Monster Hunter World has more concurrent players than it's seen in three years, thanks to a combination of Wilds renewing interest in the series and a steep Steam discount lopping 67% off.
Interestingly, the PC release of Rise in 2022 hardly affected World's player count at all and has not benefitted from the same spark since Wilds was announced.
Who here is excited for Wilds?
Monster Hunter Wilds news gave World a surprising second wind | VG247
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No idea why, but the Monster Hunter franchise just passed me by, despite sounding right up my street!
Was Rise not received as well compared to the rest of the franchise, or was World just particularly good? Are they the sort of game where I can jump into the latest release without missing too much context?
I originally played the first Monster Hunter and really disliked it. I admire that it doesn't really hold your hand with things but the mechanics just weren't explained well and it led to frustrations. World helped with onboarding without going too tutorial-based. You still need to learn each weapon type yourself but it'll guide you through the basics well enough. It redefined the standard and was a huge world to explore.
Rise started off as a Nintendo Switch exclusive and ported to PC a year later, then to other consoles another year later. The staggered releases certainly didn't help, but lots of people thought it was watered down because it started on a less powerful machine. Anyone who thinks that couldn't be more wrong, though. It's basically more of the same.
Don't worry about story when starting Monster Hunter. There are stories, but they're not exactly head-scratchers or deep narratives. I'd think more about mechanics and where's best to learn how to play. For that, I'd suggest World, and if you can play with others then I'd recommend it!
I played the hell out of MH World about 3 years ago, it was one of the first games I streamed in fact.
I adored the hell out of it and was excited by Rise. For me though, I felt like Rise tried to add in a bit too much and I found it a little harder to get into. Both offer a lot of replayability though with all the weapon types you can build.
Can you put your finger on what exactly broke the experience for you?
Generally, I felt Rise was similar to World with minor improvements rather than a load added. Smaller hub world to navigate, which I appreciated. Took cues from World's Iceborne DLC. The only thing I can think of was the Wirebug, which is just a little more fleshed out than the Clutch Claw in World: Iceborne.
It's been a while since I tried it so I can't exactly place what it was. I wasn't the biggest fan of the the Palamute companions I remember feeling that right off the bat. I could've done without them entirely and just kept it more like World in that respect.
But hey, it's been a while, maybe it's time I dived back in and gave it a go again!
Ah, yes. Now you mention it, there was an increased focus on Felyne companions, those you find in the wild, and those you send on missions away from your missions. I think you can largely ignore most of it, though. The companion thing is probably the most pressing, though I don't think it's wildly different to World.
I quite liked the Palamutes just because it was easier to travel. Helped get to the action quicker if you join a random hunt rather than it ending while you're in spawn.
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