Home PC Reviews theHunter: Call of the Wild – Ultimate Hunting Bundle Review

theHunter: Call of the Wild – Ultimate Hunting Bundle Review

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theHunter: Call of the Wild - Ultimate Hunting Bundle Review
theHunter: Call of the Wild - Ultimate Hunting Bundle Review

Few games have demonstrated the longevity and community support enjoyed by theHunter: Call of the Wild since its original release. While many live-service experiences rely on seasonal gimmicks and constant reinvention to retain their audience, Expansive Worlds has spent nearly a decade refining a singular vision. It is a game built around patience, observation, and immersion. Each new reserve, weapon pack, and quality-of-life addition has steadily expanded an already impressive foundation into one of the most comprehensive simulation experiences available today.

That commitment reaches its logical conclusion with the Ultimate Hunting Bundle. Rather than offering a simple collection of downloadable content, this enormous package effectively transforms theHunter: Call of the Wild into a complete hunting ecosystem. Featuring a staggering collection of reserves, weapon packs, equipment expansions, hunting dogs, and trophy lodges, it represents years of post-launch development gathered into a single purchase. For newcomers, it provides the definitive starting point. For veterans looking to consolidate their collection, it showcases how far the game has evolved since its earliest days.

What immediately stands out is the sheer scale of the content included. This is not a bundle designed to provide a few extra hours of entertainment. It is a package capable of delivering hundreds of hours of exploration, tracking, and trophy hunting across some of the most breathtaking environments ever created within the genre.

A World Without Borders

The greatest strength of the Ultimate Hunting Bundle is the extraordinary variety of locations it places at your fingertips. The base game already offers impressive hunting grounds, but the included reserves dramatically expand the experience’s geographical scope and visual diversity. One evening you may find yourself stalking moose through the snowy wilderness of Medved-Taiga. The next, you could be tracking lions across the sun-drenched plains of Vurhonga Savanna or navigating the lush forests of New Zealand’s Te Awaroa National Park.

Each reserve feels like a genuine destination rather than a simple reskin. Wildlife populations vary dramatically, environmental conditions shift constantly, and successful hunting strategies often need to be completely rethought when moving between regions. Hunting in Australia’s Emerald Coast feels fundamentally different from navigating the dense forests of the New England Mountains or the rugged terrain of the Yukon Valley. The result is a game that remains consistently fresh, even after dozens or hundreds of hours.

What makes these locations so effective is the level of detail invested in each one. Expansive Worlds understands that atmosphere is every bit as important as gameplay. Every reserve tells its own environmental story through weather patterns, vegetation, wildlife behaviours, and ambient sound design. Simply exploring these regions can be rewarding in its own right, even before a single shot is fired.

A Hunter’s Arsenal

One of the biggest hurdles for new players has always been equipment progression. The standard game asks players to slowly earn currency and experience before unlocking more capable weapons and tools. While that progression system has its merits, it can also frustrate newcomers still learning the mechanics.

The Ultimate Hunting Bundle largely eliminates that barrier. With an extensive collection of weapon packs, players gain access to an impressive selection of rifles, bows, shotguns, handguns, scopes, and specialised ammunition almost immediately. Whether you prefer long-range precision shooting, stealthy bow hunting, or versatile all-purpose firearms, there is a loadout to suit your style from the very beginning.

The Modern Rifle Pack and High Caliber Weapon Pack are particularly valuable additions. These weapons provide reliable solutions for larger game without forcing players through lengthy grinding sessions. Purists may argue that some of the satisfaction of progression is diminished as a result, and there is certainly truth to that perspective. However, for many players, access to better equipment simply allows them to engage with the aspects of the game they enjoy most without unnecessary restrictions.

The extensive collection of callers, tripods, treestands, and specialised hunting tools further expands your tactical options. Every hunt becomes an opportunity to experiment with different approaches rather than relying on a single preferred strategy.

Hunting With Man’s Best Friend

Among the most transformative additions in the bundle are the hunting dogs. While they might initially seem like cosmetic companions, they fundamentally enhance several aspects of the hunting experience.

The Bloodhound is perhaps the most useful companion for newer players. Tracking wounded animals across dense terrain can be one of the most challenging and occasionally frustrating aspects of the game. A poorly placed shot often leads to a lengthy search through forests, fields, and undergrowth. With a trained Bloodhound by your side, that process becomes significantly more intuitive and rewarding. Watching your dog follow a blood trail while you piece together the animal’s movements creates a genuine sense of teamwork.

The Retriever serves a different but equally valuable role, particularly for waterfowl hunters. Recovering downed birds from lakes and rivers becomes far less tedious when your canine companion eagerly retrieves them on your behalf. Meanwhile, the German Shorthaired Pointer adds another layer of utility by helping locate game birds before they take flight.

Beyond their practical usefulness, the dogs simply add warmth to the experience. Hunting can often be a solitary pursuit, and having a loyal companion accompany you through the wilderness creates a stronger emotional connection to the world.

The Joy of the Trophy Room

Every successful hunt tells a story. Whether it is a perfectly executed long-range shot or a tense encounter with a dangerous predator, those memories deserve a place beyond a simple statistics screen. The inclusion of both Trophy Lodge expansions addresses this beautifully.

Spring Creek Manor offers an elegant, traditional setting that feels perfectly suited to displaying prized trophies collected over years of adventure. Walking through its halls and reflecting on memorable hunts creates a surprisingly satisfying sense of accomplishment. Saseka Safari Lodge provides a more contemporary alternative, with excellent display options for both trophies and weapons.

What makes these lodges so important is the sense of purpose they provide. Harvesting a rare fur variation or securing a Diamond-rated animal suddenly feels more meaningful when you know it can become part of a permanent collection. The lodges transform hunting from a series of isolated encounters into a long-term personal journey.

A Simulation That Rewards Patience

At its heart, theHunter: Call of the Wild remains one of the most authentic hunting simulations ever created. This is not an action game disguised as a simulator. Success requires patience, planning, and a willingness to learn. Charging recklessly through the wilderness will almost always lead to failure.

The game asks players to consider wind direction, noise levels, visibility, animal behaviour, and terrain before making a move. Every successful hunt feels earned because the systems demand respect. The Ultimate Hunting Bundle enhances this experience by offering greater flexibility rather than simplifying it. Better equipment and broader options do not remove the challenge. They simply allow players to approach it on their own terms.

This balance is where Expansive Worlds continues to excel. The game remains approachable for newcomers while offering enough depth to satisfy dedicated simulation enthusiasts.

The Only Real Drawback

Ironically, the bundle’s greatest strength can also feel like its biggest weakness. The sheer volume of content may overwhelm some players. Newcomers are immediately presented with dozens of reserves, countless weapons, multiple dog companions, and a wide range of equipment choices.

Additionally, the early progression curve loses some of its impact. Part of the original game’s appeal came from gradually working towards better equipment and feeling genuinely excited when finally unlocking a new rifle. With much of that gear available immediately, some of the sense of gradual achievement inevitably fades.

Even so, these concerns feel relatively minor when weighed against the value on offer. Most players will happily trade a slightly flatter progression curve for the incredible freedom and flexibility the bundle provides.

Final Verdict

The Ultimate Hunting Bundle is exactly what its name suggests. It is the most complete, expansive, and content-rich version of theHunter: Call of the Wild currently available. Every major pillar of the experience is represented here, from breathtaking reserves and versatile weaponry to faithful hunting companions and beautifully designed trophy lodges.

While the abundance of content may soften some of the original progression systems, the trade-off is access to an extraordinary amount of high-quality simulation content from the very beginning. For newcomers, there is no better entry point into the series. For veterans, it stands as a remarkable showcase of everything Expansive Worlds has accomplished over nearly a decade of support. Few bundles genuinely earn the word “ultimate.” This one absolutely does.