Mistfall Hunter is a dark fantasy PvPvE soulslike with extraction components. Learn more about the game’s plot, gameplay, release date, our review of the game, and more.
Overview
What is Mistfall Hunter?
Mistfall Hunter combines two of the most popular genres in modern gaming: action RPG Soulslikes and extraction games. In short, it is a PvPvE title.
Set in the dark fantasy world of Weavereach, the game takes place after a cataclysmic war wiped out the land's ancient gods, leaving behind nothing but ruins and death. In its aftermath, a mysterious supernatural fog known as the Gyldenmist spread across the world, corrupting everything it touches.
As Gyldhunters born from the soul of an ancient Goddess, players venture into these mist-shrouded lands filled with corrupted creatures and deadly powers to harvest Gyldenblood from fallen monsters. Along the way, they'll forge their own path and grow stronger with every hunt, overcoming increasingly dangerous threats in their pursuit of glory… and riches.
Mistfall Hunter features:
⚫︎ Dark Fantasy Multiplayer RPG
⚫︎ PvPvE Experience
⚫︎ Solo or Trio Expeditions
⚫︎ Soulslike Mixed With Extraction
⚫︎ 20 to 30-Minute Missions
⚫︎ Six Classes to Choose
⚫︎ Two Available Maps with Normal and Hard Difficulty
| Digital Storefronts | ||
|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 Playstation |
 Xbox |
| $24.99 | ||
Mistfall Hunter Review: Seeing the Vision Through the Mist
Soulslike Meets Extraction
When FromSoftware’s Elden Ring proved the Soulslike genre could thrive on a much grander scale with an expansive world, a richer story, and a seemingly endless lineup of unforgettable boss fights, more and more developers began staking their claim in the genre's goldmine potential. FromSoftware has long been the pioneer of this dark and twisted take on action RPGs, pairing punishing difficulty with a satisfying sense of accomplishment and wonder that few games can replicate.
Mistfall Hunter borrows heavily from Hidetaka Miyazaki's Soulslike formula, but instead of simply replicating its foundations, developer Bellring Games blends it with an intriguing extraction twist. Immediately after its reveal during Xbox's Partner Preview in October 2024, it was clear this was a game made for fans of Dark Souls, while also drawing inspiration from extraction titles like Escape from Tarkov, just without the shooting.
Where the traditional Souls formula has players progressing from point A to point B with a boss waiting somewhere along the way, Mistfall Hunter flips that structure on its head by placing a heavy emphasis on looting, surviving, and getting the heck out before everything you've worked for is either stolen by another player or lost to the mist.
After spending a decent amount of time getting used to the grinding, I am enjoying this bizarre marriage between two of modern gaming's most popular genres. It can feel a little awkward at times, as it takes away some of what makes each genre work on its own, but I can also see the potential in this hybrid PvPvE formula.
Sword and Sorcery
The first few minutes of Mistfall Hunter already feel like something straight out of a FromSoftware game: an opening cutscene filled with cryptic dialogue about ancient beings, a custom character we're free to beautify or horrify on a whim, and a land thrown into disarray by forces of eons past. It's a fairly standard setup for a dark fantasy story, but it's effective enough to throw me headfirst into whatever ungodly monstrosity the game decides to put in my path.
Mistfall Hunter's approach to combat is all about sword and sorcery. If you've played a Souls game before, you'll feel right at home. It doesn't shy away from what already works in the action-RPG formula, putting players in the role of a "chosen hero" who takes down enemies with swords, staves, or bows. You choose from a roster of six classes, each with its own unique abilities and weapons, ranging from Greatsword-wielding Withered Knight to adept Sorcerers capable of conjuring firebolts at will.
You can't freely shape your character into more than your starting class, though. Once you've committed, you're locked into its playstyle unless you switch to another class with an entirely different set of abilities. It's a limitation that ultimately works in Mistfall Hunter's favor. Given its hybrid PvPvE design, allowing a single player to access every ability would quickly become a balancing nightmare.
Some classes will naturally appeal to more players than others. The sword-and-shield-wielding Mercenary, for example, fills the familiar melee role much like a classic Strength build in Dark Souls, making it an easy class to pick up for beginners. Magic-focused classes such as the Seer and Sorcerer, on the other hand, excel in ranged encounters but felt noticeably weaker during my time with the game. They can easily be overwhelmed by aggressive melee opponents who stagger them before they have a chance to finish casting their spells. Because of that, I'd personally hold off on running a magic build until Bellring Games has had a chance to further balance the classes.
Though once you've settled on a class, it's time to brave Mistfall Hunter's uncharted, mist-laden lands. Fair warning though: it's anything but a cakewalk. Soulslike games have always taken pride in delivering headache-inducing, hair-pulling challenges, and this game is no exception. You'll encounter a wide variety of enemies, from standard fodder to towering Mist Bosses that can melt your health bar in seconds if you come in unprepared.
About the Extraction Genre
Now for the elephant in the room. While Mistfall Hunter is built on the foundation of the Soulslike genre, it's also an extraction game where you're encouraged to loot as many valuable items and resources as possible before making your escape. Stay too long, and you'll either run out of time or get cleaved in two by the nearest bloodthirsty player.
Scattered across the game's two available maps are fixed enemy encounters that can be farmed on every run, rewarding you with resources and gear that steadily push your character closer to godhood. It's pretty standard stuff for an extraction game, but what I love most is how Mistfall Hunter twists the formula with Soulslike ideas. Instead of calling down a transmat device like in Marathon or an elevator in ARC Raiders to extract safely, Mistfall Hunter has you slay an adorable little bell creature to whisk you away from its godforsaken lands.
Enemy mobs are also everywhere, with some lurking around corners or waiting to ambush you just like in a classic Soulslike. In that sense, they're similar to the AI encounters found in other extraction games, such as the robot patrols in ARC Raiders. The difference is that Mistfall Hunter's enemies aren't nearly as relentless. In most cases, you can simply disengage and walk away if a fight isn't worth the risk. That freedom disappears once you stumble into mini-bosses, Mist Bosses, or other players where retreat is rarely an option and committing to the encounter becomes part of the challenge.
There's also no shortage of activities to keep you chasing better loot. Every 20-minute expedition encourages you to take on quests, whether it's slaying monsters, clearing enemy encampments, or completing other objectives scattered across the map. These bite-sized tasks form the backbone of most runs and provide a steady stream of rewards that make each expedition feel worthwhile, provided your inventory still has that extra space, though.
Other activities revolve around multi-stage quests that encourage you to venture deeper into the map. The farther you push, the greater the rewards, but the risks increase just as quickly. Exploring more of the world means a higher chance of running into dangerous enemies, rival players, or both before you can make your escape.
Of course, the biggest draw of every expedition is the Mist Boss. These powerful foes typically emerge midway through a run, opening a portal that invites nearby players to take on one of the region's most formidable enemies for a chance at its best rewards. This is where Mistfall Hunter's PvPvE design truly shines. In solo expeditions, nearby players can choose to set aside their differences and work together to bring down the boss before deciding whether to part ways peacefully or betray one another for the loot. In trios, however, coordination becomes essential, as rival teams can swoop in at any moment to steal their thunder and claim the rewards for themselves.
The PvP Aspect of Things
PvP in Mistfall Hunter is an entirely different challenge. In almost every run, you're bound to cross paths with another player lurking somewhere on the map, and as with most extraction games, it's usually better to strike first and ask questions later. Rules of engagement, et cetera.
More often than not, you'll hear another player's footsteps long before you actually see them, and that's when the extraction genre's mutually assured destruction kicks into full effect. Every encounter becomes a split-second decision: do you ambush them for their loot, or keep the peace and continue scavenging on your own? There's no right answer, only whatever choice gives you the best chance of making it out alive.
But encountering another player also presents a rare opportunity to find an unlikely ally in this unforgiving world. You can team up with fellow wanderers, exchange a peaceful gesture, and work together to take down the aforementioned Mist Bosses, which can be a lengthy ordeal if tackled solo. Of course, trusting a stranger comes with its own risks, but you already know that.
Another thing to note is that Mistfall Hunter doesn't feature a dedicated lock-on system, so you're forced to manually aim every slash and spell cast during combat. It can feel a little awkward when the camera doesn't cooperate, especially inside smaller rooms, but it also raises the skill ceiling by rewarding good positioning and precise aim. In turn, every class, whether melee or magic-focused, competes on a somewhat equal footing since success depends as much on player execution as it does on their build.
While the game's moment-to-moment combat feels fairly well balanced thanks to the absence of a lock-on system, I'm not entirely convinced every class is "truly" on equal footing just yet. I can't say for certain whether it's a balancing issue or simply the nature of the early game, but my Withered Knight has been tearing through other players, to the point where I'm almost convinced it's overtuned. Its heavy attacks consistently stagger opponents, while its quick lunges deal surprisingly high damage, making it an absolute menace in PvP. That may change as players unlock stronger gear, Talents, and abilities, but for now, it's easily become my favorite class as I can melt spellcasting classes in just a couple of swings.
Power Fantasy Of Your Own Making
Being an extraction game, acquiring better loot is the key to surviving Mistfall Hunter's toughest encounters.
This is where the game's extraction formula is put to good use. There's only so much you can accomplish without decent gear, and challenging a powerful Mist Boss with nothing but Common equipment is practically a death sentence. The core gameplay loop revolves around venturing into the mist, gathering valuable materials and equipment, then returning to its cozy, Majula-inspired hub to forge stronger gear, upgrade your character, and prepare for the next expedition.
Every successful run makes you a little stronger. You earn experience, unlock new Talents for your chosen class, and gradually expand your cozy little hub with NPCs who offer valuable services for future expeditions. Sigrid, for example, can brew wines that provide useful stat boosts before each run, while other residents unlock additional ways to strengthen your character and prepare you for the dangers waiting beyond the mist.
Now the grind truly begins. That means every failure, although devastating, can still be a rewarding experience. While any materials, weapons, and items you've looted are permanently lost when you perish, Mistfall Hunter offers a few ways to soften the blow. For starters, if you're killed by one of the game's regular mobs, you'll have a chance to revive and reclaim your body, letting you jump back into the fight with your gear intact. Die at the hands of another player, however, and it's game over. Everything you've brought with you is gone.
But it's in those moments of death that you realize this game has real teeth. Adding the mechanic of permanent loot loss to a Soulslike feels like a natural evolution, and blending it with an extraction formula is a surprisingly smart way to make it work. That feeling became even more apparent once I reached the game's second map, Brandrgarde, which borrows a familiar battle royale mechanic by gradually closing in a deadly circle that forces every surviving player into the same area. It transforms the final moments of every expedition into a frantic scramble, where escaping with your loot becomes just as important as surviving everyone else who wants to take it from you.
As I write this review, I've still barely scratched the surface of how deep Mistfall Hunter's endgame goes. There's a surprising amount of buildcrafting here that I haven't even had the chance to fully explore yet, from its forging system to an extensive selection of gear that can be socketed with gems to unlock all kinds of powerful synergies. On top of that, the game also features a built-in auction house where players can buy and sell discovered weapons and equipment, giving it an economy reminiscent of Path of Exile's player-driven marketplace.
An Odd Combination, But a Welcome One
Do all of these systems work? Surprisingly, yes. Never did I think these two genres could coexist so naturally, but this is also where things start to get a little weird.
The deeper I got into the game, the clearer it became that this is less of a Soulslike and more of a grind-heavy adventure. It borrows the combat and progression of a Soulslike but lacks the sense of discovery that defines the genre, as enemy encounters and bosses are largely fixed across every expedition. At the same time, it's unapologetically an extraction game, rewarding players who are willing to grind for better gear and take bigger risks in pursuit of greater rewards.
That shift may disappoint players who simply want to battle memorable bosses and engage in spontaneous PvP invasions like they would in a traditional Souls game. Instead, Mistfall Hunter's hybrid PvPvE structure places progression at the heart of the experience, creating a constant cycle of growing stronger, risking everything you've earned, and rebuilding after every crushing defeat. It's a gameplay loop that won't resonate with everyone, but for those who enjoy the highs and lows of extraction games, that's precisely where its appeal lies.
Now, every defeat is another reason to dust yourself off, "git gud," and hunt them down in a future run. The problem is that reaching that point again can take hours of grinding, making every loss sting that much more. It also remains unclear whether Mistfall Hunter uses any form of gear-based matchmaking during expeditions, but I hope there's some kind of hidden MMR in place to keep encounters reasonably fair, especially for newer or less-equipped players.
While losing your hard-earned weapons and equipment to another player can be absolutely devastating, there's a glimmer of hope beneath its somewhat blurred identity.
What ultimately ties both genres together is the game's strong live-service foundation and its emphasis on fostering an active community. Whether it's talking to strangers through the global chat, joining the official Discord to find new allies, or using the Auction House to gear up for your next expedition, Mistfall Hunter provides enough social and progression systems to soften the devastating loss of its unforgiving extraction mechanics without losing sight of its action RPG roots.
Is Mistfall Hunter Worth It?
Worth the Grind With Plenty More to Do
There's always a huge risk when a game tries to appeal to two very different audiences, but I never expected combining the endless grind of extraction games with the precision combat of a Soulslike to work as well as it does.
On paper, these two gameplay philosophies shouldn't work together, yet despite the occasional growing pains, Bellring Games has found a surprisingly effective middle ground that blends both genres into a never-ending cycle of "It's so over!" and "We're so back!". Every successful extraction pushes your character forward through new gear, Talents, and buildcrafting opportunities, while every crushing defeat only fuels the urge to jump back in and recover what you've lost.
While there's still plenty of work to be done with its performance (which can dip into the 30s and even the 20 FPS range), its lack of Oceania servers, and the need for greater transparency around its matchmaking systems, Mistfall Hunter already offers a solid foundation for what a Soulslike-extraction hybrid can be. With continued updates and the right support from Bellring Games, it has all the ingredients needed to carve out its own unique place among both Soulslikes and extraction games. The mist hasn't fully cleared yet, but I can already see the vision.
FAQ
Can You Play Duos in Mistfall Hunter?
No, Mistfall Hunter does not currently feature a dedicated Duo matchmaking mode. At launch, players can queue for Solo or Trio expeditions in Hallowgrove, while Brandrgarde is limited to Trio matchmaking, with solo players also able to queue into Trio lobbies if they're willing to take on squads alone.
How Long Does Mistfall Hunter’s Runs Last?
An average run of Mistfall Hunter lasts around 20 to 30 minutes, though that can vary depending on your luck.
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