter.

One or two players can team up, each selecting from five distinct Hunters. Each character offers a unique playstyle: some favor brute strength with heavy weapons, others excel in agile melee strikes or long-range marksmanship. The variety encourages experimentation and replayability, as you’ll want to see how different combinations handle the relentless cultists and shambling dead.

Edges—special powers tied to each Hunter—add another strategic layer. Whether you unleash a burst of healing light, summon spectral shields, or trigger area-of-effect blasts, mastering these abilities is key to surviving tougher encounters. Charging and timing your Edges becomes a thrilling risk-reward cycle, especially when you’re surrounded by hordes of undead.

The pacing of missions strikes a satisfying balance between intense combat arenas and quieter exploration segments. Scavenging for ammunition, discovering hidden relics, and unlocking story tidbits keep you engaged between firefights. Co-op synergy shines when one Hunter lays down suppressive fire while another delivers a devastating Edge, making every session feel dynamic and collaborative.

Graphics

Ashcroft’s gothic architecture and shadowed alleyways are rendered with impressive detail. The game’s art style leans into dark, moody palettes, casting long shadows that heighten the sense of dread. Burnt-out buildings, flickering street lamps, and scattered religious symbols evoke a town on the brink of collapse.

Character models for the five Hunters are distinct and well-animated, from their customized outfits to the way they brandish weapons. Enemy designs range from decrepit zombies with hanging flesh to cultists in ritual robes, each with unique attack patterns and visual cues that help you anticipate their moves.

Particle effects play a crucial role in combat, especially when you activate an Edge. The screen might flare with ghostly blue embers during a spirit shield or erupt in radiant white when you cleanse an area. These effects remain sharp even during chaotic battles, thanks to solid optimization across console and PC platforms.

Environmental details like stray newspapers, broken tombstones, and blood-splattered walls enrich the immersion. Nighttime lighting and dynamic weather shifts—such as sudden fog rolling through the cemetery—create atmospheric tension, ensuring each level feels lived-in and unpredictable.

Story

At its core, Wayward’s narrative is a classic struggle of light versus darkness set in Ashcroft. The town has been overrun by a malicious cult that seeks to open a portal for greater evil. You and your fellow Hunters—once touched by darkness yourselves—must wrestle back control before the undead permanently claim the streets.

Each Hunter comes with a brief but evocative backstory, from a vengeful ex-priest to a hardened ex-cop. While the game doesn’t dive into full-blown character arcs, it sprinkles in voiceovers and journal entries that reveal personal motivations, regrets, and the heavy burden of their supernatural callings.

Missions are framed as urgent responses to cult activity—purging desecrated churches, rescuing trapped civilians, or sealing rifts in reality. Between objectives, you uncover cryptic symbols and cultist diaries that gradually piece together the larger conspiracy. This layered approach keeps you invested in the mystery driving Ashcroft’s downfall.

The pacing of the story is brisk, ensuring that cutscenes and dialogue don’t stall the action. Although the narrative stops short of being a deep RPG drama, it provides just enough context and stakes to make every undead encounter feel meaningful rather than rote.

Overall Experience

Hunter: The Reckoning – Wayward strikes a compelling balance between fast-paced combat and atmospheric storytelling. The blend of melee, firearms, and supernatural Edges results in varied battles that rarely feel repetitive. Co-op adds depth, letting friends coordinate Edges in creative ways to turn the tide of difficult skirmishes.

Graphically, the game succeeds in portraying a grim, forsaken town, and technical performance remains solid across platforms. While the story isn’t revolutionary, it delivers clear motivations, memorable set pieces, and enough lore to keep players intrigued. The brisk mission design avoids padding, so you’ll rarely find yourself slogging through filler content.

Replay value is high thanks to the five Hunters and their divergent playstyles. You’ll want to revisit missions with different loadouts, try new Edge combinations, and tackle higher difficulty modes. Hidden collectibles and optional side objectives also reward thorough exploration.

For fans of cooperative action-horror and anyone seeking a bite-sized yet rich narrative, Wayward offers a satisfying package. Its straightforward progression, coupled with tense undead encounters and striking visuals, makes it an engaging choice for both solo hunters and two-player teams gearing up for battle against the darkness.

Retro Replay Score

7.1/10