The Monster Hunter franchise has been around for a long time, existing as one of those games that was predominantly popular in Japan, but never really hitting it out in the the West due to its complex gaming mechanics. Sure, it has made its way to India on the backs of importers, for those die-hard fans as well as those who were curious and wanted to see what the fuss was all about. The latest Monster Hunter is Capcom’s push of the series out there on a global scale. It brings the signature monster hunting mechanics into a brave new world, and it is a world of fun.
What’s it about?
On the way to the New World, the Fifth Fleet from the Research Commission gets waylaid by a mysterious monster that’s a living volcano. Known as the Elder Dragons, these giant majestic creatures travel across the sea every decade, to a land only known as the New World. You play one such hunter on this particular vessel, who along with your trusty researcher and cat sidekick, known as a Palico, find yourself in this wonderful lush world, filled with monsters of all kinds.
Capcom has pulled out all the stops for this one, creating not only a massive open world, but also a deep lore to support it, and most importantly, a vibrant ecosystem that’s pulsing with life. The storyline itself will easily last you around 50 hours, and you will still be playing through the quests long after that too. The best part though is not the story, but the hunt monster, kill monster, get loot, rinse repeat gameplay that should be grind-y or monotonous, but is actually a barrel of fun.
How does it play?
Think of Monster Hunter: World as a combination of the hunting elements from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the difficulty and control systems of the Dark Souls series, along with the loot and crafting fun you see in games like Skyrim. An action RPG that is as meaty as the monsters you get to sink your daggers into. The very long intro/tutorial does a great job of teaching you the basics and then just kicking you off the proverbial cliff. As you progress through the strange online quest system, the difficulty ramps up, forcing you to dive deep into more tables to understand what each stat means and how it impacts your hunting.
The quest structure and the overall style of the game is very reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII’s hunts. That along with the art style more than once will make you remember the Square classic, if you have played it. Essentially, you accept quests at the hub and then jump into them. Hunts are not just running up to a creature to hack them dead. That, in fact, is the quickest way of becoming a giant T-Rex’s happy meal, complete with toy. The secret to success is successfully stalking your target, hiding in the foliage, mapping out their habits and watching for tells. Once you attack, you need to be well-equipped.
To the victor go the spoils, and winning is an incredible feeling, and hits all those right endorphin notes. As you harvest materials to make better armour to deck you and your Palico in.
Somehow, the quests never follow the rule of diminishing proportions, where every subsequent hunt gets boring. Somehow, Capcom has got the loot down to a perfect pat, letting you hunt into the wee hours of the morning, just to see what you can craft next.
The best part of the hunt deals with the weapons, and Monster Hunter: World has a staggering 14 weapon types that somehow go way beyond the normal sword, shield, and axe tropes of most fantasy games — from bonkers dual blades to some big buster swords, to massive hammers, and even an outrageously big hunting horn, which holds the prey entranced in music while another player attacks it.
While you can play the game alone, Monster Hunter: World is also a multi-player game that allows you to team up with three other players and go on hunts. If you want, you can join a squad of 50 players for a bigger multi-player experience.
The difficulty does scale with more people along. If you prefer playing alone, you can always ‘flare’ a friend to join in, to help you out of tight spots. Multi-player in Monster Hunter: World is a fun, easy-to-jump-into experience.
The overworld of Monster Hunter: World is a sight to behold. With varied environments ranging from rocky highlands to dense jungles. What stands out are the monster ecosystems, which if you observe and learn, you can see the patterns. The monster encounters, especially with the skyscraper-tall Elder Dragons, are a sight to behold. Capcom has crafted a masterpiece with this one.
Should you get it?
If you love action games with deep role-playing systems, then Monster Hunter: World is your jam. A tough satisfying game that is packed to the gills with gameplay, loot and monster hunts with friends.
The writer is a tech and gaming enthusiast who hopes to one day finish his sci-fi novel
