Everything you need to know about 2K’s asymmetrical 4v1 shooter Evolve

What: Evolve, the game

Evolve, a four-versus-one team shooter where four human hunters take on a huge monster, with both the hunters and the monster controlled by players. Evolve is developed by Turtle Rock Studios and will be published this year by 2K Games. It will ship with multiple monsters, sets of hunters, more maps and more game modes.

Games in Asia tried a map with a jungle setting, with access to just four hunters and one monster called the Goliath.

Where: Evolve is set on Shear

Evolve is set on the planet Shear, an alien world that kind of looks like what Pandora from Avatar would really look like at night. It’s inhabited by a lot of weird alien wildlife, including a vicious, gigantic crocodile that lies in wait for you at the bottom of ponds, as well as monsters, which your team, being human hunters probably bent on taking over the planet, must hunt.

Who: the characters and ecosystem of Evolve

There are six character types in Evolve: four hunter classes, one monster, and the wildlife (although all wildlife is controlled by AI). All hunters come with a unique damage-dealing gun.

The wildlife

Wildlife in Evolve can work both to your advantage and disadvantage. For the monster, rampaging through birds sends them flying in the air and gives your position away to hunters. Occasionally, killing wildlife that gets in your way attracts scavengers. But wildlife can also be eaten in order to fill up a growth gauge, which will then allow you to evolve. For the hunters, wildlife can either get in the way (I got eaten by a crocodile the first time I died), or it can give you buffs.

The Trapper class

The trapper could be said to be the unofficial team lead. He is the one responsible for tracking and pinning the monster down. Griffin the Trapper has Sound Spikes, which are wards that alert the team to the monster’s movement; he also has a harpoon gun that can be used to hold the monster in place, and a mobile arena, which traps the monster within its barriers for a limited time. Finally, Griffin has a standard submachine gun.