Hood: Outlaws And Legends Review

What if Robin Hood but moodier than a mid-2000s Warped Tour ticket line? That’s the premise of Hood: Outlaws and Legends, a class-based multiplayer heist game based on a dark and stormy version of the Robin Hood folk tale, officially released yesterday for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. (Over the weekend, those who pre-ordered were able to play.) Anyone who’s played a third-person action game released in the last decade will immediately pick up on how to play: light attacks, heavy attacks, crouching in bushes, all that jazz.

Each match plays out across three phases. During the first phase, you have to pickpocket a key from the Sheriff, an invincible non-player character (NPC) who moves slowly but can kill you in one hit, the bastard. During the second phase you have to bring the key to a vault, wherein lies a chest. During the third you lug the chest to one of several extraction points and hold the position as a progress bar slowly fills. Whoever wins in the final phase wins the round, though success in prior phases can beget experience points to the individual players who pull off those tasks. You’re split into teams of four, and can choose from one of four classes at the outset of each round. The Ranger has a bow, which he can use to shoot down ropes, creating shortcuts. The Hunter, a stealth-based class, can walk silently, turn invisible, toss smoke grenades, and open locked doors. (She’s the best one.) The Mystic wields a flail and is the only class that can heal. The Brawler carries a sledgehammer. Ideally, each team would comprise one of each class, since some classes are better suited for specific phases.

At the end of each round, you’re awarded a certain amount of gold, based on how well your team performed. You can determine how much goes into your personal coffers (which you can spend on upgrades) and how much, in classic Robin Hood fashion, is set aside “for the people” (beefing up your hub area). It’s a nice touch, and allows you some autonomy over how you progress.