Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Ark: Survival Evolved tips
Action Games 10 essential Ark Survival Ascended tips you should know
The Alters tips
Survival Games 10 The Alters tips and tricks to help you get ahead in the early game
Dune Awakening tips
Survival Games 10 Dune Awakening tips and tricks we wish we'd know earlier
Blue Prince tips
Puzzle Games 10 Blue Prince tips to start exploring the mansion
Elden Ring: Nightreign launch trailer
Action RPGs Elden Ring Nightreign's creators are begging you: upgrade your flasks, stick together, and don't be afraid to use an ultimate for a revive
Elden Ring Nightreign tips and tricks
Action RPGs 12 Elden Ring Nightreign tips and tricks to help you conquer the Night
Stellar Blade review
Action Games 10 Stellar Blade tips and tricks for beginners to master the sword
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Evolve

Excited for Evolve's Big Alpha? These tips should get you ready

Features
By David Roberts published 31 October 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The bigger they are

The bigger they are

Evolve is a hard game to pin down. Four different hunters, each with their own unique weapons and abilities, all working together to take down a single giant monster ripped out of a Japanese kaiju classic. It's filled with bits and pieces taken from first-person shooters, MOBAs like League of Legends, and even developer Turtle Rock's own Left 4 Dead. So yeah, it's a bit of a weird thing to take in at first glance.

But once you figure out how everything works, Evolve turns into a nail-biting game of give-and-take, where you're never far from utter defeat or glorious victory, regardless of what side you're on. After playing a few rounds, I came up with a few handy strategies that should get you up to speed in no time.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Try not to suck as the monster

Try not to suck as the monster

Ok, this sounds a bit mean, but seriously, make sure you learn all of the nuance behind controlling the monster. Knowing how to get around the map and how to avoid detection will mean the difference between a tense game of cat-and-giant-monster (y'know, how the game is supposed to be played) and an anticlimactic five-minute match.

Playing as the monster is very, very different from playing as the hunters, and you need to know this going in, or you're going to get creamed. Your job isn't to find and kill the hunters; no, your job is to stalk the shadows, kill and eat whatever animals you can get your claws on, and use that energy to "evolve" (if you will) into a more powerful beastie. Fighting as the monster is either a last resort, or something you do when you know you can take everyone out in one go.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Don't put all of your monster's skill points into one ability at the outset

Don't put all of your monster's skill points into one ability at the outset

I learned this the hard way, thinking that one super powered ability is way better than three lower-powered skills. And while you'll definitely want to specialize in a single skill by the end of your monster's evolution cycle, putting all three of your skill points into a single ability at the beginning of a match is a one-way ticket to Deathsville. Population: You.

See, each of your upgradeable abilities comes with a fancy cooldown timer, and you're only allowed to use it once that little meter fills back up. Yeah, you're weaker if you spread out your points at first, but you've also got three different attacks to alternate between as you're waiting. Put them all into one, and, well, you'll probably be twiddling your thumbs and wishing you'd made better life choices.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Use water and leap to create distance and avoid detection

Use water and leap to create distance and avoid detection

The hunters can track you across the map in a variety of ways (more on that later), and you don't want that. A great way to put distance between you and your foes is to put them off the scent with a quick dip into a nearby body of water.

Typically, hunters can track your footprints, which will lead them right to you. But if you use the water, you can make like David Copperfield and *waves hands* disappear. You move slower in the water, but the Goliath can still leap, which helps a bit. Moving downriver and out of sight of the hunters will give you plenty of time to eat some more food or take a few precious seconds to evolve (there it is again!) into a more powerful beast.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Play. Your. Class.

Play. Your. Class.

This should go without saying, but on the other hand, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are going to try to take on a giant monster as a medic. So I'm going to say it. You need. To play. Your class. Simple as that. Everyone wants to be the guy or gal that blows up the monster for good, but you will be more help to the entire group if you make proper use of the gear you carry into battle.

All of the classes have weapons capable of doing damage to the monster, but the assault and support classes are going to have a much better time of it than the medic or trapper will. Their job is to keep the monster tethered and keep everyone on the battlefield alive--two very important tasks. And even the support class should take time away from setting up orbital strikes to give other players a shield if they're getting pounded on too hard. The important thing to remember is this: it's OK to want to beat up on Godzilla, but you've got other, equally important tasks to attend to.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Respawn times are loooooooooong, so don't die

Respawn times are loooooooooong, so don't die

With four hunters on the map, and each one having abilities designed to help each other out, it's a lot harder to actually die than you think. Even if you get knocked down, one of your friends can pop on over and revive you in a couple of seconds. But you still need to be careful, otherwise you'll find yourself knocked out of the game, forced to wait minutes to hop back into the fray.

Respawns are based on a universal timer, and once that clock hits zero, a ship will fly over the arena and drop another batch of fresh recruits (clones?). But before you land, you have to sit through a fairly lengthy sequence as you wait for the ship's doors to open and for your characters to jump to the ground. Then you have to run back to where the rest of your friends are to help out. This whole process can take a ludicrous amount of time if you die on the back end of a respawn cycle, so don't. Easy, right?

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Don't always follow Daisy around

Don't always follow Daisy around

Each class has two different characters to choose from, each with its own unique abilities and items. Maggie (one of the Trappers), has a special companion named Daisy that follows her around, in addition to her standard repertoire of tricks. Daisy is a massive dog-looking thing called a Trapjaw, and its job is to sniff around the wilderness and find the trail of the beast you're hunting.

The problem with Daisy is that she can be way too slow, especially when things get down to the wire. She'll often run around in circles or get caught on walls or other obstacles, causing you to grit your teeth and wonder why you brought this mutt along in the first place. You can use other visual clues (like footprints or the sound of birds taking flight off in the distance) to gauge where your quarry has run off to. Daisy is helpful in the first few minutes of a match to give you an idea of where the monster is, or to put you back on the scent if you've completely lost it, but after that, focus on other, better ways of tracking the beast.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
A well-placed Mobile Arena is devastating

A well-placed Mobile Arena is devastating

One of Maggie's other abilities is a giant blue dome called a Mobile Arena, and it's awesome. A quick press of a button will cause a giant shield to appear around a large portion of your surroundings, and if you're lucky, your prey will be caught inside. It's a great way to keep it in a relatively confined area for a fairly lengthy amount of time.

That said, the Mobile Arena is not foolproof. An adept monster can use what little terrain it has access to and run circles around your time until the shield dissipates. Plus, you're trapping a snarling hellbeast in a confined space with you. Use caution.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Hunt the local wildlife for buffs

Hunt the local wildlife for buffs

That humongous monster you're hunting isn't the only creature in the area. There's a large variety of fauna out there--some of it indifferent to your presence, and some of it ready to take a big ol' bite out of you if you're not careful. You might think these animals are merely a distraction, but taking a couple seconds away from your ultimate goal can help you immensely.

Many of the larger brutes you'll come across will drop a nice buff if you decide to thin the herd. These can increase your speed, enhance your vision, and more! So, while it's usually best to stay on the move, sometimes it helps to be mean to some animals.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
When the monster hits Level 3, gun it back to the generator

When the monster hits Level 3, gun it back to the generator

The monster can win a match in two ways: either by killing all four hunters before they have a chance to respawn, or by destroying the hunters' generator. To complete the second goal, they have to evolve to level three, then head over to the power generator and attack it until it blows up.

If you're a hunter, you don't want that to happen. So the second you see that level three warning, book it on over to the generator and start setting traps. You can try to hunt the monster, but if they lead you off into a corner of the map then sneak off, they may make it to the generator and blow it up before you even have a chance to fight back.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
...the harder they fall

...the harder they fall

These are just a few of the tips and strategies I figured out while I spent some time with Evolve's Big Alpha, and hopefully you can put them to good use when you give it a shot for yourself. If you've played the game yourself (or are a giant monster/monster hunter IRL), do you have anything to add? Let me know in the comments below!

Looking for more Evolve action? Check out our Road to the Review, or sign up for the alpha here!

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS4 Xbox One Platforms PlayStation Xbox
David Roberts
David Roberts
Social Links Navigation
David Roberts lives in Everett, WA with his wife and two kids. He once had to sell his full copy of EarthBound (complete with box and guide) to some dude in Austria for rent money. And no, he doesn't have an amiibo 'problem', thank you very much.
See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
Ark: Survival Evolved tips
10 essential Ark Survival Ascended tips you should know
The Alters tips
10 The Alters tips and tricks to help you get ahead in the early game
Dune Awakening tips
10 Dune Awakening tips and tricks we wish we'd know earlier
Blue Prince tips
10 Blue Prince tips to start exploring the mansion
Elden Ring: Nightreign launch trailer
Elden Ring Nightreign's creators are begging you: upgrade your flasks, stick together, and don't be afraid to use an ultimate for a revive
Elden Ring Nightreign tips and tricks
12 Elden Ring Nightreign tips and tricks to help you conquer the Night
Latest in Action
Death Stranding 2
I'm glad the heatwave is over, because if it wasn't I'd think I hallucinated these weird Death Stranding 2 moments, from dancing dolls to sci-fi directors fighting while making pizza
Hollow Knight
As Hollow Knight: Silksong gets 7 new Steam updates in less than a week, the SKONG community reaches levels of cope hitherto unseen: "The wait is almost over"
Fighting enemies in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition
2 years and one Switch 2 release later, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hoarders are still celebrating their item duping glitches making it past Nintendo's patches
Death Stranding 2 screenshot
Hideo Kojima's fabled USB stick full of ideas contingency plan has been put aside, as it was actually put in place during a 2020 health scare long before Death Stranding 2's release
GTA 6 Lucia
GTA 6 will "remain" the most expensive game ever, former Rockstar dev predicts, because GTA 7 will see the "bulk of the work" replaced by AI
Link is in a barrel in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker on Nintendo Switch 2
Twink Link is being freed: Nintendo apparently backtracks, says you are allowed to call yourself Twink Link as it works to unban a Switch 2 it "flagged by accident"
Latest in Features
Emma Mackey and Fiona Shaw as Sofia and Rose in Hot Milk
Sun, sea, and strained relationships: Andor's Fiona Shaw and Barbie's Emma Mackey play a mother and daughter on the brink in new drama Hot Milk
Two menacing gingerbread men look intimidating while a candy person waves from a cage
I didn't expect to like the latest D&D book, but after an utterly stupid adventure I'm all in on Dragon Delves
Mion and Rena look uneasy in the classroom in Higurashi: When They Cry
The Silent Hill f writer's debut game was basically the original Doki Doki Literature Club, and it's still terrifying me 23 years later
Quantum Witch screenshots
This stunning 2D "plotformer" is the ultimate cottagecore fantasy with an extra dose of mystery, sapphic witches, and a giant lady who fights you
Superman
Krypto the Superdog - The comic history of Superman's best friend
All-New Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #1
Spider-Gwen's new comic introduces her own personal symbiote villain, Tantrum: "Tantrum is the embodiment of everything Gwen was trying to leave behind"
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...