You know that feeling you get? When your stomach ties itself into knots unexpectedly and icicles dance up and down your spine? Your eyes softened into a kind admiration, your voice and brain immediately fall out of sync? I may not believe in love at first sight normally, but lord in heaven did Monster Hunter: Worlds have me rethinking where I stand. I’m absolutely infatuated.
The Monster Hunter series and I go WAYYYYYY back, and the first time I played it, I knew I was hooked. Monster Hunter was also there for me the moment I broke up with my first (and only) boyfriend, as the game I just couldn’t stand to be interrupted for and, thus, our relationship ended. At that moment in my life, I only had room for one lover, and I chose Monster Hunter (sorry Chris). My relationship with Monster Hunter has always been a complicated one, and it felt very one sided for a long time. MH was notorious for being a beginner-unfriendly grind-fest of frustrating proportions, with complicated systems, time-sucking and horribly designed gathering mechanics, and eerily low drop rates. Through it all, we made it work because of how amazing the high moments were; the surging rush of taking down an insane looking monster for the first time, finally unlocking the best food in the game, finding the last piece needed to craft the weapon or armor you’ve been craving. As I’ve grown up alongside MH, I’ve changed in ways I barely have words for, and, Monster Hunter seemingly stayed mostly the same, with the same pain points, the same frustrations, the same payoffs. I’m proud to announce that with Monster Hunter: World, so many of the most frustrating things about the previous games are LONG gone, so much has changed, and I’m finally in a place where I’m so ready to say:
I do.
Monster Hunter: World is an absolute game changer for the series. Everything you remember or heard about Monster hunter before? Rebuilt from scratch with some really incredible innovations and, thankfully, simplifications. Don’t get me wrong, MH:World is still an incredibly large and complicated game, it’s just so much more accessible now. It’s like that Edison quote, you have to fuck up the lightbulb 1000 times before you get it right. In previous games in the series, there was a certain type of brutally masochistic person that I would have recommended the Monster Hunter series to, but now I would absolutely feel comfortable recommending anyone to play this game. I definitely was a bit worried going into the full game for the first time, given how much I love the series and knowing how many monumental changes were in store. Thankfully, as soon as I took down my first big baddie, I knew they had knocked it out of the park and set a new precedent for MH games to come.
I can’t get any further without talking about character creation, since that’s the first thing you do in game. After some annoyingly non-skippable cutscenes (they REALLY want you to pay attention to the story – more on this later) you get asked by your crew who the heck you are. And OH BOY is the character creation incredible. The graphics on this game are crisp and gorgeous, and no lie I probably spent at least one hour on character creation for the two characters I created. There are a plethora of different face shapes, hair types, scar and makeup options, voice options, facial animation options, color options, you name it. It was so fun making an absolutely ridiculous character and then, afterwards, a more serious character. There are even more cosmetic options available for free on the PSN, so you can really go hog wild with how you want your character to look. And now with the option to hide your helmet altogether or hide for cutscenes, you can actually enjoy that beautiful mug without suffering any losses. You can customize your Palico companion as well, with some pretty great options. I ended up with a fresh made boy with electric teal hair and a matching crusty mustache, with a beautiful bright pink striped cat. Classic.
Stepping out into the questing / expedition area for the first time is mesmerizing. The worlds are incredibly lush and detailed, with so many different variations as you continue to unlock new questing areas. Graphically, this game is a powerhouse, with crisp colors, dense foliage, and tight animations. The whole package is so fleshed out, and I keep getting lost in it all, so often getting distracted by so much cool stuff around me instead of focusing on whatever quest I’m on. The maps of the different zones still call back to classic Monster Hunter gameplay, but multiplied by 100. While I wouldn’t consider it an open world, the different zones are properly HUGE and are multi-leveled vertically. A week into this game and I’m STILL finding new areas and secrets within these maps. Some of my favorite things about these maps are the tiniest details, like the way you can capture small non-combat creatures and eventually put them in your house.
Let’s talk about my real only issue with this game, get that out of the way – the execution of the story. There’s nothing wrong with the story itself, and you can tell that this was the first MH where they actually gave a shit about wanting you to really feel it. My real issue with it has been the non-skipable cutscenes that keep you from playing the story mode completely in online co-op. For a game that touted how much multiplayer possibilities were to come (and they DID get everything else right), this seems like a sad and frustrating oversight. There are workarounds, where you see a mandatory cutscene individually and then your other party members can then join you, but doing it that way is just clunky and annoying. This issue is really only a problem when wanting to play with friends who are already in your own instance, since you are able to take advantage of an SOS flare (the in game option to open up your quest to the online matchmaking system) and have random people come in.
Other than that, the story piece of the game feels fresh and fun, with some pretty brutal difficulty curves. It is pretty linear until you finish the low rank quests, and after that point you start to feel much more free with how you’d like to spend your time and what things you want to do. Going through the story quests is mandatory for unlocking new weapon trees, monster encounters, and areas of the world to visit, and I’m really enjoying my time with it. They did a great job with each new monster encounter and introducing new areas to you – learning the moveset of a new monster is challenging and engaging, ending with an incredible feeling of accomplishment after finally besting the beast. The combat is fluid and stylistically dependent on your weapon of choice, giving you a huge range of play styles to chose from. Personally, I keep bouncing between the switch axe, the dual blades, and – when in multiplayer – the hunting horn. The story itself is well paced, and getting through it all (getting to the credits) does take quite a bit of time on your own, but Worlds does a great job in making the story (with a couple exceptions) feel pretty epic.
Other than the story quests, you can participate in Optional quests given to you by different NPCs in your home community, Investigations requested by the Research Center, and Event quests, which will end up improving your hub area or yourself. These additional quests are paramount to your success, since getting the materials from specific slain monsters is so important to making yourself stronger. The crafting system is complex but very easy to figure out, with visible upgrade trees and a straightforward armor upgrade system. The amount of ingredients that are needed for upgrades are fair and have much better drop rates than previous games, and, while there still is a small amount of grinding needed for getting a full set of armor / upgrading your weapon tree completely, it is nowhere close to MH’s of the past. The different upgrades you can achieve in your hub area are also pretty neat, from finding better ingredients to give to your chef for increased food buffs, to deploying out a Tailrider Safari to gather materials for you. There really are so many things to do in MH, it’s a bit insane, and there is no way I can go over everything available in this game. Trust me, it’s well worth it.
Playing this game in multiplayer with friends is an absolute joy. There aren’t many games that make multiplayer such a breeze, and the matchmaking system is reliable, smooth, and easy to follow. Wanna fight a specific monster? Choose target. Wanna join in with friends as soon as possible? Create a Squad (think guild) and enter the squad session at launch. Having trouble with your own quest and want to open it up to online players? Fire an SOS Flare. There’s really no greater feeling than killing a ferocious, gargantuan, larger-than-life baddie with your buds.
Through all my years of Monster Hunter; the good, the ugly, the downright dumb (I still have nightmares about underwater battles) – nothing has prepared me for the beautiful pinnacle that is Monster Hunter Worlds. Everything that I loved from game’s past is still there, with so many much needed improvements and elements I didn’t even know I wanted (but sure as hell can’t live without now). Sure, there are a few things I might improve upon, mostly in the story/cinematic department, but the game is so solid otherwise. GOTY contender? Only time will tell. For now, I’m happy to curl up and enjoy my rekindled relationship with one of my favorite ride or die series. Monster Hunter Words is an incredibly complex and entertaining challenge for anyone ready to put up arms.
