Monster Hunter World

GAME REVIEW

A beautiful story, a wonderful setting and a lot of monsters to hunt! That is what Monster Hunter World is in a nutshell. World is one of the only major Monster Hunter titles to be released for the PC platform, and was welcomed by most PC gamers. Unlike most run of the mill hunt games, Monster Hunter World allows the player to use a variety of different weapons, skills and tactics to hunt monsters present in the game.

Gameplay shift from previous titles

If you have played previous Monster Hunter Titles, you will be surprised how much the world in Monster Hunter World is different. The gameplay, environment and how the weapons handle is very different, when compared to previous installments. That means it is a completely new game even for old players of the franchise.

The improvements made in this title make the old titles look really old. It will be hard for you to return and enjoy the old titles after you play this one, as the modern elements added into Monster Hunter World makes this game far superior to the older titles.

Although not the main selling point of the game, the game has a decent story. It isn’t unlike anything that you have seen before in games that focus on saving the world or part of it while being in some kind of guild. If you are looking for a good game with a decent story, but awesome gameplay, then you will enjoy Monster Hunter World. The characters themselves are pretty run of the mill characters, with nothing quite memorable.

You write the story

The story that the developers wrote isn’t the actual story! The battles you fight against the hulking beasts is the game’s actually story!

With so many dangerous and well-designed monsters to hunt, each battle is like a new story experience. It is a story that you write, that you create. The amount of creativity you can use to hunt monsters in this game is limitless! Due to the design, attributes, abilities and attacks of the monsters, you will always be looking for weaknesses in their armor, abilities and skills. This means that you will always be thinking about how to efficiently hunt a monster without taking too much damage yourself.

You also have to keep in mind that it is a “world”, which means other monsters near your hunting zone can invade and make your life a misery. Trust me, you don’t want to fight two different types of monster at the same time, and there is a very big reason for that.

Before each hunt, you will have to choose the correct weapons for the job! One weapon that will be effective against one type of monster will be totally useless against another. You will have to keep weapons and monster types in check all the time. Know the world around you to be an effective hunter and survive in the world.

The weapons and item farming

One thing that you will notice in the game’s community is the amount of item farming and variety of weapons being discussed. There are a lot of weapons and weapon customizations available. Quite often, you will find yourself hunting the same type of monster in order to get a particular item that only that monster has.

Now, this can be a problem for people who play more than just one game, as item farming can take a really long time. You can play the game without item farming, but you will be missing out on one of its main components.

Once you get the weapons you want, you will turn into a better hunter. Monsters will be easier to kill and you will enjoy the game.

Monster AI

The monsters in this game are smart. They will use environmental effects, such as damaging oils and molten lava, to damage you. Monsters will force you to fight them in areas where you will receive passive damage.

They adapt to your fighting style and use weaknesses in your game to defeat you. One monster type that may seem easy in the beginning of a fight may turn into a nightmare by the end. Some monsters can even climb on ledges and big rocks. From there, they will attempt to attack you, using very fast and precise strikes. This can be annoying and very hard to deal with, especially if you don’t move out of the way in time.

Another thing that you have to be wary off is the dynamic environment. Monsters will be able to cause landslides and release gas from the earth to damage you. Some monsters can stomp the ground to create cracks which will hinder your movement and make you really work hard for those effective strikes that you may be looking for at that time. Flying monsters will use their ability to fly to get away from you and regenerate their vitality, forcing you to adapt and bring them down using force.

The monsters that regenerate will really test your nerves, as you have to be extremely consistent in your attacks to make them fall. Delay attacks for too long, and those types of monsters will be back in no time.

Performance on PC

The PC performance of most AAA games these days is not good. PC requirements for Monster Hunter World are high. The game sucks the life out of your CPU, so you will benefit from a higher number of threads. The high CPU usage can be attributed to the very large number of screen effects and AI processes. The game doesn’t look good enough to justify the high CPU usage, but thankfully, the game is still quite playable at 30 FPS.

Playing with a controller is recommended, especially if you plan to lock the game to 30 FPS, to have a stutter-free experience.

Final verdict

Monster Hunter World is probably the best Monster Hunter game in the franchise, and for hardcore PC gamers it is worth a buy. There are better hunting games out there that offer a more linear and well-balanced hunting experience. Monster Hunter World is for gamers that really like the idea of hunting big monsters.

My experience with Monster Hunter was average. I enjoyed the hunting experience, but didn’t enjoy the farming element of the game. It isn’t the best game for gamers that have a huge library of games, as item farming requires a lot of time.

Score: 8/10

The author is a professional video game designer, game developer and game critic.