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Monster Hunter World shows unstoppable legs on PC

Klosshufvud

Member
Monster Hunter World came out FIVE years ago on PC and to this day, is still one of the most played Steam games. Just this weekend, this game hit a 40k+ player peak. Only Japanese game doing better is Elden Ring, which came out last year, and we all know considered a global phenomenon. MH Rise which followed World and is still having regular patches is not keeping up.

Monster-Hunter-Steam.jpg


Personally, I think World as a game has it all. It has great gameplay with a massive selection of weapons you can choose from, each with endless amount of depth. There is a very satisfying sense of progression and the monsters are excellently designed, both as gameplay and in depiction. I have started a new save file for it and despite having a 600+h older save file, I'm still amazed by how great the gameplay is and the insane production values. They put a crazy amount of labour in this game and it shows.
 

tmlDan

Member
I really want a world 2, I am a huge fan of the combat changes in Rise but i hated everything else in comparison (mostly because it was on switch and it looked awful). I really struggled to get invested in world but i want to change that in the next one.

Really hope that is their next project!
 

Spyxos

Member
I wish the Pc port of World was better. It's been stuttering forever especially in the addon and no matter what I do I can't get it to go away. But it is a great game.
 

ANDS

King of Gaslighting
If RISE is anything to go off of, I hope they spend a bit more time freshening up the formula, though one wonders if the game was held been in ambition based on the launch platform.

. . . this thread is also funny as there was a discussion not too long ago on this forum about people not actually caring about this franchise or genre.
 

Pejo

Member
I've put over 350 hours in World, 180 in Rise, and I can say easily that World is the better game. Rise is a very specific type of game in the MH formula that they want to cut out all of the "hunter" part of the title and just get to the boss rushing. It's fine at first, but the longer you play the game, the more one-note it becomes. Every hunt ends up running exactly the same.

Eat food -> join hunt -> waste 5 mins running around and collecting birds to buff your stats -> Find the alt monsters on the map using their icons (no tracking or anything necessary) -> mount them and run to where target monster is -> damage, topple, remount, damage, ram into wall -> it runs away -> normal fight for a while -> it limps -> trap it or kill it, depending on the loot table you want.

All of the tertiary stuff in World has been removed or streamlined, so instead of going out and catching rare wildlife, you just take pictures. Your customizable hub is much less customizable. The enemy variety is technically better but there's no weird collabs or story quests that change up the formula. The event quests aren't very exciting. The new monster riding mechanic completely ruins the thrill and threat of multiple monsters in the same area. On top of that, due to efficiency's sake, most times now 2 monsters won't even be left alone long enough in the same area to see Turf Wars, which were always fun to sit back and watch in World. The environmental interactions and traps are hardly utilized in Rise, etc.

Anyways, I'm sure people can argue back and forth on specific features of each, but the bottom line is that MH Rise is so streamlined that it actually hurts the experience, especially when the story is done and you're just grinding for perfect gear or just playing in multiplayer for fun. I hope we get World 2 announcement soon, and it doesn't take too much from Rise.
 

Klosshufvud

Member
I've put over 350 hours in World, 180 in Rise, and I can say easily that World is the better game. Rise is a very specific type of game in the MH formula that they want to cut out all of the "hunter" part of the title and just get to the boss rushing. It's fine at first, but the longer you play the game, the more one-note it becomes. Every hunt ends up running exactly the same.

Eat food -> join hunt -> waste 5 mins running around and collecting birds to buff your stats -> Find the alt monsters on the map using their icons (no tracking or anything necessary) -> mount them and run to where target monster is -> damage, topple, remount, damage, ram into wall -> it runs away -> normal fight for a while -> it limps -> trap it or kill it, depending on the loot table you want.

All of the tertiary stuff in World has been removed or streamlined, so instead of going out and catching rare wildlife, you just take pictures. Your customizable hub is much less customizable. The enemy variety is technically better but there's no weird collabs or story quests that change up the formula. The event quests aren't very exciting. The new monster riding mechanic completely ruins the thrill and threat of multiple monsters in the same area. On top of that, due to efficiency's sake, most times now 2 monsters won't even be left alone long enough in the same area to see Turf Wars, which were always fun to sit back and watch in World. The environmental interactions and traps are hardly utilized in Rise, etc.

Anyways, I'm sure people can argue back and forth on specific features of each, but the bottom line is that MH Rise is so streamlined that it actually hurts the experience, especially when the story is done and you're just grinding for perfect gear or just playing in multiplayer for fun. I hope we get World 2 announcement soon, and it doesn't take too much from Rise.
And to add to this, Rise is simply very repetitive in combat. The powerful wirebug mechanics and the ridiculous movement options mean most encounters end up playing the same. Rise is filled with great monster designs (Seregios, Astalfos, Malzeno to name a few) but they never get the chance to really shine. World did a better job in establishing a hunter/hunted dynamic where half the battles, you would feel like the monster's upcoming lunch rather than vice versa. Just compare Rajang between the games. In Iceborne, he leaves an unforgettable impression on the player. He's aggressive, he's unpredictable and he's an absolute blast to defeat. Rajang in Rise...just blends in with the rest. At a certain point, it stopped feeling like a Monster Hunter game and more like an offline MMO where you hit up defenseless mobs. No matter how many weapons I tested, I would always feel like the combat would boil down to a very repetitive flow chart of maximizing DPS.
 
Very excited to see what their next gen MH game is after World. Rise is excellent, but for sure there is a follow-up to World coming in the next few years and I think it could be amazing.
 

Poordevil

Member
I am currently deep into World. Lots to see, lots to learn, lots to wrap your head around. The upgrade system alone is deep. So is the actual combat, playing both offense and defence. I play on a PS4 Pro displayed on a Sony X900E in resolution mode. Wow! what a gorgeously detailed game. Capcom has their work cut out for them following this act.
 

JayK47

Member
I thought it was ok. Is the multiplayer keeping it going? I played single player, which is likely why I thought it was just ok. Seemed very grindy to me.
 

wipeout364

Member
I don’t play Monster Hunter but I am really happy to see Capcom having some solid success the last few years. It looked like they were in trouble several years ago but things seemed to have turned around for them which is great.
 

Pejo

Member
The monster designs in Rise are mostly bad.
I dunno, all of the OCs are pretty great in my opion. I like the "1960s monster movie" theme they went with for Sunbreak.

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It was clever, but not too "on the nose". Malzeno especially was a great fight.

The returning monster selection was good too. I was super happy Gore Magala made it back. Still no Lagi though. Anyways, monster selection will never be a complaint I have with Rise personally. Wirebug being basically a cheat mode for most of them, however....
 

Werewolf Jones

Gold Member
I dunno, all of the OCs are pretty great in my opion. I like the "1960s monster movie" theme they went with for Sunbreak.

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It was clever, but not too "on the nose". Malzeno especially was a great fight.

The returning monster selection was good too. I was super happy Gore Magala made it back. Still no Lagi though. Anyways, monster selection will never be a complaint I have with Rise personally. Wirebug being basically a cheat mode for most of them, however....
No there's no denying those are good. But the Yokai inspired ones from the base game... Meh. I like one or two.
 
I dunno, all of the OCs are pretty great in my opion. I like the "1960s monster movie" theme they went with for Sunbreak.

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It was clever, but not too "on the nose". Malzeno especially was a great fight.

The returning monster selection was good too. I was super happy Gore Magala made it back. Still no Lagi though. Anyways, monster selection will never be a complaint I have with Rise personally. Wirebug being basically a cheat mode for most of them, however....
That's some cool stuff right there, though there should be more red than pink with Dracula. Also, why not do the Mummy as a boss fight also?
 

Juras

Member
Today I checked livestreams on PS4, there was around 40 for MHW and 2-3 for MHR atm.

BB and Elden also around 40, CODs around 300, GTAV almost 500, Fortnite (top) almost 4k, for comparison.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Today I checked livestreams on PS4, there was around 40 for MHW and 2-3 for MHR atm.

BB and Elden also around 40, CODs around 300, GTAV almost 500, Fortnite (top) almost 4k, for comparison.
On Twitch however it's a very different case right now, with like 140 vs 40 live channels for MHR vs World. Yet around the same amount of viewers, about 100 or so more on Rise. One might be the winner but they're clearly far from any real popular game's ballpark atm.

Of course Rise has sold way less (but is still with numbers other seires/games are envious of) yet is way newer.
 
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