Hood: Outlaws and Legends is a multiplayer stealth action game, by developer Sumo Digital and publisher Focus Entertaiment, where players don the hoods and armor of the Outlaws, thieves seeking to steal and secure treasure from the State, in order to both give to the poor and keep for themselves. Play as recognizable heroes from medieval legends such as Robin Hood and Friar Tooke, reimagined in a dark, brutal world. Players can choose between 4 player co-op against AI enemies or challenge another team of 4 in PVP, as both teams race against one another to steal the treasure for themselves. With the Season 1 of Hood’s live service dropping, with a battle pass full of content, new maps, and a new character, is Hood: Outlaws and Legends worth checking out? Or is it simply another dime a dozen multiplayer live service game, doomed to dwindling player counts?
Let’s start off with what works with Hood: Outlaw and Legends. The setting is, in my opinion, superb. I’ve always been a fan of dark fantasy and to see the legend of Robin Hood and his Merry Men translated into a gritty, edgier version is really cool to see. The default set of characters, Robin, Marianne, Tooke, and John all look great. The new character Eidaa is also designed well and when all 4 characters have very distinct visual designs and silhouettes, it makes it easier to identify who’s who on your team, especially given how dark the game is.
The stealth gameplay is also pretty good; sneaking around in the bushes, sniping and assassinating guards with limited resources really got me carefully considering whether using an arrow on a guard in a tower was worth it or not. Each character also has their clear strengths and weaknesses, which again, is conveyed clearly in their design language. John is great as a tank, but maybe don’t have him running around the map. Robin is an excellent marksman and capable of 1 shot kills, but crumples like paper when 2 knights come barreling towards him. The characters are balanced well against each other, although pure stealth gameplay is definitely rewarded the most. Speaking of stealth, there’s a very large elephant in the room that knocks out the foundation of Hood: Outlaws and Legends’ gameplay.
The last phase of any Heist is the secure phase, where a winch picks up and moves the treasure to safety. Players must defend this winch against the Sheriff and incoming enemy reinforcements. This was where I felt the most jarring whiplash as my dark and gritty stealth game turned into a For Honor. This is easily the weakest part of Hood’s gameplay loop, and I found the fun I had sneaking around, firing headshots quickly evaporated as waves of knights and crossbowmen continued to down our team. When you have characters built around sneaking around and getting hidden assassinations and throw them into a horde defense sequence, balance kind of goes out the window. If my team was even slightly unprepared for the waves of enemies, the large DEFEAT screen is what awaited us.
Robin’s ranged effectiveness puts him at a severe disadvantage against giant armored knights and Eidaa’s reliance on fast, nimble fighting means if a sentry so much as breathes on her, she dies. Hood: Outlaws and Legends had a really fun and interesting gameplay loop going and almost made it to the finish line before tripping over their shoelaces and eating pavement right in front of the finish line. PVP makes this flaw even worse, which is strange since the game was originally designed for PVP. Now, instead of just dealing with enemy AI, there’s the enemy team that you also have to contend with. You’ll have snuck the treasure past the Sheriff and are ready to extract until, surprise! The enemy team jumps you and your team is now respawning. It just becomes chaotic, probably the last thing a stealth game wants to be.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends’ live service model is, in my opinion, a little insulting. Although it’s hard to say that when all it does it copy every other game’s live service. Different color palettes of existing skins, banners that don’t really do much, weapons that look slightly different from your standard weapons and the occasional cool looking skin. This is what populates the 100 tiers of Hood: Outlaws and Legends’ battle pass. I’m sure there are plenty of players that will hit tier 100. I play Destiny; there are people who hit rank 200 by the second day. However, for my preference, the combination of a fun gameplay loop ruined by horde mode and the tedious grind for 20 banners before getting to anything cool is not great.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends is, I think, definitely an underrated game. On paper. The setting and characters are beautiful and interesting. I love the tone the game has, and I’d love to see more games set in this dark and gritty medieval atmosphere. The PVE State Heist mode can be fun at times, especially during the first half of a match, where you and your team are sneaking around the map, trying to find paths into the objective to steal the treasure, killing guards along the way. That is where Hood: Outlaws and Legends is at its best. However, a disappointing final half of the gameplay loop, gameplay balance that is, at best, meant for a different part of the game and your typical battle pass means Hood: Outlaws and Legends fails to meet its potential. This game could easily be a 7 or an 8. Refocusing on the PVE mode, adjusting the Sheriff AI behavior, make the last half of the game less of a horde mode and maybe more like a strategy game are all ways that the developers could vastly improve this game. For now, I think Hood: Outlaws and Legends is best enjoyed on its occasional free weekends until it gets the changes it needs.
Check Out the Hood: Outlaws & Legends Season 1: Samha Trailer – https://youtu.be/ts8x9vrwUQQ
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. You can also buy the game’s Year 1 Edition, which includes three post-launch Battle Passes. For more on Hood, visit www.focus-home.com/en-us/games/hood-outlaws-legends.
Steam Review
My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
More Stories
REIGNS BEYOND Review for Steam
FINAL FACTORY Review for Steam Early Access
Yu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUEL Review for Steam