Evolve Hosts 'Big Alpha' This Halloween

Coming from 2K and the folks behind the Left 4 Dead series, there’s a pretty good chance that many of our readers are eagerly anticipating the 4 vs. 1 hunt-a-thon, Evolve. Well, it looks like you won’t have to wait until next year to actually get in on all of that action, as the game’s “Big Alpha” trailer announces an introductory event coming this month.

For those unfamiliar with Evolve, it’s actually a pretty simple premise. In short, four players control hunters, each with their own strengths, witnesses and abilities. A fifth player takes on the role of a monster, such as the Kraken, who starts off with stats and abilities that will make it tough to survive against those frustrating humans. The player in control of the creature begins with a goal of eating all sorts of other animals in order to evolve into a stronger beast, eventually gaining the upper hand. If the players want to win, it’s usually best to hunt down and take the monster out before it becomes too strong. If the monster wants to win, it’s usually best to avoid confrontation until you’ve grown stronger.

Evolve was originally slated for a launch sometime this fall, but was eventually pushed back to early 2015. But, as has been revealed in today’s alpha trailer, players won’t have to wait much longer to take the game for a test drive.

To see some of the Evolve gameplay in action, you can check out the following video, showing off about 15 minutes worth of people hunting a Kraken while a Kraken hunts those same people. This event happened during

>E3 2014 so, with several additional months of work under the hood, maybe the alpha will be even more monstrous when it launches next month.

Appropriately enough, the monster-fueled Evolve alpha will begin just in time for the Halloween season, kicking off on the Xbox One come Oct. 30 and running through Nov. 2. As a special promotion for Xbox One owners, the only thing you need in order to get into the alpha is an Xbox Live Gold account.

The following day, some PC and PS4 players will be allowed to join the alpha, which ends on the same date as the Xbox One run. Obviously, you’re going to need a PlayStation Plus account to play on that console. If you pre-order Evolve for either of those consoles, you’re already going to be included in the alpha.

If all of that monster hunting got your pulse racing and you’d like to get a crack at Evolve ASAP, then head on over to the alpha’s official website for more details. That’s where you’ll have an opportunity to register for a limited number of spots by entering the following code in the appropriate field: 11197-10708-89072