Mistfall Hunter: I lost two hours of loot five metres from the exit, and I went back in

Let me tell you how it ended, the first time. Pockets full, a legendary relic in hand, the extraction point right in front of me. Five metres. A rival squad burst out of the fog, one axe swing, end credits. Two hours of loot, gone. I stared at the death screen for a long moment. I turned it off. Then, like an idiot, I turned it back on and started another run. If you understand that reflex, Mistfall Hunter is made for you. If not, run.

The emotional whiplash of the extraction genre

Let us set things out: Mistfall Hunter, developed by Bellring Games, is a dark fantasy extraction ARPG. You enter a hostile zone, solo or in a three, you loot increasingly precious relics, and you have to get out alive. Die before extracting, and you lose everything. That is the deal, cruel and clear.

What the game nails is making that emotional whiplash palpable. The joy of a successful extraction with full pockets is exactly proportional to the rage of a death at the exit. Between the two, there is that little voice whispering "one more chest, come on, just one last one", and it kills you every single time. That tension, that permanent dialogue between greed and fear, is the crux of the genre, and Mistfall Hunter has it firmly in hand. It is no accident its beta gathered 430,000 players.

In a three, it is thrilling. Solo, it is a slog

The combat has weight, the foggy atmosphere is gripping, the character progression between runs makes you want to go again. But the real difference comes down to numbers. In a three, with friends who communicate, crossing a rival squad becomes a little thriller: are we going to avoid each other? rob each other? kill each other? You cover each other, you split roles, you scream when it goes south. That is where the game shines.

Solo, get ready to suffer. Every encounter is more dangerous, every mistake costs more, and that famous voice of greed has no one left to calm it. It is a mode for owned masochists, and I am sometimes one of them, but you should know it going in.

The real test will come in six months

Let us be clear-eyed about what grates. Mistfall Hunter is intrinsically stressful and punishing: losing your loot is part of the deal, and that cruelty which fascinates me will disgust others. It is not a flaw, it is the genre's DNA, but it sorts its audience harshly.

And then there is the question that haunts every game like it: what comes next. An extraction game lives or dies on its support, its balance, its online population. At launch, the foundations are solid, the loop hooks, Game Pass access will bring people in. But I will only really know what Mistfall Hunter is worth in six months, when we see whether Bellring feeds its game or abandons it. For 25 euros, or free through the subscription, the bet is worth a look if you love risking everything to win everything. And if, like me, dying five metres from the exit makes you want to start over rather than smash something.

Played it too? Tell us how it went on the InsertCoins Discord.