Monster Hunter Rise feels like the core ideas and mechanics of the game are there and great but get held back massively by being a port of a switch game. Throughout this review I will be comparing to MHW quite a bit as that was the last MH game I played and is apart of the same gen.
Firstly the story of this game was incredibly bare bones. The flagship monster for this game appears for one cutscene and proceeds to die in roughly 15 minutes in a quest not too long after. Magnamalo as a monster is cool and I enjoyed his fight but the build up is non existent and ends way too soon. In comparison to a monster like Nergigante who you repel twice and has enough build up to make him feel like a threat, Magnamalo falls flat hard and it’s a real shame considering how good of a design he has.
Rest of the story follows a pretty similar problem. The rampage never really felt developed on and the appearance and problems Ibushi causes is glossed over and done with very quickly. Narwas even worse for it as you don’t even get to see the resonance as it happens off screen. It all just feels very empty and not enough moment to moment story sections to make me care for the main threats of the game. Once again however design wise the serpents are stunning and their fights are alright but that’s all they’ve got going.
Due to the story being lacklustre the characters suffer also. Despite them being named this time around they don’t get the time to do much or have anything going for them. Even though I thought the characters in world were just okay, they still had the opportunity to interact more because of how the story is structured. Rise doesn’t really give the characters or monsters this chance making the game boil down to just doing hunts with no real link between them excluding the urgent quests. Even then those urgent quests feel quite disconnected and are just like normal hunts.
Like with MHW however, the story for these games is not the primary reason I play these games. I love the lore of the monsters and the world that the games take place in but the actual story I’m fine with being just okay like MHWs. Typically I do like having some kind of strong structure or continuity connecting the quests like MHW but where this game shines the most is in its gameplay.
Rise’s gameplay is incredibly fun. I think the switch skills and move set swapping system was such a good addition to the game and allows for attuning your weapon to whatever you prefer or need. All of these skills don’t get outclassed by their counterpart as each have a specific use that can only be accomplished by using these skills. The Palamutes (mounts) are amazing additions and I’m glad they are going to add something similar to Wilds. Having a mount you can use to freely and quickly traverse the map is great and was needed a lot in MHW.
However this game feels a lot less weighty and impactful with its gameplay as the sound effects and visual effects like screen shake and hit stop aren’t as heavy makes it feel like I’m hitting the monster with a twig at times. The impact is still there for stuff like the hammer and greatsword but unlike MHW where every action felt like there was huge weight behind it, Rise sacrifices that for speedier gameplay which some might prefer.
Visuals are never something I complain about especially since the switch has limited capability but they are obviously lower detail. For the most part this lower detail didn’t bother me as its art style was still incredibly strong and some of the new monsters looked fantastic.
The area design is what I really think this game gets set back by from it being a switch game. Once again in comparison to MHW, there is severely less interaction with the monsters, you and the environment. The areas feel a lot more basic and don’t have these small things that can make hunts unique just off the environment alone. The best example I have is Diablos in MHW and Rise. In MHW I was in the middle of fighting two other monster above this section of desert that solely exists for Diablos to emerge from and engulf the other monsters into it whereas in Rise Diabolos is just another monster in the desert and the environment has nothing unique to interact with.
This was such a huge thing for me in MHW as it was everywhere: the flood taking Rathalos down a cliff, Boulders that can be dropped on monsters, the volcanic eruptions in Elders Recess, The ice crags falling and limiting movement, tons of more examples that made the hunts unpredictable at times and this doesn’t even include certain monsters who will purposely intervene in your fight. None of this was present in Rise and it was a massive shame.
Music as always is brilliant and I really don’t need to comment much on it since this review is long enough. Fits the style of the game and sounds fantastic.
Overall the game is great to put on and get a few hunts in. With small maps and much more favourable options for the hunter it’s easy to hunt a few things and be done within the hour, something that was probably intentional with it being a switch game. MHR doesn’t come without its limitations but I’m still interested to see what Sunbreak has as these games love to save their best for the DLC.
7/10
Firstly the story of this game was incredibly bare bones. The flagship monster for this game appears for one cutscene and proceeds to die in roughly 15 minutes in a quest not too long after. Magnamalo as a monster is cool and I enjoyed his fight but the build up is non existent and ends way too soon. In comparison to a monster like Nergigante who you repel twice and has enough build up to make him feel like a threat, Magnamalo falls flat hard and it’s a real shame considering how good of a design he has.
Rest of the story follows a pretty similar problem. The rampage never really felt developed on and the appearance and problems Ibushi causes is glossed over and done with very quickly. Narwas even worse for it as you don’t even get to see the resonance as it happens off screen. It all just feels very empty and not enough moment to moment story sections to make me care for the main threats of the game. Once again however design wise the serpents are stunning and their fights are alright but that’s all they’ve got going.
Due to the story being lacklustre the characters suffer also. Despite them being named this time around they don’t get the time to do much or have anything going for them. Even though I thought the characters in world were just okay, they still had the opportunity to interact more because of how the story is structured. Rise doesn’t really give the characters or monsters this chance making the game boil down to just doing hunts with no real link between them excluding the urgent quests. Even then those urgent quests feel quite disconnected and are just like normal hunts.
Like with MHW however, the story for these games is not the primary reason I play these games. I love the lore of the monsters and the world that the games take place in but the actual story I’m fine with being just okay like MHWs. Typically I do like having some kind of strong structure or continuity connecting the quests like MHW but where this game shines the most is in its gameplay.
Rise’s gameplay is incredibly fun. I think the switch skills and move set swapping system was such a good addition to the game and allows for attuning your weapon to whatever you prefer or need. All of these skills don’t get outclassed by their counterpart as each have a specific use that can only be accomplished by using these skills. The Palamutes (mounts) are amazing additions and I’m glad they are going to add something similar to Wilds. Having a mount you can use to freely and quickly traverse the map is great and was needed a lot in MHW.
However this game feels a lot less weighty and impactful with its gameplay as the sound effects and visual effects like screen shake and hit stop aren’t as heavy makes it feel like I’m hitting the monster with a twig at times. The impact is still there for stuff like the hammer and greatsword but unlike MHW where every action felt like there was huge weight behind it, Rise sacrifices that for speedier gameplay which some might prefer.
Visuals are never something I complain about especially since the switch has limited capability but they are obviously lower detail. For the most part this lower detail didn’t bother me as its art style was still incredibly strong and some of the new monsters looked fantastic.
The area design is what I really think this game gets set back by from it being a switch game. Once again in comparison to MHW, there is severely less interaction with the monsters, you and the environment. The areas feel a lot more basic and don’t have these small things that can make hunts unique just off the environment alone. The best example I have is Diablos in MHW and Rise. In MHW I was in the middle of fighting two other monster above this section of desert that solely exists for Diablos to emerge from and engulf the other monsters into it whereas in Rise Diabolos is just another monster in the desert and the environment has nothing unique to interact with.
This was such a huge thing for me in MHW as it was everywhere: the flood taking Rathalos down a cliff, Boulders that can be dropped on monsters, the volcanic eruptions in Elders Recess, The ice crags falling and limiting movement, tons of more examples that made the hunts unpredictable at times and this doesn’t even include certain monsters who will purposely intervene in your fight. None of this was present in Rise and it was a massive shame.
Music as always is brilliant and I really don’t need to comment much on it since this review is long enough. Fits the style of the game and sounds fantastic.
Overall the game is great to put on and get a few hunts in. With small maps and much more favourable options for the hunter it’s easy to hunt a few things and be done within the hour, something that was probably intentional with it being a switch game. MHR doesn’t come without its limitations but I’m still interested to see what Sunbreak has as these games love to save their best for the DLC.
7/10