There’s something so magical about the Bayou. It’s a world of its own, an ecosystem quite unlike any other, and, for me, the one place where nature truly gets to run wild. As my excitement builds for South of Midnight, spurred on by Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s gorgeous reimagining of classic zone Nahantu, Hunt: Showdown 1896‘s Garden of the Witch event has come along and added yet another adventure to my ‘must play’ list. Diving deep into the heart of swamp, update 2.3 adds five new Hunters to the fray, as well as three exclusive traits, and a whole arsenal’s worth of fresh weaponry.
First up are the FPS game‘s new Legendary Hunters, split into two warring factions, the Bruja and Welders, with one anomaly. The Bruja are swamp medics who have spent their year cultivating healing herbs, while the Welders are two brothers who are obsessed with metallurgy – one more than the other. Then, there’s the mysterious Servant of the Void, who ushers in the apocalypse with her doomsaying, and isn’t afraid to punish those who refuse to listen.
Then, there’s a whole slew of guns to add to your Hunt: Showdown arsenal, including the 1865 Carbine Silencer (a fast-reloading, mid-range powerhouse), as well as the Mosin Obrez Match and Mosin Obrez Sharpeye, which pack some serious punch, but have a slightly shorter range than their sibling, the Mosin-Nagant. To top it off, there’s new custom ammo, too, with the 1865 Carbine Subsonic Ammo giving you smaller, heavier bullets that are filled with less gunpowder than other variants: perfect for keeping quiet.
Then there’s a series of event-specific Scarce traits, some of which are making a reappearance from previous content drops. There’s Blademancer, which allows you to take retrievable ammo from in front of you using Dark Sight, Corpse Seer, which grants a Dark Sight boost when looting downed Hunters, and Gunrunner, that lets you equip a second large or medium slot weapon. Notably, Blademancer has taken a bit of a nerf, and no longer does extra pull out damage.
Then, there’s the new Rare Supply system, which acts somewhat like the Sealed Hoard feature from previous events, but moves drops around. There’s only one of these per mission, and they effectively act as a loot room. Additionally, you’ll be able to store up to six Pledge marks at a time, and you’ll be able to loot the same number from downed players.
But, while there’s a slew of new content to dive into, Crytek’s primary focus in 2025 is making balance and gameplay adjustments to improve the general experience. Coming into update 2.3, the base damage on all silencers has been reduced by 10%, Hand Crossbow Revive Bolt ammo has been removed (any purchased ammo will be refunded), and the game’s network experience has been improved. There’s a long list of adjustments to go through, so check out the video above, as well as this link for all of the nitty, gritty details.
Hunt: Showdown 1896’s Garden of the Witch update is live now, and the game is 50% off to celebrate, making it just $14.99 / £12.99 until Thursday April 3.
If you’re looking for something completely new to play with your friends, though, check out our list of the best multiplayer games. Alternatively, if its the eerie darkness of the bayou that’s lured you in, we have a list of the best fantasy games where you’ll no doubt encounter a swamp or two.
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