I really think Rise made me decide I wasn't going to talk or put my thoughts on any of these games online until they're fully 100% truly done with updates and while this still has a few more event quests to go that I will gladly get to as it stands this shit is done with Primeval Malzeno.
Sunbreak (from this point on occasionally referred to as Sunrise keep up) is without a shadow of a doubt probably the first one of these I've really been as addicted to as I was to 4U way back on the 3DS. While with Worldborne it eventually became a game of endless deco/KT/Safi farming Sunrise is a game that while as of this moment I have less time put into it than Worldborne unlike that game I can see myself definitely making another character to do an all new playthrough with a year or two from now.
The fantastic and frenetic combat of Rise is back in full swing and as with most G rank titles the monsters are faster and meaner than ever before, but Sunbreak goes even further implementing features and mechanics thought to have been lost with Frontier. Monsters like the Espinas duo and P Malzeno go absolutely berserk and it fucking rules. You can tell this time around the devs and especially the director who has been really open about about his love of Frontier really wanted to bring all that shit back and while I can't speak as someone who has played Frontier the consensus from those who have is enough to tell me they basically got it right. To combat this new ferocious beastiary we get the new scroll swap and switch skill mechanic and while I can definitely see the scrolls being a Sunrise exclusive gameplay element I hope to god switch skills return going forward. Being able to switch out your weapons moves for different ones is a million times more interesting to me as someone who cares more about game feel than the maps feeling alive and like a real ecosystem that Worldborne pushed.
This is also the first MH since 4U where while still having the same nonsense and simple "What could be causing this? Oh, it's monster! Actually it's this monster!" story MH always has it truly gets the feeling across of being on an adventure with a ragtag group to investigate and slay a dragon. It's funny too cause like Worldborne has a similar thing as always going on but it feels dumber in that game than here or 4U or even 3U? I don't know why, but it does. All this eventually culminating with the launch versions dragon satan finale and now the final update's P Malzeno leave me with a feeling of satisfaction that neither Xeno nor Shara really left me with despite the latter's genuinely great fight. Love the characters in this one too. I know it sounds silly considering most of them are just trope characters you see in lots of Japanese media, but Monster Hunter has always had a weird sort of like Jurassic Park 1 likeability to (most of) its characters that I can't help but enjoy interacting with them. Capcom knows this too cause the follower system (another thing kind of taken from Frontier) implemented in this game is really just a dating system lets be real and it better come back. Also if you look like Minayle hmu.
Yeah most of this review sounds like rambling, but I've got a year of shit to say and I've had plenty of time to reflect on and honestly I really really really like this game. It's a feeling like I've mentioned I haven't felt towards a Monster Hunter since 4U around 8 years ago (Jesus Christ kill me). Sure I can criticize how the roster isn't as big as GU's (stupid). Hell I could criticize the super slow grind of the Anomaly system, but I personally don't mind it. It's a much more passive grind that I could play at whatever pace I wanted and all the post launch monsters don't really require all the shit you get from it to fight them. Afflicted monsters being a genuinely fun challenge and the THE best version of endgame powered monsters (this is not arguable don't even bother) only helps. Loved the secondary combat mechanic of hitting the glowing bits like hyper monsters, but unlike them it actually feels like it does something. Love the knockdowns leading to tired state for easy hits after doing enough damage, but unlike 4U Apexes it's not annoying as fuck to get there without some shitty extra item. Love that they actually get cool slight distinct visuals aspects (Khezu full on looks like Red Khezu, Luna looks like a super Odo), as opposed to the boring violet metallic tint of World's tempered monsters. Yeah I'm shilling hard and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, this game is better than Worldborne. What it lacks in fidelity (made up for by better art direction here anyways) it more than makes up for in being actually fun to play and having creative combat scenarios that could never be done in that game's slower pacing or shitty attempts at MMO raid type battle.
Oh my lord the music of this game too. I am very vocal in my dislike of some of World's tracks (Iceborne is definitely a bit better about this), but Sunbreak like Rise before it goes all in with some of the coolest original tracks in the series alongside remaking older ones in a much closer fashion to their originals while still adding in new touches to make them feel fresh. The end result is just chefs kiss baby. Peak MH OST.
Sunbreak may not be perfect and it kind of like Generations Ultimate is hampered by a good as fuck but also kind of weaker first half (Gen portion in GU Rise portion here), but by the time you're dug in like a tick in Sunbreak that shit won't matter when Fiorayne leaps through the sky and slamshitfucks Pacific Rim back into the Earth. Yeah, I'm thinking I'll be playing this still a fuckton while waiting for MH6 and years away from now too.
Sunbreak (from this point on occasionally referred to as Sunrise keep up) is without a shadow of a doubt probably the first one of these I've really been as addicted to as I was to 4U way back on the 3DS. While with Worldborne it eventually became a game of endless deco/KT/Safi farming Sunrise is a game that while as of this moment I have less time put into it than Worldborne unlike that game I can see myself definitely making another character to do an all new playthrough with a year or two from now.
The fantastic and frenetic combat of Rise is back in full swing and as with most G rank titles the monsters are faster and meaner than ever before, but Sunbreak goes even further implementing features and mechanics thought to have been lost with Frontier. Monsters like the Espinas duo and P Malzeno go absolutely berserk and it fucking rules. You can tell this time around the devs and especially the director who has been really open about about his love of Frontier really wanted to bring all that shit back and while I can't speak as someone who has played Frontier the consensus from those who have is enough to tell me they basically got it right. To combat this new ferocious beastiary we get the new scroll swap and switch skill mechanic and while I can definitely see the scrolls being a Sunrise exclusive gameplay element I hope to god switch skills return going forward. Being able to switch out your weapons moves for different ones is a million times more interesting to me as someone who cares more about game feel than the maps feeling alive and like a real ecosystem that Worldborne pushed.
This is also the first MH since 4U where while still having the same nonsense and simple "What could be causing this? Oh, it's monster! Actually it's this monster!" story MH always has it truly gets the feeling across of being on an adventure with a ragtag group to investigate and slay a dragon. It's funny too cause like Worldborne has a similar thing as always going on but it feels dumber in that game than here or 4U or even 3U? I don't know why, but it does. All this eventually culminating with the launch versions dragon satan finale and now the final update's P Malzeno leave me with a feeling of satisfaction that neither Xeno nor Shara really left me with despite the latter's genuinely great fight. Love the characters in this one too. I know it sounds silly considering most of them are just trope characters you see in lots of Japanese media, but Monster Hunter has always had a weird sort of like Jurassic Park 1 likeability to (most of) its characters that I can't help but enjoy interacting with them. Capcom knows this too cause the follower system (another thing kind of taken from Frontier) implemented in this game is really just a dating system lets be real and it better come back. Also if you look like Minayle hmu.
Yeah most of this review sounds like rambling, but I've got a year of shit to say and I've had plenty of time to reflect on and honestly I really really really like this game. It's a feeling like I've mentioned I haven't felt towards a Monster Hunter since 4U around 8 years ago (Jesus Christ kill me). Sure I can criticize how the roster isn't as big as GU's (stupid). Hell I could criticize the super slow grind of the Anomaly system, but I personally don't mind it. It's a much more passive grind that I could play at whatever pace I wanted and all the post launch monsters don't really require all the shit you get from it to fight them. Afflicted monsters being a genuinely fun challenge and the THE best version of endgame powered monsters (this is not arguable don't even bother) only helps. Loved the secondary combat mechanic of hitting the glowing bits like hyper monsters, but unlike them it actually feels like it does something. Love the knockdowns leading to tired state for easy hits after doing enough damage, but unlike 4U Apexes it's not annoying as fuck to get there without some shitty extra item. Love that they actually get cool slight distinct visuals aspects (Khezu full on looks like Red Khezu, Luna looks like a super Odo), as opposed to the boring violet metallic tint of World's tempered monsters. Yeah I'm shilling hard and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, this game is better than Worldborne. What it lacks in fidelity (made up for by better art direction here anyways) it more than makes up for in being actually fun to play and having creative combat scenarios that could never be done in that game's slower pacing or shitty attempts at MMO raid type battle.
Oh my lord the music of this game too. I am very vocal in my dislike of some of World's tracks (Iceborne is definitely a bit better about this), but Sunbreak like Rise before it goes all in with some of the coolest original tracks in the series alongside remaking older ones in a much closer fashion to their originals while still adding in new touches to make them feel fresh. The end result is just chefs kiss baby. Peak MH OST.
Sunbreak may not be perfect and it kind of like Generations Ultimate is hampered by a good as fuck but also kind of weaker first half (Gen portion in GU Rise portion here), but by the time you're dug in like a tick in Sunbreak that shit won't matter when Fiorayne leaps through the sky and slamshitfucks Pacific Rim back into the Earth. Yeah, I'm thinking I'll be playing this still a fuckton while waiting for MH6 and years away from now too.