Steam Extraction Shooter Blends Bloodborne Vibes With Plague Doctor Theme

With extraction shooters continuing to surge on Steam, the genre is quickly filling with new experiments as developers try to capture the kind of momentum that ARC Raiders helped bring to a wider audience. The next wave of upcoming Steam releases is already testing how far the formula can stretch—pulling in ideas from other game types and blending them into fresh takes on scavenging, survival, and risk.

Release window and platform

One of the most intriguing entries in this push is HUNGER, which aims to keep the extraction shooter rhythm while adding first-person RPG-style character growth. Where the extraction shooter spectrum has often leaned toward hardcore PvPvE survival or stylized arena-friendly loops, HUNGER positions itself closer to the vibe of Hunt: Showdown 1896 than to Marathon, drawing from the brutal atmosphere of Europe’s Napoleonic era—only to twist it into a world already broken by disaster.

In HUNGER, a savage plague has reduced humanity to scavengers, forcing players to fight through decay in search of supplies and upgrades. The presentation is described as taking cues from Bloodborne while retaining the extraction shooter gameplay loop popularized by recent hits like ARC Raiders. If that blend lands, HUNGER could be one of the next breakout names in the genre.

At the moment, HUNGER doesn’t have a confirmed release date. The plan is to launch Early Access in 2026.

Set up as a co-op shooter for Steam players, HUNGER merges a Fallout-like post-collapse setting with gameplay described as echoing the feel of Helldivers 2, and it promises a large procedurally generated world for expeditions.

HUNGER features at a glance

• Early Access is set to begin with three sizable maps that are described as “very different,” with additional maps planned later.
• More than thirty weapons are expected at Early Access launch, with further additions after release.
• A broad range of gadgets, medicines, and tools will be included at launch, with more to come.
• A hybrid combat style that combines shooting with slashing.
• Extensive customization covering characters, bags, and weapons, with most items acquired for free through in-game play.
• Deep, permanent RPG-style skill progression.
• A multiplayer hub world called the Chateau, designed for interacting with other players, NPCs, Professions, quest givers, and more.
• Large build variety, aiming to keep many playstyles viable.
• In-depth questing and storylines.
• End-game content that includes dungeons and boss encounters.
• No forced wipes.
• Proximity VOIP during Expeditions.
• Gathering and crafting Professions.
• A player-driven marketplace.

HUNGER throws players into plague-ravaged Napoleonic Europe, where multiplayer extraction RPG gameplay mixes brutal melee and ranged fighting with long-term character progression. The pitch is simple: scavenge for resources, survive horrors that don’t want you alive, and outlast rival “Living” players.

HUNGER combines extraction shooter gameplay with RPG progression in a plague-ravaged world

• Players can check out HUNGER on Steam.

By pairing firearms with melee options, HUNGER is aiming for a no-holds-barred combat experience. As with many extraction shooters, the core objective is to grab materials and loot that can be used to upgrade gear and craft cosmetics that hold value. The game’s standout twist here is a player-driven marketplace: crafted goods and gathered materials can be sold by players to others inside the game’s central hub, the Chateau.

The setup is framed as a social evolution of ARC Raiders’ hub space in Speranza, adding a layer of trading and community activity on top of the usual tension of survival runs.

Players will be tasked with identifying cover art while using the foil as sparingly as possible.

The world of HUNGER

• Image via GOOD FUN CORPORATION
• Image via GOOD FUN CORPORATION
• Image via GOOD FUN CORPORATION

HUNGER is set in an alternate Napoleonic Europe, where the damage of war has been compounded by the appearance of a new Bacterium. This outbreak spreads disease and fear across the land, and players are expected to take up arms with plague-doctor-inspired protection as they push into what’s left of the “World After the End.” The goal is to scavenge anything useful that can support other survivors back at the Chateau.

Even though HUNGER is built around extraction shooter mechanics, it also leans into narrative delivery through in-game quests and conversations with NPCs, including shopkeepers and bounty hunters. The approach is described as similar to the quest structure and character interactions found in ARC Raiders.

The gameplay of HUNGER

Before heading into an expedition, players will need to select the weapons they expect to use against the horrors they’ll encounter. In HUNGER, threats come from two directions: plague-affected enemies referred to as the Hunger, and other players labeled as the Living. If you die, you lose the gear and weapons you brought on that run. The stakes are balanced by permanent upgrades that can be unlocked, letting players shape their ideal loadout and shift how combat plays out over time—compared to how Marathon uses different Runner Shells to define gameplay.

Keeping top-tier equipment on hand among the Living is positioned as a key to success. The game includes a wide spread of weapon types. Alongside black powder rifles and pistols, players can also use rough semi-automatic firearms. Melee weapons are part of the arsenal too, including axes and claymores, meant to help deal with dangerous Hunger enemies. The combined firearm-and-melee approach is likened to Bloodborne’s “trick weapons” paired with an off-hand firearm. Experimental tools are also mentioned, such as glass grenades and hand mortars.

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Like other extraction shooter offerings, HUNGER includes both PvP and PvE content. The loop, however, is described as extending past those basics with dungeon runs and high-intensity boss fights. Those end-game activities are presented as part of the broader crossover between extraction shooter structure and RPG-style progression, which HUNGER is trying to use as a defining identity in the genre.

HUNGER’s RPG-like progression is its secret weapon

While HUNGER uses permanent skill progression to deepen its gameplay, the real emphasis is on how that system is meant to deliver the feel of a first-person RPG wrapped in an extraction shooter format. Other extraction shooters such as Marathon and ARC Raiders already feature permanent skill unlocks, but HUNGER is aiming to go further with a larger set of unlockable abilities split into Passive, Tactical, and Ultimate categories.

Those abilities are also described as customizable through a mastery tree system, with more than 100 talents available to unlock. The result is intended to appeal to players who enjoy both buildcrafting in traditional RPGs and the loot-and-risk decision-making common to extraction shooters.