Probably the best Monster Hunter clone that's been done just kept from reaching the highest points of its inspiration by a lack of polish in areas.
The combat is fantastic, I think the best in any Hunting game. The Claw Blade specifically became a favorite of mine, fulfilling that anime as fuck combat fantasy of flying around and attacking giant monsters ala Attack on Titan. The integration of the objects you can build to assist you, known as Karakuri, in battle is very smooth. Conjuring a spring to close the gap between you and a monster or a box for a jump attack are seamlessly integrated into the fights. It only gets slightly awkward when building more complex karakuri but having to find an opening in combat to build those right is a fair trade off for how strong they can be.
There are some great monsters but there definitely is some issue with variety compared to Monster Hunter which is understandable as this does not have the long history of pre-existing designs to draw from. Even then creatures like the cover monster known as a Deathstalker look very cool and provide some intense challenge which is something more recent Monster Hunter games have lacked at times.
The maps are very good. The size are just right and things like notes and talismans are hidden away giving reason for players to explore. The Karakuri mentioned previously can also be good to use to build things like ziplines that make traveling across them fast and fun. You can also build camps for fast travel wherever you want which is a welcome addition. The maps actually change a bit visually during different chapters of the game to showcase the effects of invasive monsters on the ecosystem which is a wonderful touch. My only complaint on the maps is that it really needed one more to add some freshness to the last chapter of the game.
The biggest thing that keeps this from overcoming Monster Hunter are the bugs and performance issue. This was extremely rough at launch especially on PC where I played and still is honestly. Even with a 3080 I'd drop frames at 1440p during fights and the game would stutter quite a bit. Then there's weird visual issues like shadows on NPC's, monsters or the environment flickering on and off. This game is not near impressive enough to be this hard to run. It being in this state is a big black mark on it unfortunately. Hopefully that does get addressed over time.
The combat is fantastic, I think the best in any Hunting game. The Claw Blade specifically became a favorite of mine, fulfilling that anime as fuck combat fantasy of flying around and attacking giant monsters ala Attack on Titan. The integration of the objects you can build to assist you, known as Karakuri, in battle is very smooth. Conjuring a spring to close the gap between you and a monster or a box for a jump attack are seamlessly integrated into the fights. It only gets slightly awkward when building more complex karakuri but having to find an opening in combat to build those right is a fair trade off for how strong they can be.
There are some great monsters but there definitely is some issue with variety compared to Monster Hunter which is understandable as this does not have the long history of pre-existing designs to draw from. Even then creatures like the cover monster known as a Deathstalker look very cool and provide some intense challenge which is something more recent Monster Hunter games have lacked at times.
The maps are very good. The size are just right and things like notes and talismans are hidden away giving reason for players to explore. The Karakuri mentioned previously can also be good to use to build things like ziplines that make traveling across them fast and fun. You can also build camps for fast travel wherever you want which is a welcome addition. The maps actually change a bit visually during different chapters of the game to showcase the effects of invasive monsters on the ecosystem which is a wonderful touch. My only complaint on the maps is that it really needed one more to add some freshness to the last chapter of the game.
The biggest thing that keeps this from overcoming Monster Hunter are the bugs and performance issue. This was extremely rough at launch especially on PC where I played and still is honestly. Even with a 3080 I'd drop frames at 1440p during fights and the game would stutter quite a bit. Then there's weird visual issues like shadows on NPC's, monsters or the environment flickering on and off. This game is not near impressive enough to be this hard to run. It being in this state is a big black mark on it unfortunately. Hopefully that does get addressed over time.