In the world of Monster Hunter, you are never alone
Published Feb 1, 2018 12:00 am
By Adlai Rosh
Monster Hunter World is the latest installment in the acclaimed Monster Hunter series of games. One of Capcom’s most successful franchises in japan, the games were considered more of a cult classic in the west due to its strange premise – not helping matters was how it was, for the longest time, a portable series, with the Monster Hunter Freedom series being PSP titles. Now, Monster Hunter returns to the living room with a bevy of gameplay improvements that make it more action-packed than ever.
Monster Hunter is a monster hunting game. More specifically, it’s an action-RPG where you hunt monsters in order to make better armor and weapons in order to hunt more monsters. Your character doesn’t level up – it’s the strength of your gear that matters. It’s a boss rush game with an emphasis on grinding, the reward being more powerful and stylish weapons and armor and the promise of bigger, badder challenges ahead.
Monster Hunter World is probably the best Monster Hunter game I’ve ever played. The combat is fast and fluid, and even the notoriously stationary Bow and Bowgun weapons have been overhauled to be more action-oriented. Every weapon is a delight to use, each catering to different playstyles – do you like dealing slow, devastating strikes? The Greatsword is for you. Do you enjoy whittling down your foes with a flurry of quick attacks? Try the dual blades. Do you enjoy buffing your allies and bolstering your team’s abilities? The Hunting Horn could be your thing. Want to mount monsters all day? Use the Insect Glaive and vault over all the monsters. What about peppering monsters with bullets and arrows? Try the bow or either the light or heavy bowguns!
Every encounter with a new monster is a delight. As a hunter of the Fifth Fleet, you’re tasked with exploring The New World and aiding in the research of its ecosystem. This involves culling local dangerous wildlife and capturing specimen for research. As a first for the Monster Hunter series the story features cutscenes and setpieces, along with voiced characters. While I wasn’t expecting much, it places a surprising amount of emphasis on ecosystems and nature. Not bad for a game based around killing wildlife.
The graphics are stunning – though optimized for play on PlayStation Pro systems it still looks good and runs well on a PS4. Monsters come to life in amazing detail, a delight to any who played the previous games. I loved seeing the iconic Rathalos in HD, bringing me back to the days of playing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite almost a decade ago. With better hardware comes better armor, too, with every set having a distinct, beautiful style that fits the monster that its parts are made of. The locales are vibrant and varied – one quest could have you heading into a rainforest, while the next sees you jumping across vast forests of coral in a bizarre ecosystem. Each map is open, too, with no more awkward loading zones between areas such as what the old games were known for – along with unique musical cues that make hunting monsters a thrilling endeavor.
Tracking is more active, now – instead of painting monsters with paint bombs and tracking them on the map, your hunter is now equipped with Scoutflies. These glowing insects fly about and highlight objects you can interact with in the environment. Hunters use these to locate monster traces, which can be used to track down the monster it belongs to. This takes a lot of frustrating guesswork out of the game – and with a higher emphasis on verticality and different terrain elevations, these helpful tracking bugs are a welcome addition to keep hunters from getting hopelessly lost. Helping matters is the Slinger, a wrist-mounted crossbow that can be used to launch small projectiles and comes with a grappling hook to aid in mounting monsters. If you’re having trouble on a quest, you can even fire off an SOS flare at any time – players from all around the world can then come in and help you if you’re having trouble.
I cannot recommend Monster Hunter World enough. I may be biased – as a long-time monster hunter I’m delighted to have a new game on modern consoles – but it really is a unique experience that has to be played to be fully appreciated.
Monster Hunter World is the latest installment in the acclaimed Monster Hunter series of games. One of Capcom’s most successful franchises in japan, the games were considered more of a cult classic in the west due to its strange premise – not helping matters was how it was, for the longest time, a portable series, with the Monster Hunter Freedom series being PSP titles. Now, Monster Hunter returns to the living room with a bevy of gameplay improvements that make it more action-packed than ever.
Monster Hunter is a monster hunting game. More specifically, it’s an action-RPG where you hunt monsters in order to make better armor and weapons in order to hunt more monsters. Your character doesn’t level up – it’s the strength of your gear that matters. It’s a boss rush game with an emphasis on grinding, the reward being more powerful and stylish weapons and armor and the promise of bigger, badder challenges ahead.
Monster Hunter World is probably the best Monster Hunter game I’ve ever played. The combat is fast and fluid, and even the notoriously stationary Bow and Bowgun weapons have been overhauled to be more action-oriented. Every weapon is a delight to use, each catering to different playstyles – do you like dealing slow, devastating strikes? The Greatsword is for you. Do you enjoy whittling down your foes with a flurry of quick attacks? Try the dual blades. Do you enjoy buffing your allies and bolstering your team’s abilities? The Hunting Horn could be your thing. Want to mount monsters all day? Use the Insect Glaive and vault over all the monsters. What about peppering monsters with bullets and arrows? Try the bow or either the light or heavy bowguns!
Every encounter with a new monster is a delight. As a hunter of the Fifth Fleet, you’re tasked with exploring The New World and aiding in the research of its ecosystem. This involves culling local dangerous wildlife and capturing specimen for research. As a first for the Monster Hunter series the story features cutscenes and setpieces, along with voiced characters. While I wasn’t expecting much, it places a surprising amount of emphasis on ecosystems and nature. Not bad for a game based around killing wildlife.
The graphics are stunning – though optimized for play on PlayStation Pro systems it still looks good and runs well on a PS4. Monsters come to life in amazing detail, a delight to any who played the previous games. I loved seeing the iconic Rathalos in HD, bringing me back to the days of playing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite almost a decade ago. With better hardware comes better armor, too, with every set having a distinct, beautiful style that fits the monster that its parts are made of. The locales are vibrant and varied – one quest could have you heading into a rainforest, while the next sees you jumping across vast forests of coral in a bizarre ecosystem. Each map is open, too, with no more awkward loading zones between areas such as what the old games were known for – along with unique musical cues that make hunting monsters a thrilling endeavor.
Tracking is more active, now – instead of painting monsters with paint bombs and tracking them on the map, your hunter is now equipped with Scoutflies. These glowing insects fly about and highlight objects you can interact with in the environment. Hunters use these to locate monster traces, which can be used to track down the monster it belongs to. This takes a lot of frustrating guesswork out of the game – and with a higher emphasis on verticality and different terrain elevations, these helpful tracking bugs are a welcome addition to keep hunters from getting hopelessly lost. Helping matters is the Slinger, a wrist-mounted crossbow that can be used to launch small projectiles and comes with a grappling hook to aid in mounting monsters. If you’re having trouble on a quest, you can even fire off an SOS flare at any time – players from all around the world can then come in and help you if you’re having trouble.
I cannot recommend Monster Hunter World enough. I may be biased – as a long-time monster hunter I’m delighted to have a new game on modern consoles – but it really is a unique experience that has to be played to be fully appreciated.