So, it became apparent really quickly that the four-hour window I came up with for these backlog games was absolutely not going to cut it for Monster Hunter: World. The number of systems that the game bombards you with right out off of the bat made getting into it seem overwhelming. For the combat alone there are eighteen types of weapon, all of which are available immediately and which have completely different controls. Each individual weapon is upgradable in branching trees that add unique stats. On top of that there’s a whole item crafting system, a cooking system, and a weapon and armor smithing system. You can trap normal animals and then let them run around your room for some reason. A little piggy shows up sometimes and I can pet him and I have no idea what that’s all about. It’s so much. But, once I got into the groove and figured out how the longsword works (according to the internet this outs me as a weeaboo) I started having a ton of fun. They’ve really boiled the experience of the boss fight down to its bare essentials. Each of the monsters you can hunt have really cool designs that factor into the fight in realistic ways. These aren’t like fantasy or cartoon magical beasts, although they do look like cool dinosaurs. They behave like real animals that use their physical adaptations to defend themselves. For example, there’s one guy who’s has a flat armored head that it uses to dig up mud to protect itself and to fling at you. Another guy has opposable thumbs, used both for stealing eggs for food and for picking up rocks to shield itself with. Monster Hunter’s ecological angle has gives it a cool Crocodile Hunter sort of flavor that I really like. You’re not just killing monsters, you have to understand their biology, mannerisms, and habitats in order to do well, and I think that’s neat.
Another thing I find neat is the world and setting. When I was a kid, my favorite part of Disney World was the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.
Astera is basically that on steroids. Walking around Astera gives you this impression that the Research Commission is a well-oiled machine, and you are one of many very competent cogs. MH:W’s conflicts (from what I can tell so far) aren’t like, intra-Commission political bullshit, and it keeps the focus on the thing you’re here for: hunting monsters. Monster hunting is conflict enough, and it forces the Commission to be well organized if they want to both accomplish their mission and survive. And, if your character wasn’t a skilled hunter, they wouldn’t be here in the first place. This all makes for a refreshing sort of a narrative when so many games I’ve been playing tie your character’s social clout and in-universe skill to your game progress. That all said, the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has a sort of fun fantasy RPG camp about it. The armor for example is all outrageously over-the-top and your character’s outfit toes the line between goofy and bad-ass at all times.
I’ve actually got MH:W for Christmas over Steam a few years ago but only recently have I had a PC powerful enough to run it. I don’t play a ton of modern AAA games, and when I do they’re usually either Nintendo or Bethesda games, so I was honestly pretty wowed that Monster Hunter is able to look as good as it does with a photorealistic art direction and not be a terrible buggy mess. I will admit I have low standards. But it’s very fun to play a game with this huge of a budget and that you can just tell a buttload of people worked on. It’s like, oh, this is why people get so stoked about AAA games, I forgot. I wasn’t that excited for the new Monster Hunter: Rise later this year, but maybe now I’ll be more inclined to pick it up. That is, if I’m even done with World by then.
[[ backlog master post ]]