Oh boy! Monster Hunter: World is good. Like, potentially Game of the Year winning good – and that’ll be some feat considering that it’s slated to launch in January. Indeed, having spent a good 45 minutes with the title thus far, we suggest you let your scepticism for this PlayStation 4 instalment slide – it’s everything you’ve ever wanted out of a console slaughtering sim and then some.
This author’s history with Monster Hunter is long and tedious, dating all the way back to the PlayStation 2 edition which Capcom once sent us to review. In principle, this intrepid Felyne follower has always been fond of the series’ concept, it’s just never really clicked. We suspect that same situation applies to many of you as well.
World is the ultimate compromise, then: it’s easily the most accessible entry in the franchise, but it doesn’t appear to have lost any of the nuance that veterans love about it. The open world structure gives a seamlessness to hunts as you segue between different environments, but the large location is still teeming with wildlife for you to observe.
Before you even head out on a hunt, there are a dizzying number of accessories for you to fiddle around with – and presumably even more in the final game. One includes a cloak that essentially enables you to glide – brilliant for both navigation and for when you’re trying to land those all-important rodeo type attacks.
There are lots of little quality of life improvements here; it no longer feels like you’re fighting the game like was so often the case in previous editions. But the combat – oh man, the combat. It’s still as deliberate, purposeful, and satisfying as past entries – but it’s enhanced by the boost to the visual fidelity and the sheer amount of polish applied to the animations.
The thing that’s so brilliant about it is that it’s just totally open-ended. We played through the same demo several times, and on one occasion we managed to lure our target – the pot-bellied Great Jagras – into a tangle of vines. This incapacitated the creature, leaving a window for us to whale away at its poor, unfortunate face.
In a later encounter against the larger, more difficult Anjanath, we managed to lure the aforementioned Great Jagras into its path, prompting a conflict between the two enormous creatures, and allowing us to sit back while they attacked each other. It’s this kind of emergent gameplay that’s going to make World infinitely replayable, and we can’t wait.
For a game as large and multifaceted as this, we’d need several more hours with it to share more – it has full four-player drop-in, drop-out co-op that we didn’t even get to try. But the fact is this: Monster Hunter: World is shaping up to be an absolute triumph. Whether you’re new to the franchise or a veteran, it’s looking like Capcom has knocked this one out of the park.
Are you eagerly anticipating Monster Hunter: World? Will this be your first proper Monster Hunter, or have you been a fan of the franchise for a long time? Murder an unsuspecting monster in the comments section below.
Comments 23
I'm hyped for this. I've played plenty of Monster Hunter on my 3DS, so this game looks both familiar and different to me. This game will be a breath of fresh air to the series, just as long as the combat is as solid as always.
Murders an unsuspecting Great Jaggi.
@Th3solution Ermmm. Hard to answer that based on the short amount of time I got to play it. I think, unquestionably, there will be quite a bit of time spent in menus, but I will say that the UI seemed very intuitive — and, of course, you'll only be fiddling around to ensure you're optimally prepared for a hunt.
I doubt it'll be too intrusive.
The MH always seemed to have a high entry bar as a newb to the series but this does look good and if it is accessible then I might dive in.
I've already preordered and ready to Hunt. I haven't played a Monster Hunter game on my 3DS in a few years and this is going to be a lot of fun.
Never played a Monster Hunter game and really hoping that this'll be the one to get me addicted. Getting a bit of a Phantasy Star Online-style vibe from the team combat/loot-em-up gameplay and that makes me really excited.
GotY for 2018??
I am not going to question why @get2sammyb may think that - each to their own etc. However, with games like Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Days Gone (maybe), Anthem, Metro - even the Last of Us 2 (although I think more like 2019+ for that) expected in 2018 - as well as EA's Star Wars game - it could be a tough task to win GotY with a more 'niche' title.
I don't like the tediousness of preparations and resource management so I will pass on this one.
I love the games even if I'm not very good at them, can't wait for this.
If the single player mode is good, I'm in
@BAMozzy * Candidate.
This game looks great. I love the series. I think it's going to be really good.......but I'm still wishing that the series stayed with Nintendo. I've always preferred playing Monster Hunter on the go. I was always able to find time to play it. Dedicating time to sitting in front of my TV at home will be difficult.
However, there are some definite positives to playing on the PS4. The most obvious has already been talked about, but the feature that hasn't been talked about is the simple fact that you can easily talk to your team while hunting! No more simple built in messages. A simple, "hey guys, there's a Rathalos over near the water fall" in the mic will easily get the job done. It will also be nice to remind people to not attach while a teammate is initiating a rodeo attack. Communication will be great!
@get2sammyb Is that co-op online only or did they include local at all? I could never get into the series before, but this looks like a good entry point.
Yeah I'm probably going to be all over this once I've recovered financially from Christmas. Unless it gets bad reviews it'll be my Spring time-sink. How kid-friendly is it?
@Gremio108 Pretty kid friendly, if Monster Hunter Tri is anything to go by. I don't think there's blood in this game or anything. The worst you would probably see is something like a monster getting a crack in its shell or part of its tail cut off, but even that doesn't look gruesome really. The only kids who probably shouldn't play it are kids that get upset when creatures die in games.
@BAMozzy don't forget about Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2 gonna win GOTY 2018..
@KirbyTheVampire Hmm, okay, thanks. They should be all right I think. To be fair I'll probably be buying it anyway so if they don't like it they can go whistle.
I saw the trailer and gameplay for MH:W and it looks amazing. My only gripes are that you can move and heal at the same time and you can fast travel to camp. Not that I don't want those features, just that newbs don't deserve such luxuries!
@porhawj2016 I hadn't forgotten about Spider-Man - I have it pre-ordered but I can't see it beating RDR2 myself.
How does it compare to the 3DS entries? They are utterly terrible.
Great preview guys, I'm waiting for reviews before taking the plunge. PS+ expires around the same time, so that could get real pricey for me.
@th3solution Oh you'll spend lots of time in the menus when it comes to creating/tweaking armor, weapons, and hunting items. MH has always been about the super-grind, you'll be absolutely sick of killing each of these monsters if the drop-rates haven't changed.
@wiiware agreed
I tried playing Monster Hunter Tri but got instantly bored in the first area.
Hopefully World will be alot more story heavy than the previous MH games.
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