While this particular franchise has primarily found success on handhelds, with Monster Hunter:World, Capcom had aimed to bring that experience to current generation consoles. With a goal of reaching as wide an audience as possible, the latest entry in the long running series ups the production values and introduces a host of improvements while retaining its core ideas and concepts.
Monster Hunter:World, as the name suggests, is all about taking down giant beasts. The gameplay loop is easy to explain — defeat a monster, collect parts to make better equipment and then fight even bigger and more menacing monsters. It’s an addicting formula that urges players to keep moving forward but its design blueprint would not have worked without an engaging battle system. Combat relies upon deliberate attacks to specific weak parts of the beast you’'re fighting. Coloured numbers will let you know if you’re hitting a weak spot or thick hide. You must know when to go in for maximum damage and when to pull back, sharpen your blade or drink a potion. You can die very quickly and monsters can often stun you before finishing you off. You can even climb on top of these beasts and cut off specific parts, like their tail. There is no way to know how much HP the monster has left and you must rely on its movement, animations and attack patterns to determine how much fight it has left and then plan your next step. Every battle is as thrilling as the one before which makes victory all the more empowering.
Players have a number of varied weapons at their disposal such as hammers, swords and gunbows, with each having its own move set, playing style and learning curve. You can access the workshop, canteen, quest board, and trading and research facilities in the games main hub. From here you go on hunts with a time limit of 50 minutes or three lives. Before beginning the actual fight, you must track the monster by following its footsteps. A very clear indicator, in the form of green coloured flies, helps you locate the monster as well as nearby gathering spots.
For a game that is best played with friends, joining a party is anything but easy. It takes a painfully long time to join a session, as modern conveniences of playing co-op are forgotten. But that doesn’t stop Monster Hunter: World from being an exhilarating and rewarding experience. While a few annoyances should have been avoided, Monster Hunter: World will hook you in and not let go until you have conquered every beast that roams these lands.
OVERALL 9.0
