Monster Hunter: World Review

Let’s get one thing straight: Monster Hunter: World is one of the deepest, most complex titles I have played in a very long time. From it’s strong ability to make repetitious gameplay enjoyable, to its seemingly endless amount of content, Monster Hunter: World is the most engaging triple-A game of 2018. Players embark upon a journey of not only slowly improving their armor and weapons, but after nearly 30 hours in I still found new and exciting monsters that I had never seen. That sort of excitement and mystery is lacking in many games nowadays, and the amount of “oh wow” moments I had while playing Monster Hunter: World were plentiful. But let’s stop with the chit-chat, and jump straight into the review.

Visuals

The biggest draw to Monster Hunter: World at first glance is just how beautiful the game is. While I didn’t

have the opportunity to review the game on a PS4 Pro, the game still ran fantastically and looked great on a standard launch PS4. From the intricate character creator (pictured right is my character, Tommy Wiseau in all his glory), to the epic random Monster battles that occur throughout your adventures, MH: World is visually fantastic.

Speaking of the visuals, I have to take the time to point out the awesome weapon designs in World. Each armor set is specifically crafted hunting specific monsters, so it makes sense that each set would look uniquely similar to those monsters. It’s a detail that makes hunting these monsters more enjoyable, as you grind slowly away to complete that certain armor set. Since each armor set has such differentiating visual stylings between them, I found it very difficult to stick to a specific one and wanted to go out and craft all of them. This just speaks to the amazing design choices behind each of the armor/weapon sets.

Of course, we have to talk about the Monsters themselves. Everyone will certainly have their favorite monsters to hunt from; I myself love the Tobi-Kadachi, a sort-of electric flying squirrel lizard monster. Every single monster feels hand-crafted with love and care, and I am ceased to be amazed by the new monsters I encounter. The first time I faced the Anjanath, I couldn’t help but hum the Jurassic Park theme as I slowly widdled him down. For a game about repetition in hunting monsters, the visual stylings of each of the monsters certainly made the experience that much more enjoyable.

Gameplay

Okay, the real meat of Monster Hunter: World is it’s gameplay. MH: World is so jam-packed with content, that often I felt overwhelmed and lost as to what to complete next. Luckily, the age-old tactic of “stick to the main story” is a trick that helped tremendously for a new Monster Hunter player. Playing through the main story, I felt that I was gaining a better grasp of each of the core mechanics of the game. For example, I quickly learned that I should focus not on hunting the monsters to just slay them, but to specifically target a piece of gear to upgrade and go after those specific monsters that would allow me to do so.

Of course, learning each monsters attack pattern is a big part of the gameplay loop. It was always engaging to keep up with the Tobi-Kadachi’s electric attacks, or the weak spots of the Paolumu, just to gain an advantage next time you go out to hunt those specific monsters. But the diversity of how each monster reacts and behaves was very surprising to a first time Monster Hunter player. Very rarely did I feel like a monster behaved like another, keeping me on my toes for every new beast I encountered. It forced me to think of new tactics, and prepare for different hunts with different pieces of gear. Am I going up against a flying monster? If I’m taking it on solo, it may be better for me to use a ranged weapon like a bow. But if I’m taking on a quicker monster, it may be better to use a weapon like the Dual-Blades to keep up with that quicker monster.

But let’s talk about multiplayer. I do have some problems with how Monster Hunter: World handles it’s multiplayer, even though the game seems to rely heavily upon coop missions. To start off, there’s no clear cut way to create a party before heading off into a mission. Story missions must be started solo, and only then can you invite your friends to join your hunt. It’s a needlessly tedious way to get your friends to join your hunts, and can sometimes take valuable time away since most hunts must be completed under 50-60 minutes. I’m also not entirely sure how the “Guild card” system is supposed to work. After receiving several dozen of these “cards”, I’m not sure if they’re purely cosmetic or if they work within a guild system. I will say though, that once you jump through all the hoops to hunt monsters with your friends, nothing is more enjoyable than taking down a difficult monster with your friends.

Of course, there’s plenty else to do throughout Monster Hunter: World such as fishing, finding new food recipes, capturing monsters, working for the researchers, etc. Optional assignments and timed events are also available to break up the monotony of the assigned quests; although I really wish that some of the exclusive timed events weren’t timed. I’m looking at you, Playstation-exclusive Horizon Palico armor quest that was only available for two weeks after the game first launched. I missed out on it, and I’m completely in the dark as to whether or not that event will ever return.

But all in all, gameplay is king in Monster Hunter: World. For a game that expects you to put hundreds of hours into it’s gameplay loop, it presents you with a game that feels rewarding every step of the way. While most games faulter at this, Monster Hunter: World never really feels like a chore as you grind your way through all the quests, armor sets and exploration to be had.