The Hunter Primal (Stylized as theHunter Primal) is a First-Person Shooter hunting Simulation Game developed by Avalanche Studios, appearing on Steam's Early Access program in 2014 and finally being released in March 31, 2015. Support for the game was discontinued in 2017 and the game was removed from the Steam store.
Based on the engine of theHunter Classic, the game is a Denser and Wackier spin-off of Avalanche's theHunter hunting simulation series, and is focused around hunting dinosaurs. Players take the role of a Pioneer who has been dropped onto the planet of Primal Eden and tasked with clearing it of hostile lifeforms, namely the numerous dinosaurs that inhabit the surface.
Despite the fanciful premise, the game does make various attempts at realism, such as using the complex ballistics and organ function system from the regular The Hunter game, as well as having the dinosaurs have feathers.
The game can be played in single-player, or in multiplayer co-op with up to 16 players, with the option of allowing PvP. The game features 5 species of dinosaur; Velociraptor, Utahraptor, Quetzalcoatlus, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a Superboss in the form of the Primal T-Rex.
The Hunter Primal contains examples of:
- Attack Its Weak Point: The game uses the same realistic organ simulation system as The Hunter Classic. A shot to the heart with a decent-caliber weapon is an instant kill against anything smaller than a T-Rex.
- BFG: A .700 nitro express elephant gun and .50 BMG antimateriel rifle are the two most powerful guns in the game. You pretty much need one of them if you plan to take on a T-Rex.
- Boxed Crook: Pioneers are (supposedly) criminals who have been forcibly recruited and dropped onto Primal Eden to clear it of hostile lifeforms, with the (seemingly rather empty) promise that their record will be expunged if they succeed. Reading between the lines, they may very well be ordinary citizens falsely accused of crimes specifically to recruit them for the job.
- Continuing is Painful: When you die, the progress you made uncovering the map is completely wiped, and all your items are lost and have to be recovered from your corpse. Thankfully, your corpse doesn't disappear if you die trying to retrieve it, but it will despawn if you quit the game before getting your stuff back. Also, whatever killed you is likely to still be hanging around in the vicinity of your corpse, and if you're on a multiplayer server other players can loot your corpse as well.
- Critical Existence Failure: A dinosaur can have lost 90% of its blood and have 2 collapsed lungs, but as long as it's not bleeding out, it can run away from you at top speed indefinitely.
- Death from Above: Flying Quetzalcoatlus dinosaurs will dive-bomb you repeatedly if they spot you.
- Death World: Primal Eden is a savage planet inhabited by dinosaurs. Throughout the island the game takes place on, you can find numerous failed settlements and Apocalyptic Log detailing how the previous inhabitants got completely screwed. Eventually, the Corporation got so desperate they resorted to dropping endless waves of Boxed Crooks onto the planet and hoping that the dinosaur bodies pile up faster than the human ones do.
- Denser and Wackier: Similar to games like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, it's a spin-off game made with a lower budget by using the resources of a major title to make a sillier, light hearted side project.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: All 5 dinosaurs species present in the game are hostile towards you. Predators will actively hunt you, and even the Triceratops will attack you if you get too close to it.
- Gang Up on the Human: Dinosaurs do not interact with each other, and are all focused on killing you.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: On a PvP enabled server, you have the option of hunting other players instead of dinosaurs, being the only game in theHunter series that lets you kill other humans.
- Late to the Party: Prior to the events of the game, earlier expeditions to the planet included various scientific outfits and even thrill-seeking hunters, as well as the descendants of the first settlers who eventually devolved into a state of primitive savagery. By the time you arrive on the planet, they've all perished and even their bodies are long gone, leaving nothing but a few Apocalyptic Log to indicate that they were there.
- Mission-Pack Sequel: The game uses the basic engine of theHunter Classic, but instead of a serious hunting simulator it's a game about hunting dinosaurs on an alien planet. It still uses many of the realism-focused game mechanics of The Hunter Classic, though.
- No Fair Cheating: The game can't be paused and has a 10 second delay before it allows you to leave (during which you can't move), and actively resists any attempt to shut it down when it's running. This is to prevent you from alt-F4ing out of the game when a T-Rex is about to eat you.
- Raptor Attack: Velociraptors appear in the game, but as the turkey-sized small predators they were in real life. Horse-sized Utahraptors also appear and fulfill the role of your primary predator threat in the game.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: Averted, the .44 magnum revolver is the weakest firearm in the game, though to be fair that's in comparison to shotguns and hunting rifles. It can kill a Utahraptor if you manage to hit the heart or lungs, but is basically a pop-gun against anything larger (it can't even bring down a Quetzalcoatlus reliably), and even against a Utahraptor it won't save you if you're unable to land a direct hit on a vital organ.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Probably your best general-purpose self-defense weapon; buckshot rounds can kill a Utahraptor with 1-2 shots even without hitting vital organs, and slugs are strong enough to kill a Triceratops in one shot to the heart.
- Shown Their Work: The game has feathered dinosaurs, in keeping with the modern scientific view.
- Superboss: The Primal T-Rex or T-Rex Queen is even bigger and tougher than a regular T-Rex, and only appears if you summon it using a T-Rex scent gland. It's a walking tank and can survive over a couple dozen shots to the heart from big game or anti-tank rifles.
- Too Dumb to Live: One Apocalyptic Log details a hunter who thought he could kill a T-Rex by shoving a spear up its nose, reasoning that the nerve cluster up its nostril was a weak point. It's made pretty clear he became lunch for said T-Rex (needlessly too, as it was already caged and he had it released to test his theory).
- Volcano Lair: There's a large scientific outpost located near the top of the active volcano in the center of the island; it often spawns some of the best loot in the game, but is tricky to reach due to being high up on a steep mountain.
- With This Herring: The Corporation drops you onto the planet in a prison uniform (which is useless for stealth) and armed with nothing except a machete (which is useless against anything larger than a turkey-sized raptor). To get decent weapons, you need to locate outposts scattered across the island and obtain guns from the crates found there. As you gain levels, you eventually unlock the ability to purchase equipment before being dropped onto the planet after a fresh spawn.
- You Have Failed Me: The Corporation notes that if a Pioneer dies, their family will be recruited and sent to the planet to replace them.
