Hunt: Showdown review - this unique first-person shooter revives the survival horror genre

The old saying 'the hunter becomes the hunted' has perhaps never been more apt for a video game than it is for Hunt: Showdown.

For those unfamiliar with the game, it is a first-person shooter survival horror from Crytek, which has been in the making for some time now. The game is set in the late 1890s - and it feels like we have been waiting that long to get our hands on it. But, oh my, was it worth the wait, and it certainly does not disappoint.

A multiplayer game with a difference

A host of monsters have overrun the 19th century world you inhabit and it is your job to hunt them down. But this is a multiplayer game with a difference. You team up with others to find and eliminate your genuinely terrifying adversaries before launching your escape plan.

There are big influences and nods to Capcom's hugely popular Monster Hunter here, and a dark, gritty, gloomy wretchedness that smacks of Left 4 Dead and Resident Evil.

I am a massive advocate of originality in video games. Despite taking on one of the most well-trodden genres in video gaming, Hunt: Showdown manages to give us something brilliantly fresh and thrilling.

Eerie gameplay and tough bosses

You are a bounty hunter working in the 19th century deep south which has been overrun by your zombified enemies. I found myself constantly on edge while playing. Gripped by the action and plunged into OCD anxiety to replenish my ever dwindling rations of ammo and healing bandages.