The official cinematic trailer forHood: Outlaws and Legendswas revealed earlier this month duringPlayStation’s State of Play. In development with Focus Home Interactive and Sumo Digital, the upcoming game puts a dark twist on the tale of Robin Hood where a group of magical outlaws known as Wraiths reclaim money stolen by a corrupt government.
Though it has some key differences, judging by the trailer’s tone alone,Hood: Outlaws and Legendsmight be the game some fans ofThe Witcherhave been waiting for.
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What We Know So Far
CD Projekt Red does not have a plan for anotherWitchergame withGeralt of Rivia as the protagonistafter the end of his story inThe Witcher 3.Hood: Outlaws and Legends’ magical outlaws, however, might be right up fans of the series’ street.
At first, the game more closely resembles a medieval installment ofThieforAssassins’ Creed, until the chilling lullaby being sung over the trailer sings “there’s a wolf in the night.” The line sounds like it could be about Geralt of Rivia himself, implying similarities between the games' characters and how their worlds perceive them. The song is also stylized a way reminiscent ofThe Witcher’s “A Night to Remember” trailer and its song, “Lullaby of Woe”.
The style of armors shown in thePlayStation State of Playtrailer also show that the game’s visual design is at least partially aiming for historical realism, while the thick pine forests shown resemble the Northern European-inspired backdrops of theWitcherseries. It seems likely that the developers are going for the same dark twist on English folklore asThe Witcherdid with Polish myths.
The game’s combat looks quite different fromThe Witcher, however, with a greater focus on magic and range, as well as what appears to be greater variety in the combat styles available, including everything from stealth and subterfuge to wielding a giant two-handed warhammer.
The nature of the Wraiths themselves seems somewhere between Ubisoft’s Assassins andThe Witcher’s magical mutants. The trailer also reveals that while some are grateful to the Wraiths for fighting injustice, others seek the treasure for themselves and see the Wraiths as rivals. It’s unclear whether anybody in the story is distrustful of the Wraiths for their magical abilities just as they are inThe Witcher,but judging by the grim aesthetics of the setting, it would not be surprising.
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How Hood: Outlaws and Legends Will be Different
It is unlikely thatHood: Outlaws and Legendswill have the same singular character focus ofThe Witcherseries. The game will be amultiplayer 4v4 game, where two teams compete to heist the riches stolen by the government while combating hostile NPCs, making any focus on a singular narrative like inThe Witcherquite unlikely despite the tonal similarities.
The voice over in the trailer is heavily implied to be the main hooded figure, who is heavily implied to beRobin Hoodor the game’s analogous equivalent. It is unclear whether or not that character will have any unique role to play or whether there will be a meaningful division between the characters available on the rival outlaw teams.
For gamers who enjoyedThe Witcher’s tone and style and are looking to see that same tone realized in a fast-paced multiplayer game,Hood: Outlaws and Legendsmight be the game for them. With hotly anticipated RPGs likeAvowedandCyberpunk 2077around the corner as well, the coming generation of games seems likely to give those players an exciting RPG fix as well. Players who miss exploring a world likeThe Witcher’s in a more intimate single-player setting, however, will have to wait.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends arrives on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in 2021.
