Monster Hunter Rise Review (Switch)

Each Monster Hunter iteration brought new gameplay mechanics to the series and, ultimately, refined the experience to make it not just more fun, but also easier to pick up. The latest entry in the franchise, Monster Hunter Rise does exactly what Monster Hunter World and Iceborne did for the previous titles: it elevates the monster-hunting action to new heights.

For newcomers to the series, the amount of information you're presented with during the first few hours of Monster Hunter Rise can be a bit overwhelming, but doing exactly what the tutorials advise you to do can make the transition much easier. While veterans of the franchise won't have any issues jumping directly into their first hunt, I'd strongly recommend visiting the training area first to get used to the chosen weapon.

Monster Hunter Rise introduces a new companion that will help you during your hunts, so besides the “traditional” palico, you will now be able to take a Palamute with you. These are canine creatures that not only help you fight monsters but also let you ride them without losing your stamina.

The addition of Palamutes reduces the monster-hunting downtimes in the previous games to zero. You can now traverse entire maps in a matter of a few minutes, not the mention that you'll now be able to sharpen your weapon while riding on the Palamute, or even gather resources. The funny thing is Capcom went above and beyond to make both the Palico and Palamute more useful to players, so Monster Hunter Rise allows you to recruit more of these. Obviously, you can only take one of each with you on a hunt, but what's interesting about them is that they now have different skills.

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Before recruiting a new Palico or Palamute, you can see their skills and choose the ones you think are suitable for your playstyle or particular hunt. Moreover, they typically have more skills that they can use, but you can switch between them on the fly. This is something that the game doesn't explain and lets you find out on your own.

Another interesting new gameplay feature that sets Rise apart from other Monster Hunter games is the new Wirebug mechanic. You'll start with two bugs that allow you to zip through the air and chain moves, run up on a wall, or Wire-dash to avoid a monster's attack. Each of these unique actions will consume one so-called Wirebug that will replenish after a short time (usually 10 seconds). More importantly, Wirebugs can be used to execute Silkbind attacks with your weapon. Each of the 14 weapons has one or more Silkbind signature attacks and requires at least one Wirebug. Some are powerful counterattacks, while others let you execute evasive maneuvers when a monster is on a rampage.

To make it even more fun, Capcom introduced a new mechanic that lets you ride monsters. You can either use a silkbind attack to jump on a monster, or you can wait until the monster becomes rideable after many aerial attacks/combos. I can't stress enough how useful the Wyvern Riding mechanic really is, especially if you have a hard time hunting a certain monster. Typically, when two monsters meet on a map, they start fighting each other for supremacy, which can only be good for the player who hunts one or the other.

But what if you could mount a monster and bring it on another monster's turf? Not only that, but once a monster is mounted, you can use various actions like attacking another monster or you could even launch the monster into a wall to deal damage and put them in a downstate where they're vulnerable. Mounting a monster doesn't require finesse, you just need to know about the option and then plan your attacks carefully after you successfully mount a monster.

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In an attempt to streamline resource gathering, Capcom added … submarines. If you've already hired additional palicos and palamutes, you can assign them to a submarine and they will be sent off to explore and collect items. They will return after a few hunts and you can check what they've managed to find. You start with a single submarine, but as you go through the game, you'll be offered side quests that will further expand your submarine flotilla. These submarines replace the Botanical Garden in Monster Hunter World, but Capcom has retained The Argosy. The latter is the only way to obtain special items other than from a monster hunt. You pay some points (in-game currency) to get certain items that you need to use during your hunts or to craft new gear.

Speaking about gear, Monster Hunter Rise features all 14 weapons that were available in the previous two games: Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Iceborne. However, the number of materials that you need to craft new gear a the smithy has been significantly lowered, which makes it easier for players, especially newcomers to the series, to switch to a new weapon mid-game. Before crafting new gear, pay attention to what bonus you get for each piece. Also, I strongly recommend not crafting full sets because you'll get much better stats mixing different pieces of gear.

Story-wise, Monster Hunter Rise even less compelling than Monster Hunter World. You're a young hunter in a village called Kamura, which suffered a devastating attack 50 years ago. The event called The Rampage is about to happen again, so your main objective is to prevent that by hunting monsters.

Although the story is the least important aspect in a Monster Hunter game, there are moments when it feels like Rise is hollow. Luckily, these moments are few and far between, but I can't help wondering why Capcom hasn't done a better job, because everything else feels extremely well thought and awfully gorgeous.

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The Good

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