I don’t think it would be unreasonable to say that there are too many multiplayer shooters out there. While they typically cover a wide range of sub-genres, regardless of whether they’re a hero shooter, competitive profanity-inducing arena shooter, or action-MMO, when too many are vying for your attention and time, it can become overwhelming. Dedicating oneself to any of these games in a serious capacity is near impossible, especially if you have even a passing interest in any other genres. So, to try to juggle them all is a futile endeavor.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It is, therefore, no surprise that so many multiplayer shooters are ultimately forgotten. From one of the most underrated hero shooters to the inarguably bad, multiplayer shooters are thrown to the wayside quicker than PlayStation can cancel its live-service titles. That was, unfortunately, the case with the criminally underrated Evolve (and its quasi-reboot, Evolve Stage 2), a game that somehow managed to pioneer a whole new type of sub-genre before being swiftly killed and left in our collective rearview mirrors. Frankly, I believe it’s time for Evolve and its unique gameplay to finally receive the recognition it deserves.
Evolve Was Ahead Of Its Time
If you’ve never heard of Evolve, don’t worry, you’re likely not alone. While reasonably popular when it was first released back in 2015, an unfortunate amount of controversy surrounding the game’s price and an unnecessary number of day-one DLC caused its player counts to plummet. By 2016, not long after the game was rebranded as the free-to-play Evolve Stage 2, its developer, Turtle Rock Studios, announced it was ending support. The servers were taken offline in 2018, brought back by fan demand in 2022, and then shuttered in 2023 for good.
Surprisingly, around Evolve’s release, its publisher, 2K, developer, and critics alike felt very strongly that not only would it be a huge success and a burgeoning esports title, but a mainstay among 2K’s impressively stacked library of IP. That was all thanks to Evolve’s unique gameplay, the key feature that not only helped it stand out among the incredibly crowded market at the time, but also what managed to enrapture me so much it became a slight obsession of mine.
The basic concept of Evolve saw four Hunters attempt to take down a Monster. Said Hunters were each unique characters with dedicated abilities and weapons, while the Monster was selected from a roster of increasingly grotesque eldritch-esque creations and would gradually increase in power throughout the round. If the Hunters failed to ensnare and defeat the Monster before it reached level 3, well, let’s just say it wouldn’t end well for them. This premise alone is frankly genius, something I’m amazed hadn’t really been done before and has been rarely and poorly replicated since.
What made Evolve one of the most underrated shooters is just how well executed and polished it was. Everything was perfectly designed, including the game’s limited roster of large maps, the synergies between Hunters and their abilities, and considerations around tracking and actually taking down the Monster. It was a structure that worked seamlessly each and every time and led to some intense moments you couldn’t experience anywhere else. You weren’t just aimlessly running around an arena shooting one another; you worked as a team to scour an incredibly detailed sandbox in a nailbiting hunt you were grossly underprepared for.
More Games Need To Copy Evolve
As aforementioned, no one else has really done this since Evolve. Aside from the poorly-reviewed (and frankly pale imitation) Predator: Hunting Grounds, and the somewhat similar but more horror-focused asymmetrical titles like the admittedly amazing Dead by Daylight, Evolve remains a truly unique experience. That’s a shame in 2026 and beyond, as, unless you bought Evolve in 2015 or own a physical copy on console, you can’t play it offline, let alone online. Trying to buy a PC key now is impossible, as it was delisted on Steam and codes are going for upwards of $100.
Ever since playing round after round as the unique healer Slim or the tracker Maggie and her adorable Trapjaw Daisy, I’ve dreamed of something akin to Evolve. I can imagine, for example, this structure working exceedingly well within the Alien universe, as a team of Colonial Marines attempts to hunt down a Xenomorph. Regardless of whether it’s a new IP or a borrowed one, a fantasy world or a sci-fi universe, this format helps to add structure to a tired and formulaic genre well past its prime.
With the world growing increasingly fatigued of shooters and even the greatest hero shooters failing to draw in the same types of audiences they were a decade ago, maybe it’s time for something to try and ape the structure Evolve so brilliantly executed. I firmly believe Turtle Rock Studio’s game was just ahead of its time, and that, were it to be released now, especially in an era of “friendslop” like Phasmophobia, Lethal Company, and Peak pushing for more co-operative experiences within intense environments and situations, it would have been infinitely more successful.
Even now, 11 years later, I find myself frequently booting up Evolve on my PS5 and playing offline alongside bots. Sure, it isn’t the same as playing with other people, but it is yet another plus (at least in my eyes) in Evolve’s favor. The inclusion of a solo-focused mode that’s playable all these years later is a true blessing we’ve lost in this era of disposable live service titles. Still, I hope that another developer can come along and see the many phenomenal and unique qualities Evolve brought to the table and attempt to replicate them. If you’ll indulge me just one pun, it is undeniably time for the multiplayer shooter genre to evolve, and the blueprint for its success is sitting right there, ready for the taking.
Do you think we need more games like Evolve? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Crunchyroll -
Netflix / Sony Pictures Animation -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
