Huntsman Protect & Serve is a first-person action adventure expansion that shifts the survival horror formula of the base game into armed confrontation. Set in a hidden section of Atherton Labs, it places players in the role of a local police officer responding to reports of monstrous experiments and giant arachnids. The story picks up after the events of the original campaign, where initial investigations suggest the threat has ended, only for a missed door to reveal deeper horrors that demand direct engagement rather than pure evasion.
Gameplay
The core loop centers on exploring unfamiliar corridors and rooms filled with the remnants of failed research. Players manage limited ammunition while facing multiple spiders at once, requiring careful positioning and awareness of surroundings. Gunfire draws attention, so each shot must count, and reload timing becomes critical during encounters. Environmental puzzles appear throughout the new wing, forcing players to reroute power, clear blockages, or manipulate objects to open paths forward while threats remain active nearby.
Resource scarcity carries over from the base experience, but the addition of a pistol changes the dynamic from constant flight to calculated offense. Flashlight use still plays a role for illumination and distraction, yet the emphasis moves toward selecting targets and conserving rounds. Spider behaviors remain consistent with the original, including varied movement patterns across walls, floors, and ceilings that demand constant vigilance.
Game Modes
The expansion delivers its content through a dedicated single-player narrative campaign. This standalone story segment integrates combat mechanics into the established horror framework without altering the base game's structure. A free Hardcore update arrives alongside the expansion, increasing spider density, introducing randomized door codes, and limiting save opportunities to heighten tension across both the original and new content.
No multiplayer options exist. The focus stays on solo progression through linear yet explorable areas where puzzle-solving and combat decisions determine survival.
Story and Setting
The narrative continues directly from the base game's conclusion. A survivor arrives at a police station with accounts of laboratory atrocities, prompting officers to investigate Atherton Labs. What begins as a containment operation unravels when an overlooked storage area exposes an additional facility section teeming with active threats. Players uncover the extent of the experiments through environmental storytelling and direct confrontations that reveal how close the outbreak came to spreading further.
The new area expands on the original facility's design with fresh rooms, hidden passages, and remnants of researcher activity. Tension builds from the knowledge that previous containment efforts failed, leaving the player to navigate the consequences while armed but still vulnerable.
Is It Worth Playing?
Protect & Serve appeals to players who completed the base Huntsman campaign and want to experience the same arachnid-infested environment with offensive tools instead of evasion alone. The expansion maintains the emphasis on atmosphere and realistic spider movement while introducing gunplay that rewards precision and restraint. Those drawn to short, intense single-player horror experiences will find the new campaign length and puzzle elements align with the original's focused design.
Reception for the base game highlights its ability to generate genuine unease through sound design and enemy behavior, though some sections have drawn criticism for pacing or technical issues addressed in subsequent patches. The upcoming Hardcore mode and combat addition provide fresh reasons to return for players comfortable with the core premise. Availability requires ownership of the base game, positioning this as targeted additional content rather than a standalone entry.
