Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013 combines elements of first-person shooters and on-rails light gun games, and was designed to be playable with either the top-shot Fearmaster Light Gun or the Wii remote. The game is also playable with a standard controller setup.
Players navigate the environment from a first-person perspective, and must defend themselves from waves of predators and other hostile animals. The player's arsenal includes a desert eagle with unlimited ammunition, a pump-action shotgun, a scoped bolt-action rifle, and a crossbow. Targeting and shooting enemies can be done with a light gun; alternatively, when using a standard controller the game features a snap-to targeting system where the player's aim automatically locks onto the nearest enemy when aiming down the sights of their currently equipped weapon. If the player is attacked from behind, a warning prompt will appear on-screen, and the player can trigger a "killer instinct" slow-motion mode where they will spin around and be given the opportunity to shoot the enemy before it can land a hit. Through two sensors placed on the Fearmaster Light Gun, the game is able to collect the information about the player's heart rate. That data is displayed on a meter that opens up during zoom-ins, granting an additional zoom as long as the number is low. All shots aimed at particular places will deliver more damage with a special bonus.[1]
The game has three different game modes; Story, Maneater, and Shooting Gallery. Story Mode is the game's main game mode. Maneater is an arcade-style arena combat mode where the player fights multiple waves of hostile animals alone or with another person in splitscreen. Shooting Gallery is an on-rails shooter mode in which up to four players take turns traveling on a fixed path while shooting passing big game and defending themselves from attacking predators. This mode uses rail-shooter game mechanics, with aiming either being done with a light gun or an on-screen floating crosshair cursor.