Monster Hunter World review - A perfect balance

gamesjoyce (61)in #gaming • 7 years ago (edited)

Monster Hunter World combines accessibility and challenge gracefully. Don’t miss out!

Accessibility. It’s a word that makes diehard Monster Hunter fans tremble. Developer Capcom wants to make Monster Hunter World more accessible to a wider audience however, while still maintaining the unique gameplay of the series. Plus this is the first time the series returns to a modern console in a long time. Can the developer use the extra resources at hand to raise the bar and provide a thrilling experience for new and veteran hunters?

The Monster Hunter series has the reputation of being hardcore games. Games that traditionally hardly explain anything and in which a simple mistake can lead to an instant death. Monster Hunter World however takes its time to briefly explain lots of different mechanics. This simple shift in tone makes all the little features suddenly easy to understand. The tutorials never get in the way of the flow of the game and experienced gamers don’t get bothered needlessly.

The animations also got a fresh lick of paint: the speed has been turned up and you’re no longer nailed to the ground when you’re using an item. This new smoothness again lowers the bar for newcomers, while hardly offending old-school fans. The game is still as hard and unforgiving as before. But in Monster Hunter World you immediately feel like you’re equipped to deal with your cruel adversaries. You’re the master of your own fate and aren’t dictated by obscure game rules any longer.

The power of the new consoles really shines in the level of detail of the surroundings. Worlds are filled with unique fauna and flora and no longer feel like empty battle arenas. Levels aren’t split up in small segments any longer and your hunt doesn’t get broken up by constant loading screens. Monster Hunter World feels lively, detailed and believable. When you look into the eyes of an enormous Zorah Magdaros for the first time, you know that Capcom has reached a new high in the series.

Researching your prey is as vital as the hunt itself. You have to study your surroundings and search for tracks constantly, while filling in your Monster Field Guide. Slowly you discover the weak points of your prey, which you can plan around before heading into the fray. If the monster is vulnerable against water attacks for example, you head out with your strongest water weapon and make sure you’re protected against its fire attacks.

It’s vital that you always keep an eye on your environment, so you can fill in your minimap with indispensable resources. Native animals also give away handy tips. If you see vultures circling in the distance for example, you can be quite sure that a monster is hunting for a prey. Planning and studying are crucial to a successful hunt and bringing this theory in to practice always feels satisfying.

But research can only take you that far. Because even if you’re prepared and armed to the teeth, the monsters can still easily surprise you. That’s because your prey doesn’t follow a predefined path, but acts its own free will. This especially gets interesting when two monster bump into each other when you accidently enter the territory of another predator while fighting. They will lunge at each other’s throats and you can just sitback and enjoy the show. These Turf Wars are very spectacular and offer unique tactical opportunities, especially when your prey gets taken out by a bigger predator. Thanks to the unpredictable AI of the monsters every hunt feels unique, even if you fight the same monster a dozen times over.

This is important, because repetition is big part of the Monster Hunter experience. To get better equipment you don’t simply open up a chest or collect lootdrops, but have to craft it yourself by using skins, claws and scales. Every monster has its unique set with specific properties. Gathering enough resources and monster parts to finally craft that sweet piece of equipment is addicting and satisfying.

The town where you craft and prepare for the hunt also functions as a multiplayer lobby. All quests in the game can be completed with up to four players, which in turn ramps up the difficulty and the rewards you’ll earn. If you start a quest on your own, but feel like you can’t handle it by yourself, you can use a SOS Flare to call in other players. Thanks to this the multiplayer is seamlessly incorporated into the game. And although everything can be completed on your own, throwing some other hunters into the mix surely spices things up.

So all in all, Capcom has succeeded in its objective to open up the Monster Hunter series to a wider audience. The bar of entry is lowered and the doors are wide open to welcome a new generation of hunters. The game’s claws are still as sharp and intimidating as ever though. And that is Capcom’s biggest achievement: offering accessibility, while still providing the diehard feeling for old-school fans. Monster Hunter World will surely sink its teeth into you and won’t loosen its grip for quite some time.

Monster Hunter World is released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 26/01/2018. A PC version is planned for the autumn of 2018.