‘Evolve’ Reveals Wraith, Xbox Open Beta Date, And Solo Mode
Turtle Rock Studios and 2K Games are not done revealing new monsters and details for Evolve. The PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC four-versus-one shooter received new information on three different subjects Thursday – the Wraith, the open beta, and the single-player offline mode.
The Wraith is the third monster for Evolve, and is dramatically different from the Goliath and Kraken. It is described as a “stealthy assassin” by Turtle Rock that has low health, but comes with the ability to warp around the battlefield, move quickly, and slash the hunters with giant scythe-like blades.
The Wraith is the hardest monster to hit in Evolve because of its quick movements. However, it is also the hardest to control.
Here are the Wraith’s abilities, as described by the developer.
Warp Blast allows Wraith to travel almost instantly to a target and create an explosion wherever she lands, dealing damage to everything around her.
Her Decoy ability spawns a dangerous clone of herself that attacks targets while distracting the Hunters. With the Decoy deployed, Wraith becomes invisible, and the Decoy can be used strategically to escape from combat or allow the player to re-position themselves for surprise attacks.
Abduction steals hunters away from their teammates. During an abduction attack, Wraith travels large distances, grabs the target, and returns to her original location all within the blink of an eye.
Supernova creates a large arena for Wraith to fight in. Inside the Supernova, Wraith becomes a frenzied melee beast of pure energy as her scythe-like blades cut down just about anything in their path. If Wraith leaves the Supernova area, she returns to her normal state.
Meanwhile, Xbox One players will get a chance to try out the Hunt mode in an open beta that starts Thursday, December 15 at 6 a.m. ET and runs through January 19, per this post on Evolve’s website. The first eight Hunters and first two Monsters can be unlocked during the beta, and will carry over to the final retail version of the game that releases on February 10.
On January 17, Turtle Rock will open up Evolve’s Evacuation mode for players to try for the first time. Additionally, 12 maps will be included during the beta.
PlayStation 4 and PC players are not completely left out. Those who participated in the Big Alpha will be invited along with PC players who have Left 4 Dead or BioShock Infinite in their Steam library. This is described as a smaller, closed technical test, and will not have the Evacuation mode or the ability to carry over unlocks to the full retail version of the game. The PC test starts on January 16, while the PS4 test begins January 17.
Turtle Rock Studio’s Christ Ashton also announced an offline mode for Evolve so that “anyone could play the whole game, including Evacuation, alone with or against the AI and it’s still fun.”
Players who choose to play on the Hunter side will be able to select their entire squad and switch between each while hunting the monster. Switching will be done with the D-pad on the Xbox One and PC.
“Rather than splitting our focus and crafting a different version of Evolve for solo, we focused on making sure that the solo game would stay true to what Evolve was always meant to be. In our minds, even if a bot is driving the Monster or the Hunters, it’s still the same great game,” Ashton explained.
What do you think of the new monster, beta test, and offline mode for Evolve? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Evolve]
