by Scott Parrino, 2 April 2014

We take a look at Hunted Amongst Castles: New Biome in Sir, You Are Being Hunted.

Sir, You Are Being Hunted (SYABH) received a new update this past Friday that added a fifth and final biome to the first-person survival game: Castle. This new biome rounds out the current biome settings of rural, fens, industrial, and mountains players will encounter while they try to collect artifact pieces to escape the islands of an unnamed archipelago.

The update also adds a soundtrack and some changes that affect the scarecrow’s and landowner’s pathing, as well as fixing the audio for the squire to reflect its movement. Currently the game is still in Alpha and seems to be progressing nicely as it reaches a finished state. Big Robot has stated that this update is the last in terms of delivering single-player content that was promised during the initial fund-raiser. A patch is expected sometime in the future to and an end sequence to the game as well as put some final touches on the existing biome elements.

So if you’ve gotten this far and are scratching your head due to what I’ve said, please give a read of the interview done by us here at Grogheads with James Carey, the designer of the game itself. If you’re slightly impatient and want the gist of what it entails, here it is: you are being hunted by old-timey robots and you must find several artifacts to escape the procedurally-generated island. SYABH relies on stealth, trickery, and resourcefulness, being gung-ho can be detrimental to living.

So what does this new biome look like in person? Here’s some wonderful in-game shots to not only show it off, but some of the action you can expect trying to stay alive while being hunted by British-looking robots.

 Click images to enlarge

Just as I start out on my quest to check out the new Castle biome, I realize that SYABH does not kid around. Within moments of walking, I spot a balloon with a spotlight that is scouting out my possible location. I hastily beat it out of the area to avoid being spotted and have hunters come after me.

Not that it mattered; I found a pair of hunters guarding an artifact, which lends itself to being found by either spotting the smoke from the heat of the explosion that flung them (which begs the question, where am I keeping these scalding-hot pieces on my person?).  I take mental note of the location and move towards the dock to where I can finally go to the new biome.

Well, this is just pleasant. The added soundtrack adds to the immersive setting of the castle biome, and I feel that I am not in Kansas anymore. Perhaps it is due to the late hour in which I arrived on the island that casts a chill on me, or…

…the feeling that I wasn’t alone SYABH doesn’t really give much in reprieves. With my binoculars I see that there are three hunters in the town next to me, possibly more. I am armed with a pistol and a rifle, but only enough ammo to take down 5-6 enemies (adding in the chance I’ll miss or not strike the head).  I decide to head further inland to check out the scenery.

I find a reasonably hunter-less town and spot a wrecked castle tower – the first sighting of the new biome. With the fog, the lighting, the music, and shadows, it was really neat to see. That and I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, there might be some cool knight’s armor to loot (there isn’t).

More of the castle biome. This is obviously the outer wall of a castle, and looks like it would be a perfect place to either run for cover or perhaps use the tower to scout out enemies and artifact locations.

I proceed further past the walls of the wrecked castle walls and spot some ruins. While this does provide some additional cover and places to hide, I know that this place will most likely contain enemies that I’d like to hide from. I keep my wits about me and head towards the main castle structure.

I poke about the ruins and luckily find that I am alone. I search about for loot that will aid me in staying alive against these Victorian-era British robots but come up with rat carcasses, bad eggs, and enough tea kettles and pottery to create a Downton Abbey set. I turn back and decide to head back to the previous island to head towards the artifact.

Not surprised that my loitering has brought about some wandering hunters. I decide to just book it to the docks and avoid any conflict unless absolutely necessary.

Back on the main island, I get slightly lost (I do not have a map yet) and decide to head to the nearest town and start from there. I spot three hunters milling about and decide to wait until the sun comes up to check out the town for loot and hopefully spot any smoke that shows the location of an artifact.

Alright, the sun is up, it’s go time!

I head towards the village and, using the buildings as cover, come up to a pair of robot chaps. I blow one away and reload my rifle as one turns his attention towards me.

This is the last shot I am able to get before my shot misses and I am taken down while reloading when two other hunters join the fray. Granted, my plan was risky, but most times you’ll find weapons, ammo, and perhaps even food on the robots you take down. Sometimes luck just isn’t on your side.

Overall I quite enjoy this new update. Variety is always a great thing to have to keep things fresh and new. SYABH is definitely worth a pick up if you’re into survival-type games, and how can you go wrong with Victorian-era robots chasing after you?

Scott Parrino is an avid game player with more than ten years in the game journalism business. When he’s not blowing up pixels and polygons, he is either nose-deep in a book or studying recipes for the perfect marinated steak.

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