Written by James Nicolay
Title: Monster Hunter: World
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Price: $59.99
Genre: Action RPG
Also Available On: XB1
Monster Hunter World is the most massive and best iteration yet of the beloved and phenomenal action RPG video game series. Having spent more than a thousand hours on the series with my Nintendo 3DS, I was initially skeptic with the return of Monster Hunter to the PlayStation system because I thought that portability is perfect for the game. But with all the latest improvements in the overall gameplay of this new version, I dare say that Monster Hunter World has managed to live up to the hype and exceed all the expectations of the Monster Hunter fans around the world. Monster Hunter World is the first world-class video game experience of 2018.
Most video game series that have had at least more than five sequels or spin-offs will probably feel dated at some point—and it has always been a challenge for developers to keep things fresh for the long-time fans and yet entice a new generation of gamers to join in on the fun. One of the most common complaints of gamers new to the Monster Hunter series is how steep the learning curve is in this game. I remember that every time I would introduce a Monster Hunter game to another friend, I would always feel the need to explain a lot of things—and this is, I guess, where the portability of the game was useful—I could just hunt monsters with the friend anywhere we bring our portable console and teach the friend the hunter routine in person—and the experience got richer when more friends do an ad hoc session, where hunters gather in public places to hunt together for hours (geared with console chargers and power banks, for the hunting usually lasts beyond the normal capacity of the handheld console). It’s quite surprising then that Capcom released Monster Hunter World to the home consoles where the hunters’ interaction will be mostly limited to internet connection. But this limitation gave way to some surprising success in the more powerful home consoles because both new and veteran hunters will be drawn in to Monster Hunter World for two important reasons: the newbies to Monster Hunter World will find the learning curve not as steep as there are all the necessary tutorial videos and features available in the game (and it helps that the video game looks oh so pretty), while the veteran hunters will all be able to appreciate how convenient and easier the game is now due to a lot of shortcuts made to some tedious routine steps that were almost mandatory to do in all the previous Monster Hunter series. And definitely, both veteran and new monsters will enjoy together, through online multiplayer feature and voice chat, hunting for dozens of new monsters and just enjoy the Japanese quirks of Monster Hunter series—particularly hunting with cats (Palicoes) and seeing them prepare your meals and maintain your house. Seriously.
Like the previous games, the story mode is usually not the most exciting part—so if you are new to the game and you’re a gamer who wants a good story, I suggest that you should rather read a book or watch a movie. The charm of Monster Hunter has always been about the hunting game experience. Monster Hunter World actually has an engaging narrative, but because the game is really centered on the challenges of hunting, you will still probably forget that the story mode matters. The hunter can easily get lost in the Optional and the Investigation quests and not really focus on the Assigned ones, yet the hunter rank and leveling up are still linked to one’s progress in the story mode. Previously, this is linked to marking some quests as Urgent, which are mandatory for leveling up as a hunter, but Monster Hunter made the story mode more understandable, and one can finally level up his/her Hunter’s Rank by playing the Assigned Quests and watch the narrative unfold in the first thirty hours of the game.
It is obvious that I am writing this review as a veteran to the Monster Hunter series, and so it feels more natural for me to point out a lot of the improvements in Monster Hunter World. If I can synthesize how hunting is easier now in Monster Hunter World, it can be best summed up in this gaming experience fact: there is less need to use google in Monster Hunter World. Everything is more convenient and snappier. Items get combined automatically during hunts, crafting and upgrading anything is easier, while the hunting/slaying is still essentially the same.
All Monster Hunter games require a bit of familiarization of key elements in hunting: the main hunters hub (aka headquarters), the locale of the hunting ground, the materials that you use in preparing for every hunt, the collectables in every expedition and crafting them for use, the weapon that you choose (and the gameplay that comes with it), the weapon and armor upgrading system, and most importantly, the different techniques in slaying or capturing monsters. I’ll try to put it in layman’s term: in every hunt, the hunter will need to prepare and equip the necessary items, armor, and weapons in the hub; then, the hunting begins: hunter collects more items and tracks a monster for hunting; the monster is spotted and slaying begins; once, the monster is defeated or captured, the hunter carves for monster parts (to be used in armors and weapons); the hunter returns to the main hub to process all necessary loots in preparing better items, armors, and weapons for the next hunt. All of these is a mouthful, and yet, I think Monster Hunter World’s presentation of these steps is the easiest I have seen in the series.
Many important hunting stations are strategically located in the main hub—item boxes can now be found in strategic points—and surprisingly, the item box even appears in the camp DURING the main hunt—which I feel is a HUGE change as the hunting is easier now because one of the most frustrating things in hunting before is forgetting the necessary equipment during the hunt. Now, the hunter can easily go back to re-equip and even change armors and weapons during the hunt.
With the addition of gathering footprints or marks of monsters as you hunt, the developers have removed the weird paintball system of tracking the monster as you hunt. The addition of Scoutflies, dust-like particles that scout for scavenging items and track the monster marks and the monsters themselves, is the single most important improvement/change in Monster Hunter World. I feel that this is the biggest change in the hunting experience as every hunting locale is massive and more complicated (and literally layered in multiple levels) than previous hunting grounds. While before, every hunting locale is divided into entrance and exit points, in Monster Hunter World, all areas are linked seamlessly, without the loading screen interrupting, and so the hunting and chasing and running away all feel more exhilarating and challenging. And, of course, with the graphics power available in home consoles, the Monster Hunter series had never looked more amazing. Monster Hunter World looks gorgeous in my 55” curved tv.
As for the multiplayer gameplay experience, doing an ad hoc session is obviously difficult, but good thing the online multiplayer experience is easy to set up. Right after the main menu, as you start your game, you are forced to be online and join or create an online session (or find your online squad, your group of hunter friends). With this method, the hunter can always just post a quest online or join in an ongoing quest posted by other online hunters. Another huge improvement in the online experience is the firing of SOS flare: if a hunter feels that the quest is challenging, he/she can fire the SOS flare which will make all hunter around the world be able to join in your quest as well. Like previous Monster Hunter games, the level of difficulty is adjusted when there are
more hunters who join—a maximum of four hunters can get to hunt together each quest. The hunting experience is the best when you get to hunt with the others and gauge your hunting experience and personal skills and current hunter rank and style with the hunters you hunt with. You can still exchange guild cards with the hunters you meet or play with, and you can join in their sessions if you invite them for a hunt. Strangely, multiplayer hunting feels a lot easier and more convenient in Monster Hunter World.
For many, the highlight of each iteration of Monster Hunter is the roster of new monsters to slay. Previously, gamers would always have to slay mostly the same monsters in the first dozen of hours in the game. Fortunately, in Monster Hunter World, you will play the first ten hours and get to hunt new and previously unseen large monsters in the series. This is fantastic for veteran hunters as the hunt would definitely feel fresher as discovering monster weaknesses and strategizing hunting skills and move sets are key to the hunting experience. To be honest, though, many new monsters feel like a slightly edited version of previous monsters and do not feel like entirely new or fresh, but at least, the developers made an effort to add more to the roster of monsters in the series. Staple monsters in the series like Rathos and Rathian still make appearances in the game, and so hunting them feels like a breather as their moves are still mostly familiar to veterans, like how we encountered them before in the previous Monster Hunter games. But, of course, the new monsters and elder monsters still have the ability to challenge and excite both new and veteran hunters.
Ultimately, Monster Hunter World is an outstanding video game for both new and veteran gamers to the series. All the huge improvements made in the hunting experience is a testament to how the risk of moving a beloved portable game series to home consoles is done excellently and efficiently. As of this writing, I have already played about 75 hours of this game (I would have probably exceeded a hundred if it were a handheld game, but I’m not complaining), currently near the end of the story mode, but I can definitely see at least 200 more hours of hunting. Monster Hunter World has overtaken my world, and I am enjoying all the hours I hunt in it.
Rate: 5/5
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