Monster Season is Open

I had never played a Monster Hunter game before Monster Hunter World which was released on the Xbox One. While I liked what it was doing, the movement and control just felt clunky to me, especially in comparison to the other monster hunting video game Dauntless. So, while I walked away disappointed with World, the announcement of Rise and its changes had me back on the train and this time the ride was amazing.

When starting out on my first few hunts almost all the clunkiness that I had an issue with before was seemingly gone. This is due to the introduction of the wirebug, this little guy helps players zip around the battlefield in a Spider-Man like way. But just like ole Web Head’s webs the wirebug has more uses than traversal. Obviously, it can be used for dodging enemy attacks but there are also silkbind attacks that each weapon can use. This is all balanced by the fact that players have two charges of their wirebug which will recharge as time passes, so players will have to really decide if it’s worth trying to go for a silkbind attack or save a charge to use to prevent being stun locked by a monster. The tactical options the wirebug afforded me in game were numerous and it helped immensely in my enjoyment.

MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99

Truth be told when I first started, I still found the combat to be a tad clunky. And that’s due to the awful controls that Monster Hunter seems to employ (and has FOR YEARS from what I’ve seen). You want to use a potion you say, well hold the LB, then scroll the inventory with X and B until you find it now let go of LB and press X to use it. Oh, I forgot this can only happen when your weapon is sheathed; which makes sense and isn’t a knock on the game just being informative. But I mean you see my point here, the simplest of tasks in this game are just difficult to perform. Now when you pair all of that with each weapon that has their own combos and the buttons for those it just becomes overwhelming, which I certainly felt at the outset.

But what MHR does with its gameplay loop is so satisfying that you can’t help coming back for more, and the more you play and cuss at those controls a funny thing happens. You start to learn them, and what once was a nuisance becomes muscle memory; now this is just what happened for me. I am in no way guaranteeing that you will have similar results but just know that if it happened for me, it SURELY could happen for you. Having to hunt monsters and harvest their parts to create better armor and weapons to go after even bigger monsters and make weapons out of them is just a fun loop. Each hunt is as exciting as the last, and players will hunt many, many, creatures as they will need to grind for resources. Not only just by hunting monsters in mission style encounters but players can explore each environment in an expedition where they can have the freedom to explore and harvest resources as needed without the pressure of the hunt timer.

Offering more than just simply hunts, MHR has a Rampage mode which functions like a tower defense mini game and sees hunters protecting the village from waves of monsters. There are various traps that can be set up to help pick off these enemies before they can break down the main gate. It all culminates in a large boss monster showing up that will take skill and well-set traps to take down. Some of the turrets and things can be manned by AI while others can be controlled by the player or their allies (these can be played in multiplayer as well), this is a blast to play and really helps to break up the grid of simply hunting monsters. Players will receive resources from the monsters they slay during the rampage and even be able to carve up the boss monster at the end.

In addition to the wirebug, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a special shoutout to the Palamute(dog). These mountable friends are invaluable simply in that being able to ride them when chasing down a monster 100% cuts down on time and boredom of simply running on foot. But these guys will also fight by your side, just like the Palicoes (cat) companion but honestly I preferred the utility of having the Palamute with me over the extra damage of the Palicoes. But that’s one of the great things about Monster Hunter; choice. The game has 14 different weapons which all require various skills and offer unique styles. There are tons of upgrades and armors, stat points and I hear layered armor makes the endgame become a fashion show. Monster Hunter Rise provides a beautiful world full of terrifying creatures and lets players decide how they want to attack them.

It’s not all high times hunting these monsters though, as I stated before the controls are bad. Period. There is really no excuse in the year of our Lord 2023 to not have figured this out because from what I hear they have always been bad. But as I said, you can adapt to them; the gameplay is fun enough in my opinion to wade through until you get the hang of things. Secondly, my GOD this game throws resources at players and terms and all sorts of things nonstop. There is a Hunter Journal, if you are a new player use them. The game kind of suggests that you should check it out but no, damn it I am telling you its mandatory if this is your first MH game. It will make the experience SOOOO much easier, trust me on this. Lastly the only issues I had were some hard locks and crashes but they were few and far between and after almost 40-50 hours of playtime I think that’s not bad at all.

I seriously surprised myself at how much I love Monster Hunter Rise. With a campaign that doesn’t last long, just enough to train players up and then being the real game. The endgame is where it’s at and going after those high-level monsters is such a delight with or without friends playing. Even after all the time I have invested I have yet to see all of the monsters and I can’t wait to continue to discover more and the upcoming Sunbreak expansion coming summer 2023. Yep, seems there has never been a better time for Monster Hunter fans new and old and I am happy to now count myself among them.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.