Monster Hunter Rise is an action RPG for Nintendo Switch that is developed and published by Capcom. This game marks a brand new era of greatness for the series, as the frustrating elements of the old Monster Hunter games have been removed, resulting in the best entry in the franchise to date.
The story of Monster Hunter Rise follows the player-controlled hunter, who lives in the rural Kumura village. The village is always under threat of destruction from giant monsters that roam the land, but a new catastrophe from ancient times has returned. An event called “The Rampage” threatens to send a horde of monsters to smash Kumura village to pieces. Not only does the player need to tackle giant monsters in the field, but they must take part in new Rampage missions, where they must build installations and protect Kumura village from waves of monsters.
All of the narrative elements mentioned above are just a loose framework for fighting giant monsters with teams of up to four hunters. Monster Hunter Rise has the same action-focused gameplay of its predecessors. The main character’s abilities are tied to their weapons and armor, which can only be crafted using resources taken from slain monsters. The core gameplay loop is the same, but the new additions to the formula in Monster Hunter Rise have drastically improved the experience, starting with a mechanic that greatly innovates movement.
The biggest new addition to Monster Hunter Rise are Wirebugs. The player can use these to launch the hunter up into the air, scale cliff faces, jump up onto buildings, or fling them away from monsters. The level of verticality and speed offered by the Wirebugs is game-changing. The hunters in the Monster Hunter series are constantly outpaced by the monsters, especially as players cannot cancel out of moves when their animation starts. In Monster Hunter Rise, the hunters can now quickly zip out of harm’s way or explore hidden parts of the map. It’s also easier to jump back into the fray, especially for hunters with slow and bulky weapons.
Wirebugs also have a secondary use, as each weapon now has Silkbind attacks, which integrate the Wirebugs into new super moves. These add some much-needed variety to the arsenal of the hunters, especially the more basic weapon types, like the Great Sword and the Hammer. The Wirebug/Silkbind attacks make the experience of exploring levels and fighting monsters more enjoyable than they ever have been before. It’s also now possible to use Wirebugs to ride on monsters’ backs, allowing players to temporarily force monsters to fight each other. These mounting moments give players a chance to use the special moves possessed by the iconic giants that wander the Monster Hunter universe.
The other major addition in Monster Hunter Rise are Palamutes. These are massive dogs that can be used as mounts. Palamutes can race across the battlefield, run up climbing vines, and attack monsters. The hunter can also use items while riding a Palamute, allowing the players to heal/sharpen their weapons without needing to stop, so the pace of the hunt never needs to slow down. The only problem with Palamutes is that they make the other Monster Hunter mascots (the Palico cats) all but redundant. The benefits of the Palamute far outweigh the Palico, which will likely only be seen in the single-player mode for this reason, as players can only take one companion on multiplayer hunts.
The main gimmick of Monster Hunter Rise is the Rampage missions. These use elements of tower defense games, where the players have a limited amount of time to create defensive installations in front of gates, before groups of monsters come charging in waves. These include things like bombs, villagers manning cannons, special elite units based on NPCs from the village, and even ballista that can be manned by the player. The stronghold levels up as more monsters are defeated, which means that players will gain access to stronger units as the Rampage goes on. The mechanics of the Rampage missions aren’t explained well by the game, but it won’t take long for players to come to grips with them. Once mastered, the Rampage missions are a ton of fun and add some variety to the standard mission types.
By far the biggest improvement to the Monster Hunter formula in Monster Hunter Rise is multiplayer. The old games in the series were shackled to some ridiculous restrictions that made it hard to enjoy them with friends. Those are all gone. It has never been easier to go on hunts with friends and strangers. It’s possible to drop in hunts that are ongoing, even if they are near their conclusion. Players no longer need to start Urgent missions for them to count towards progression, so people playing with friends through the story mode will never have to repeat missions. The Monster Hunter World design that forced players to watch a cutscene on their own is mercifully now gone. Players can enjoy the multiplayer at their own pace and can instantly jump into hunts, without needing to sit in lobbies, waiting for them to fill up with new players.
The tent at the base camp has also been improved in a way that cuts down on prep time before hunts. Players can now access their item box from the tent, as well as eat meals after the hunt has started. All it took was a lapse in concentration in the older games to drastically cut down a team’s chances of victory, as a player without the stat buff from a meal or a full loadout of items was far more likely to be killed. In Monster Hunter Rise, all of these prep elements can be done after the hunt has started, which means players can spend even less time messing around in the lobby.
In terms of visuals, Monster Hunter Rise is somewhere between Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate and Monster Hunter World. The game was never going to look as good as Monster Hunter World, but it still looks good on the Switch, even if the animations for the smaller monsters/Palamutes take a hit during busier hunts. This is the biggest element of the game that could’ve been improved, but it’s more than serviceable, while the rest of the title shines.
This is the game that the Monster Hunter franchise should have been all along. The annoying parts of the experience that were retained due to tradition have finally been stripped away, leaving a polished, enjoyable experience for newcomers that will make long-time fans equally happy. Monster Hunter Rise is Monster Hunter at its finest.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for Nintendo Switch. A PC version is currently in development, with a planned 2022 release. A digital copy of the Nintendo Switch version of the game was provided to Screen Rant for the purposes of this review.
