Secret Ponchos’ Hunting Grounds Update Launches Today

This is an official PSA to all of the Secret Ponchos faithful out there on the Internet: the new Hunting Ground update for the game has gone live today, and there's a ton of new content to check out.

The free update patch adds two new maps in Plaza and The Mines. Plaza was designed with a classic, Spaghetti Western style in mind. As a more confined map, the plaza itself is open for some intense combat scenarios. The Mines, by contrast, is a bit more tactical, requiring players to keep their wits about them as they run through narrow tunnels, which lead to a spacious open arena. The patch also addresses some major player critiques, pushing the tutorial and practice modes into the spotlight so new players know to start there rather then get thrown right to the wolves.

Speaking of wolves, the patch comes paired with two brand new characters in Gordo and The Wolf, available for download as paid DLC. The Wolf is an agile archer that can switch to different battle stances and change her attack tactics, while Gordo is a giant of a man sporting a Gatling gun and Molotov cocktails. These and the rest of the characters have received a player's guide via the PlayStation Blog, allowing new players to read up on whichever character they might want to try out first.

This new patch of content and bug fixes is great, and the inclusion of two free maps is a nice gesture, but why not include the characters in the patch as well? What's the point of giving away some free stuff as part of a patch, but then dropping paid content on top of it? We're sure the new hunters will be worth the price, we just wish they were part of the content patch as well.