Sumo Digital and Focus Home Interactive's take on the Robin Hood legend has finally launched globally, coming off of its early access weekend. Hood: Outlaws and Legends pits two teams of four players against one another to see who can steal and extract a treasure heavily guarded by AI enemies including the well protected Sheriff. With four distinct characters to pick from including the Ranger class named after Robin himself, players should find something that suits their playstyle.
Upon logging into the experience for the first time, players will immediately be put through the game's tutorial mode to learn the ropes. It is here, they're learn how to move through the world, utilize stealth, and carefully pick off the guards on their way to the treasure. Each class will be given a rundown as well as how to steal the key from the Sheriff, locate the vault, and then what to do during the tense extraction segments.
However, there are some things the game deliberately or maybe not intentionally leaves out of its lesson. Through gameplay experience, players may develop tricks and strategies for dealing with particular situations, especially in the case where the team of four may not have access to one of the classes or their abilities. Healing, for example, is a critical aspect of any game especially for one that can get as hectic as Hood: Outlaws and Legends.
During the tutorial segments, players are introduced to Tooke, who represents the mystic class. While outfitted with a large mace for dealing damage to enemies, Tooke is primarily responsible for keeping the team healed up through their special ability called Instinct. The move does require time to recharge so teams will need to coordinate when the burst healing is used to ensure all who need it are close enough once activated.
Tooke also has access to a few class perks which, while they don't benefit the team, they will help keep the player alive longer. At level 10, players can pick up the Vampiric Bludgeon perk which gives the player life steal when damaging enemies. The percent of health returned is small, so the perk won't feel overpowered, though regaining health through combat can come in handy.
In addition, players can opt to equip the Innate perk as well, which gives Tooke their Instinct ability at the very start of the match, rather than waiting for it to charge slowly over time. This gives the team a big advantage and another chance should someone make a mistake and enter combat a little earlier than the team was planning to.
Outside of Tooke's special ability, there are no other ways for characters to heal during a match or enter a game with increased character health. Without Tooke on a team, players will need to play more carefully and stick to stealth to avoid damage or risk seeing the respawn timer and giving the other team time to claim the treasure for their own.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.