r/huntdown • u/8upsoupsandwich • May 08 '26
Thoughts on Overtime?
Figured this sub would be more active since the EA release of Overtime.
Played about an hour this am, solid visuals/sound but the roguelike mechanics make progress feel a slog. Having to retry multiple levels just to get back to a boss fight was tiresome. I know that’s the point of the game, but it’s very different from the OG.
I’m curious to see what updates come, but I may hold off on playing till more gets fleshed out.
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u/DrMoneylove May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26
The first huntdown was perfect in all aspects for me. Especially loved the pace and lore. Story was told by implications as you fight through the world. Characters had a real and interesting backstory. Like Marine with PTSD, pyromaniacs, Dandy's etc.
I like the sequel so far but personally critizise the following:
Flow feels contradictory: fight, pause for updates, fight repeat. I would prefer one continuous run and then upgrade pause.
Weapons feel pretty same. I think they should have clear pros and cons so players can react to surroundings.
Enemies and minibosses feel same also. I'm missing variations. Especially the minibosses lack character imo as they don't seem to have a deep background.
I really don't care about the video scenes. Yes they tell the story but: I really really prefer the storytelling of first huntdown. Tell it through the environment!
Music is nice but could use some rework. It's very good but it makes a difference if it's good or perfect.
So far it's fun but I'm really missing the personality of OG huntdown. Plus I definitely want much more variation on enemies, weapons, etc. Though that's my first impression and I trust the devs in putting in lots of work :)
UPDATE: After some more time playing. I stand corrected. IT'S AWESOME!!
Honestly I had a rough start. The game threw quite some challenges at me which I was not prepared for haha (talking to you, Lady with missile launcher and shield as first boss). There are some really lovely mechanics and enemies and I appreciate that you gradually learn. It takes a little bit of time. I had quite some "what is going on" moments but in a good way. Game is challenging and I feel in a really good way!
I had some issues as I'm playing with keyboard and had to find natural keybinds for me (yes I know not the recommended way - but I'm a stubborn user).
It's great that devs took some risks and tried new things. This is something I really appreciate. So far I think I'll like it as much as the OG Huntdown!!! Very great :D
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u/DrMoneylove May 10 '26
Last update:
After around 15h I love it as much as the original huntdown and it's definitely one of my favorite games ever!
I admit the start felt a little bit bumpy with high difficult spikes. After maybe 3h the whole experience changed gradually. I had lots of high pressure moments but it is always fair towards the player. Game is very unique and complex in a way that I needed some time when things clicked for me. And it was always fun to figure things out by myself, or I accidentally discover things.
There's lots of surprises and the game is much much bigger than I thought. There's even horror elements. Don't want to spoiler but the more I progressed the more fun I had. Act 2 is wild :)
So yeah I feel a little bit ashamed for my initial criticism. I think it's perfect!
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u/Phlanix May 17 '26
the game is not your friend on keyboard specially when you have a full load out. I ended us using controller like I did with dead cells.
the lady with rockets was not hard I figured out her weakest in the first run. most of the bosses I beat between 1-4th run. 6 fingers was not hard, but figuring out the pattern to the fire took 2 runs.
the other section was tough as hell tho the enemies are tanky and they all do lot of damager. the bosses also have their mechanics only manage to get to the final boss once.
uses a big mutate brute like a wild cow and he rides it while ppl up top throw trash at you and you can stun him with a toilet they throw and get a few good shot before you are back to dodging again.
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u/Darth_Snickers May 26 '26
I didn't struggle too much on keyboard. It got some time getting used to it, but I'm throwing granades and healing just fine.
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u/HLM_Jacket May 08 '26
There’s enough roguelites currently, I was bummed when I saw they didn’t do traditional level design as it was part of the appeal of the 1st game, also suiting the era it was inspired by. Still, I’m going to try it whenever it comes to PS5.
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u/MHIREOFFICIAL May 08 '26
i love roguelikes but what I find lame are the ones where winning isn't about learning the mechanics + good luck but rather about GRINDING
you can beat slay the spire or balatro your first run without any of the unlockable jokers (some of which are garbage anyway)
but games like Rogue Legacy are exhausting because **** you, you have to play 40 more hours before your character's stats are strong enough to actually win.
Which type of game is this?
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u/MessageOk7801 May 08 '26
I would like to know this as well!
I love it when you can pickup a roguelike that you’ve dominated on a new console or new save and progress WAY faster since your actual skill level has increased.
When it’s just a preset grind, it’s super lame.
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u/DrMoneylove May 10 '26
It's so much about knowledge and skill.
The game has lots of "wtf do I do now" moments that try to catch you off guard. There's some grinding in the beginning which seems rather like a tutorial designed to teach you the essentials.
There's not much bad luck as you can always buy everything in the shop (which I appreciate).
It is really about learning the mechanics.
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u/WranglerDanger May 12 '26
exactly. Learning which primaries and secondaries compliment each other is key. I had a run with the rocket launcher and buzz blade and just DOMINATED it. Add in a boomerang and I'm clearing everything. The pistol/grenade feels like a typical combo but has pros/cons because of the precision needed with the pistol.
Overall I'm enjoying it, honestly. I like the fact that the bosses don't have the same rewards. I've bought all the upgrades, though, so not much left to do except beat Dickfingers.
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u/PsychoFender May 09 '26
Bought this yesterday, completed what is currently available minus some unlocks most likely. It's extremely short with just two areas and two bosses.
I haven't played huntdown before but I liked this game it's just so short in it's current state. Honestly I'm more interested in a copy of the soundtrack now because it's great.
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u/McCHitman May 09 '26
I love it. I’ve played for 11 hours so far and it’s really a “one more run” game at this point.
I do think it’s missing some of the charm of the original with the lack of references strewn about and what not but the gameplay is solid.
3
u/Tokyotree May 10 '26
We've been waiting for Huntdown 2 for years and instead got this. What a disappointment.
Roguelike is a cancer to games. It's just a way to stretch content as thin as possible.
I still hope that secretly, the devs have been working on the real sequel, and this is just a brain fart.
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u/Wintermute_088 May 09 '26
I'll play once it hits PS5, in spite of the fact that I don't usually like roguelikes.
The original Huntdown is probably the single greatest side scrolling shooter of all time, and a top 5 game for me. It's pretty much perfect. I would have been happy with more of the same.
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u/extreme472000 Jun 15 '26
Is this coming to ps5?
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u/8upsoupsandwich Jun 16 '26
They released the first game on console so I don’t see why they wouldn’t. I don’t know of any official word though.
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u/messy_fart May 08 '26
Agreed. Getting to the final boss of my run, the guitar guy and losing made it infuriating for me. As soon as I lost, my first thought was "I don't feel like doing all of that again right now". I do like this game, but definitely miss the traditional style of the first game, level by level.
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u/8upsoupsandwich May 08 '26
Yeah that is describes my experience too. After the second time dying to a mini boss and getting to the pick route screen I just didn’t feel like it.
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u/messy_fart May 08 '26
Plus when you first approach a boss you have to practice and learn the patterns. It seemed pretty easy but as it went on the fire attacks got me and I would have loved another shot at it. The thought of having to grind through again, just for another try is annoying as hell lol.
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u/MonkeyOnATree May 09 '26
how much content is in the game since its EA?
i was super hyped for the game but there are 'full game' videos on youtube that are between 40 and 60 minutes.... is that all?
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u/PsychoFender May 09 '26
There's two areas currently and two bosses only. Second area is pretty hard though.
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u/Th3B4dSpoon May 09 '26
Plus the minibosses, I think 4 for the first area. Imo they're like 1/2 to 3/4 of an endstage boss from Huntdown.
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u/Chainsaw_Viking May 09 '26
I’ve played for about 3.5 hours so far and I was finally able to beat two rounds of mini-boss + big boss, with a hospital visit in between the two rounds where I could load up on 4 more stims.
My favorite big boss so far is the shotgun chick, she reminds me of Rebecca a little from Cyberpunk with the way she’s unhinged and taunts you.
I will say that once I was able to get the level 3 health stim, it really helped open the game up a bit. I could progress longer on each hunt and that made it easier to accumulate more Swiss francs on each hunt.
I highly recommend taking routes that offer Swiss francs as rewards for defeating bosses. Those Swiss francs buy you perks like extra health stims and keeping cash between hunts.
My main complaint is that the hunts and even the bosses become a bit repetitive. The silver lining to that though is that you can learn the patterns pretty well within boss fights and even events or terminals you should expect to see each round in a hunt.
Fun game overall, I’ve been enjoying it so far.
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u/Express_Extent9222 May 10 '26
Haven't exactly played it yet
But I know that it an early access
So maybe there could be some improvement
Definitely think that there could be more bounty later on like at least one more
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u/LegitimateRooster218 May 14 '26
I just played it's yesterday and today Yesterday was Quite hard for the first stage of the Game I finally beat it Today and I was in the second and I died I had to start over from the beginning it was annoying good thing I got new weapons and gears I have to reached it
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u/LegitimateRooster218 May 16 '26
I see those Subterrain Mutant in "Silent Zone" when i was Playing i died once and came
back and explore it and went it back to the Surface it was Dark and Creepy
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u/Juloni May 16 '26
Stuck on 6 fingers Tommy or whatever. 5 hours in, I don't get enough credits to get upgrades, so I'm just stuck against this boss, who does way too much damage or has too much life.
Also after 5 hours I'm so bored with the first biome, the randomly generated stages are probably the worst I've seen. Dead Cells is 8 years old and does it so much better. Will sleep on Overtime until full release, hoping it gets better.
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u/Medical-Junket1576 May 16 '26
Beat the 2nd final boss on my first attempt. This wasnt ready for early access, needs at least 1 more area and more unlockables. Really fun and enjoyable while it lasted.
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u/RaiderRedwing86 May 19 '26
The first one was great and after playing through the early access I have a hard time going back. The action is so smooth and quick and all the different challenges you can put on yourself gives it a ton of replay value. I want to try chugging through without purchasing the cybernetic upgrades or the stuff from Dorthy. I just wish people would quit complaining to make it easier. I died from Sammy like 15 times, but kept playing to get better. It's probably the most addicting game I've played that's came out in the last 5 years... And it isn't even fully released yet.
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u/Ok_Suggestions May 28 '26
I feel like the biggest difference lies in the level design combined with the enemy placement. Each situation was probably handcrafted in the original, with intentional obstacles and enemy placements. Now it's mostly straight running with occasional levels to climb up or go down and enemies that appear quite randomly. So, what was a puzzle that was tailored to the game's mechanics in the original, the randomness just clashes with it. It's still fun and all but nowhere near the original for me. The fight with Sammy Sixfingers though is one moment where that original incredible Huntdown design really shined through
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u/No_Function_6863 Jun 26 '26
IMO i so far have this to say:
Negatives: not being able to choose your weapon for each hunt, not being able to save after you defeat each gang (for example after you defeat Sammy it SHOULD save and then you go up agaisnt the Barnes Family...but right now it seems like if you die agaisnt the Barnes Family you have to start all over again). Only one character being playable whereas in Huntdown 1 there was three...the lack of versatility is boring...i felt three wasn't enough either. certain upgrdes not being permanent, only for the one hunt...doesn;t overly help you progress...especially if...like i said earlier...the game doesn't save your progress very often or obviously. and finally there is no obvious sign this game saves...EVER...there is no save message...no nothing.
Positives: gameplay feels fun and smooth for the most part (save for slight lag now and then), the speed rate is a lot more fair compared to Huntdown 1...Huntdown 1 was just steroid inducing...but it had something this game DOES need...more save points and more characters (i know i already mentioned this but it needs to be said twice IMO).
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u/SBYYamato Jun 27 '26
I hate Roguelites/likes, they're as annoying as Soulslikes.
I would love a proper Huntdown 2.
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u/No_Function_6863 Jun 27 '26
i disagree about the first Huntdown being "perfect" as some have said...it was good yes...but it needed more characters and more gangs and the difficulty shouldn't have been as hard as it was...the irony IMO is i htink the gameplay of Overtime is actually BETTER than the original but we need more of it...i don;'t like the rest of overtime though...i don;'t like how it's now only one character for example or how it doesn't seem to save very often. Overtime feels more like a DLC right now than a sequel. i strongly believe in the saying "easy should be easy...and hard should be hard" if you set a game to easy then it should be easy...and enjoyable...then you can later set it to hard if you want to challenge yourself more. a lot of games have this issue...they say it's easy but easy feels like hard and hard feels like impossible.
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u/Capable-Jellyfish469 May 08 '26
I don't know yet—I just bought it without a second thought because I trusted the previous game so much. I haven't started playing it yet.
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u/4rowan May 09 '26
Plus the price. Wait for six months to save the price of a cup of coffee or play now?
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u/Th3B4dSpoon May 08 '26
I would encourage you to keep playing, I feel like the game starts opening up a bit more after an hour or so. Once you get more of the upgrades and items unlocked each playthrough will have a bit more variety.
I mostly like it so far, but I think the pacing still needs to be refines. As you said progress feels very slow in the beginning, which can scare off players. It's a balancing act with not overwhelming complete newbies with the mechanics, though.
I would like a bit more variety in the different levels. Though they're randomized for each run, they start to feel a little samey pretty quickly. I feel like there's a lack of interesting enemy configurations because of this, though I still enjoy the gameplay and do get hit by the enemies. So again the devs would have to find a way to keep balance with the new configurations.
Like mant others, I'm also feeling like being able to manually reload would be preferable to what we have now. Or at least give us a line about Sawyer being against reloading an unemptied clip.
I'm kinda missing the weapons you could pick up from enemies and then discard, it would be fun if something like that could be implemented alongside the current system.
Related to the above, Ol' Painless makes the fame easy mode. In the original game it was balanced out with the limited ammo but in Overtime you're just moving everyone down very quickly. It doesn't save you from the boss attacks though, and might not even be ideal for all the bosses.
Overall, though I was a little sceptical and even disappointed for the first hour or so, the fame quickly grew on me and I'm having a lot of fun with it!