Way of the Hunter 2 aims to elevate the hunting simulation experience with stunning visuals and a more immersive world, thanks to Unreal Engine 5. While it succeeds in creating a beautiful, tranquil environment that invites exploration, the early access build is marred by technical issues and gameplay imbalances. In this review, we’ll explore the game’s strengths and weaknesses, offering a candid assessment of its current state and potential for the future.
A World That Looks Good, but Sounds a Little Off
Way of the Hunter 2 manages to utilize UE5 pretty well and it shows in terms of visuals and performance. The game looks really nice and just walking around and finding vistas to settle down at is a joy in itself. After a hard day at work I could just skip the hunting and walk to a nice place with a nice view and feel the calm and beauty of the view rush over me. Aside from the glitches and freezing, the game runs very well with high and stable frames per second.
The sound in Way of the Hunter 2 is at its current state a bit of a letdown, not because things sound bad, the rifles sound pretty good and nature’s different sounds are easy to hear and know what they are. But bunching all sound effects in one slider where the smaller things like the wind sound more than say my rifle, just feels weird. But this is also an easy fix and hopefully fixed before full release.
Visually the world is filled with animals and it feels alive in a way I never felt with the first Way of the Hunter, but right now in early access, the AI is not the best. Seeing animals like wolves walk past different animals they usually hunt without even noticing them, takes some of the illusion out.
Gameplay Foundations – Hunting Mechanics and Economy
The core gameplay of tracking and hunting feels like an evolved version of the first game. Guns feel heavier and the tracking system is more detailed. However, Way of the Hunter 2 current early access has a few features that should and hopefully will be tweaked over time. Like how you get way too little money for selling your kills, which makes the game feel more like a grind then a fun hunting experience. The hunting dog in its current form is pretty useless, I think it might have helped me track an animal one time, the rest of the time it never did its job. The spawn rate for most animals is also very low, making it feel like forever until you encounter the one you are searching for, even when finding tracks from it.
The Rough Edge – Bugs, Glitches, and Technical Hiccups
Way of the Hunter 2 comes with a lot of bugs in its current early access state, which might be enough to make you wait for the game to come closer to full release when most of it probably will be fixed, and depending on your preference, might be enough to drag the game down right now. Here are some examples:
There are a lot of graphical glitches and textures, even animals pooping in. Weapon ballistics and damage is really off and not consistent at all. I have had many crashes and freezes during my time with the game.
These issues are disruptive enough that a typical hunting session can be interrupted by a sudden freeze, forcing you to reload a save or, worse, lose progress entirely. The graphical hiccups, textures that flicker, models that disappear, or animals that literally pop into the environment, break immersion and remind you that you’re still in an unfinished product.
Balancing the Scales – What Works, What Needs Work
Despite the technical flaws, there are genuine strengths worth noting. The UE5 engine shines through in lighting, foliage sway, and distant horizon rendering. The serene moments, standing on a ridge, listening to a distant elk call, or simply watching clouds drift over a pine‑filled valley, are almost meditative. The rifles, as mentioned earlier, sound solid, and the recoil feels weighty, lending a satisfying sense of power when you finally land a clean shot.
On the other hand, the economic system feels unforgiving. Earning too little for each animal makes every successful hunt feel like a chore rather than a reward, and the low spawn rates compound that feeling, especially for larger game. The hunting dog, which should be a vital companion, is currently more of a gimmick; its occasional tracking assistance does not justify the time you spend training or caring for it.
A Promising Sequel Hampered by Early‑Access Roughness
Way of the Hunter 2 has a good core to build upon. It feels like a genuine sequel in terms of new features, a world that actually feels alive, a world that is more beautiful and guns that feel heavier. The core gameplay of tracking and hunting feels like an evolved version of the first game.
But Way of the Hunter 2 is just out in early access and that is very noticeable. Bugs are everywhere, a lot of features need tuning and more content needs added before I can really recommend this game, but hopefully we will get there before full release. If you can look past the crashes, the inconsistent damage model, the odd sound‑mixing, and the under‑rewarding economy, there is a serene, visually striking hunting sandbox waiting to be refined.
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