I’ll absolutely admit that I’ve become incredibly skeptical of any game’s hype revolving around comparisons to Dark Souls in any way, and in the indie space that’s with good reason. Being honest, I’ve run into that attempt at a comparison far too many times when the game is simply poorly made and functionally bordering on unplayable, so they’ve attempted to slap that label on it in the hopes of it being an excuse. That said, there thankfully have also been those who use it more appropriately, just announcing that they can be challenging, and in the case of Hunt the Night I’d consider that to be the case.

This is an action-adventure game played from a top-down perspective that will absolutely challenge you, though it’s also good at lulling you into a false sense of confidence at times. Starting out it’s absolutely a bit rough going, as you have quite a lot to familiarize yourself with, whether that’s making use of your varied offensive capabilities, some alternative weapon choices, or simply the attack patterns of stock enemies that can be surprisingly lethal if you’re not careful. The fact that you’ve got a number of melee weapons to choose from, each with their own style, as well as a limited-use ranged weapon does at least help to make combat more fun overall. With that in mind, the good news is that though your initial health, and the opportunities to heal when you make mistakes, is limited, you will likely start to be more effective. That won’t prepare you well for the game’s boss battles though, which you can absolutely expect to struggle with, as you come to understand their attack patterns and how best to capitalize on opportunities without putting yourself at risk.

Aside from the difficulty, which can be a bit all over the place at times, there are some other areas that could have used a bit more work. I do appreciate some periodic puzzles, and the fact that the answers to some of them are hidden in the lore from feathers you’ll be able to discover, but they feel under-utilized and could have helped break things up a little more. Another issue I had was with simply figuring out where to go, since in some cases you’ll need to take a leap of faith to make progress, knowing that if you miss or haven’t found a way forward at all, that you’ll take damage that you can’t afford to suffer. All that said, if you’ve been looking for an older-school style action-adventure that will get you gritting your teeth at times, this does fit the bill.