Hood: Outlaws & Legends is one of May’s hidden gems

I’ve been excited for Hood: Outlaws & Legends since the game was first announced a while back. As a fan of Robin Hood, the theme of the game alone was enough to get me hyped. But over the past few months, developer Sumo Newcastle has shared more details about the multiplayer action game. And the more they’ve revealed, the more excited I have become.

For those who haven’t heard of the game, Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a third-person, multiplayer action game with a PvPvE format (player-versus-player-versus environment). If you’ve played Destiny, think of it as a stealthier version of Gambit. Two teams of outlaws (players) compete against each other to infiltrate a keep run by the State and steal the treasure hidden within a keep’s vault.

I was a big fan of Gambit’s asynchronous competition. Similarly, Hood also features both direct and indirect competition against the rival team. Except it does it on a much grander scale since this is entirely what the game is about.

Basically, a match is divided into three phases. In the first phase, you must infiltrate the enemy stronghold, capture spawn points. In this phase, you have to find the key to the vault which is guarded by the Sheriff and a group of powerful knights.

After acquiring the key, you need to locate the vault and unlock the door. If you do this before the rival team, they must either ambush you at the vault or find another opportunity to steal the treasure chest from you as you extract it. This is where the intensity of player versus player comes into play.

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To escape with the chest, you must get to the extraction point and defend the position, protecting your teammate winching the chest. During this point, the team trying to extract the chest will have to take on NPCs and the Sheriff as well as the enemy team. I can only imagine the intensity of this moment.

Even beyond the gameplay, I am pleasantly surprised at the depth of this game. There are different classes of characters to choose from, each with a different playstyle and unique abilities. Part of the strategy of Hood is forming your team with a group of Outlaws that not only fit your playstyle but synergize with each other.

Do you opt for a mixture of stealth and power? Do you go all stealth? How do you approach each keep? These are the sorts of strategic plans you’ll have to make with your friends when Hood: Outlaws & Legends releases on May 10.