HOOD: OUTLAWS & LEGENDS
Robin Hood is the man with a thousand faces. Even laying aside his endless appearances in fiction, history teems with competing incarnations of the altruistic outlaw. There are at least five people who might have been the original Robin, with some scholars claiming it was a stock alias for any highwayman of a certain notoriety. That lack of a solid origin story explains the legend’s popularity among writers, but it’s also an oddly good fit for a multiplayer game where everybody wants to play the title character. Step forward Hood: Outlaws & Legends, a competitive infiltration game that pits all those rival Robins against each other.
Developer Sumo Newcastle is the outfit formerly known as CCP Newcastle, creator of Eve: Valkyrie. Acquired by Sumo in 2018, the studio was tasked with devising original IPs for a company celebrated for its thirdparty adaptations. Sumo had already considered a ‘dark reimagining of Robin Hood’, but it was the Newcastle team that grasped the PvP potential. “What if Robin of Loxley and Robin of Huntingdon were both around at the same time, both claiming to be Robin Hood?” studio director Owen O’Brien asks. “How would they prove to people who’s the real Robin?”
The answer, apparently, is to form up into opposing heist crews and race to steal loot from the minions of a nameless medieval State. The game’s handling of the legend mixes historical references provided by the novelist Steven McKay with the kind of viciously down-to-earth myth-making popularised by Game Of Thrones. Campier flavours of Robin such as Errol Flynn’s 1938 rendition are off the menu. “There are no merry men,” O’Brien tells us firmly. ”And there are no men in tights.”
In action, Hood comes across as a blend of Hunt: Showdown, PayDay 2 and Assassin’s Creed, with teams striving to ambush the AI, and each other, in a world of blind corners, deep shadows and multiple elevations. Sumo Newcastle has taken inspiration from modern heist movies when designing the game’s characters, who range from tattooed catburglars with wrist crossbows to monkish juggernauts equipped with a ball-and-chain.
Each character has unlockable perks, an ultimate ability such as explosive arrows, and a different mode of infiltration: some shimmy up ropes or pick locks, others smash through doors with hammers. Discretion is advisable, because unlike creeps in MOBA-inspired games like For Honor, Hood’s AI guards are designed to kill you. “They react to sounds, they react to line of sight,” design director Andrew Williams says. “They’re not there as fodder.” The world is largely make-believe – built around a thematic opposition between state power and the forces of myth and nature – but you can expect locations based on British landmarks such as Lindisfarne. “It’s really nice to be looking for inspiration in your back garden,” Williams enthuses.
While Hood’s ambience seems utterly cut-throat, Sumo hopes that the game’s PvPvE approach will accommodate a range of both playstyles and skill levels. “Strategies that might not necessarily work on real players might allow for more exotic kills or traps against AI,” Williams notes, adding, “I think there’s more of an accessibility ramp in PvPvE, rather than precision and reflexes [always winning] the day.” Which is not to say that accuracy counts for nothing – this is a Robin Hood game, after all. “I’ve seen arrow shots from halfway across the map,” Williams says. Budding archers will be pleased to hear that the studio is taking full advantage of the PS5 controller’s advanced haptic feedback. “A bow is the ideal showcase for this technology. We’re enjoying the challenge of tuning the resistance and vibration to create something which feels authentic, but also fun.”
A part of us finds Hood’s “dark reimagining” wearisome – Robin Hood’s appeal among folklorists lies partly with his sense of whimsy, after all, and the last few film adaptations have been decidedly dour. “We did go down the route of writing a couple of origin stories,” O’Brien comments. “But we decided not to use them because it felt better that he – or she – is this mythical figure. You don’t know who’s under the hood.” Q
“There are no merry men,” O’Brien tells us firmly. ”And there are no men in tights”