Evolve’s free new Arena Mode forgoes the foreplay

You’re out of a job, Trapper

As a hunter, my experience with Evolve often involved catching a glimpse of the beast, giving chase, and then losing its zigzagging trail ad infinitum until it came back all beefed up to wipe us out. If only there were some way to lessen that back and forth — to get straight into inevitable loss.

Enter Arena Mode, which is out today as a free addition for all versions of Evolve. The whole gang is trapped in a permanent dome, and somebody’s got to die. The monster begins at Stage 2 with 50 percent armor, but it can consume wildlife to replenish its defenses and, in theory, evolve to Stage 3. There’s not exactly a lot of room to make that transformation happen, though.

If and when hunters fall, they won’t get back up until the next fight. Arena Mode is best of three.

Evolve’s Arena Mode: A Domed DeathMatch [Evolve]

There’s also this video, which, if YouTube’s reaction is any indication, you may want to mute.

I just watched a bit of it and can confirm.