Hunting is a sport normally reserved for the poshest of bastards to show off next to a dead creature on holiday for all their absolute degenerate friends. Okay glad I got that out of my system… now lets talk about a silly hunting video game!
Making a comeback to a portable format soon is the legendary Monster Hunter series! Hitting the Switch in March Monster Hunter Rise will let you hunt the biggest beasties on the go all so you can turn their skin and bones into weapons and armour so you can hunt even bigger monsters!
Most western fans were probably brought into the series with the release of 2018’s World, the biggest game of the series that turned all the dials up to 11. The gambit worked and now the Monster Hunter series is a household name, and you can be sure plenty of people will be getting themselves on Rise. In anticipation Capcom made a demo available and you can bet your buns that I have spent the weekend all over this quick demo.
Off the bat Rise is a much more linear experience than world, unlike its predecessor in Rise you don’t follow your glowing flies or track the footprints and other marks left by the creatures, now you follow a big red arrow… okay so it might be less immersive but there is no arguing that it isn’t effective and lets you get into the action faster. Speaking of the action, taking away a few of the buttons has streamlined the already intuitive combat from World. Your control of your hunter feels tight and rewarding when you pull of a great chain hits and send a beast reeling. The demo lets you have a go with a fair selection of weapons but much like the other games in the series if you find your niche then it’s best to roll with it and master it. For example, like in World and Tri before it, I threw myself entirely into the Switch Axe (I like axes and swords so duh ill use the one that’s both).
I was very happy to see that Hunters this time around can hunt the monsters down with yet another animal companion! Joining the adorable cat like Palicos are joined by a giant dog friend called the Palamute, Get it? Because Pal? Anyway, your cute dog friend joins you in the field attacking enemies and if you feel like rushing through the environment, you can hop on your puppers back and ride them around. It’s a really nice addition that helps to make the game world feel more alive as you get to enjoy more of the natural world presented throughout the series.
Speaking of the world, it really is amazing how great Rise looks. Of course, things are not as pretty as World but Rise still looks absolutely gorgeous even on the small screen of my Switch Lite. I was totally immersed in the world and its beauty like my time in World. If you enjoyed your time in the last game and have a Switch, then definitely be sure to pick up the demo and then maybe when March comes, I’ll see you on the hunt!!!