Four relentless hunters pursue you as you leap across cliffs and become stricken with panic. A harpoon pins you to the ground and as you struggle to free yourself, a volley of electricity strikes you. While breathing fire and throwing boulders at the hunters, you manage to escape into the jungle. Finding a momentarily safe place, you begin to evolve, growing stronger and harder to kill. As the hunters near you, you leap toward them with enhanced power.

The prey has became the predator.

“Evolve,” a multiplayer first-person shooter, is an ever-changing chase sequence of cat and mouse, drawing heavily on the children’s game hide and seek. Four players assume the role of hunters, targeting the player-controlled monster across an alien world, Shear.

The monster’s goal is to avoid the hunters and consume smaller artifically-controlled creatures to evolve into a more 
formidable opponent.

The three monsters available offer 
different experiences. The first monster, Goliath, focuses on aggressive maneuvers like tossing boulders, breathing fire and charging at hunters. Drawing heavily from H.P. Lovecraft, the Kraken is an aerial beast that focuses on ranged attacks. The most evasive monster is the Wraith, which can teleport and create decoys of itself.

Playing as the monster is a nerve-racking experience in the early stages of the game. The player, weak and vulnerable, has very little chance of winning against a competent group of hunters. In the later stages of the match, the game descends into an all-out brawl between monster and hunter that rivals many boss 
battles in other games.

Cooperation is key when playing as a hunter. Even in its weakest stage, a monster can easily take down a lone hunter. Each hunter offers distinct abilities that must be used to win the match. The trapper class tracks the monster, setting traps like harpoons and enclosing the monster in an arena. The assault and support classes wield the most firepower, doing the most damage in a fight against the monster. The most essential class, the medic, can heal teammates in the heat of battle and slow the creature with tranquilizer darts.

Each class offers three characters with different abilities. Sadly, the characters must be unlocked through the slow progression of using different weapons and abilities a certain number of times.

“Evolve” is different than most games on the market right now. Unlike most first person shooters, no two matches are ever exactly the same. In between frantic battles, the game has surprisingly calm moments where the players plan and plot against each other like a game of 
virtual chess.

Depending heavily on cooperation is both the game’s greatest strength and weakness. When playing with friends, the game becomes tactical and methodical. Often when playing with strangers, players ignore each other, leading to a few frustrating moments. This is one of those games that playing with friends is not only advised but essential.