I’ve only just rolled the credits on Low Rank Village quests, so I have a long way yet to go. Despite that, I have been having a great time playing Monster Hunter Rise. I have gone in-depth with many of my opinions on our Discord, which you can join by following this link. We’d love to have you!
Disclaimer: The following impressions are brimming over with the bias of a third fleet Monster Hunter veteran.
Monster Hunter Rise Day One Impressions
I had seen a few reviews of Monster Hunter Rise and had played for a few hours on the first day and was talking to a few people in our #all-games channel about the release. I initiated the conversation by posting a video from Polygon that I found funny.
Things to note:
- Some text has been modified for readability.
- Anything I said looks like this.
- I put letters to identify when there is a different speaker, however the letters don’t relate to their name in any way.
Friend: How do you play Monster Hunter?
Me: <Link to Polygon’s Monster Hunter Rise: A beginner’s guide for absolute babies>
> “for absolute babies“
The nerve, I love it
A – For babies like me Pog
Going over Weapons in Monster Hunter Rise
B – Step one, watch a tutorial on every single weapon before you even think to commit to one
C – Yeah I’m a Monster Hunter infant
Picking a weapon is like picking a character in a fighting game they [freaking] weird
D – insect glaive 4 life
Glaive in this game is a [freaking] beast
They hid all the cool [stuff] in the demo
[As an aside, Insect Glaive is my favorite weapon. I’m currently not using it in Rise but I can’t wait to try it out later in High Rank.]
D – I [will] aerial and you will LIKE IT
A – If it’s like picking [a fighting game] character, then I’ll use my normal strat. What’s cool.
D – That’s the problem Taz, they’re ALL cool
That’s my strat too
A- Fair LUL
D – I like insect glaive cause it gives me a second dodge button
A – But I like the big boy sword, long sword and sword and board in MH so far that I’ve played World
It’s why I main Insect Glaive and Gunlance and Bow and Hunting Horn and Great Sword and Longsword and–
D – and as someone who has played a LOT of dark souls dodging is my natural response to big monster want to hit me
Rise gives you like 2-3 dodge buttons for every weapon
And then insect glaive
Has like 4
A – Guess I’ll be listening to Piccolo’s advice for sure in this game
Rise Up with the Wirebug
The wirebug I thought was gonna be hard to get used to but after about 5 hours it became pretty natural
A – It seemed like that kind of mechanic
Whereas I never got used to the clutch claw in Iceborne
D – sick
I think the big factor here is that the maps are all designed for you to use the wirebug a lot
So you have to learn it
You can’t just ignore it
A – Natural Encouragement Pog
Silkbind Attacks and Wyvern Riding
That and “mounting damage” has kind of changed
So it’s not longer like aerial attacks that deal mounting damage
[Aerial Attacks still deal mounting damage, I was wrong.]
D – how to mount then?
Silkbind attacks and attacks from other monsters are what deal mounting damage
D – damn, so does glaive lose all the sweet sweet mounting time that it had in world?
Unsure but if sure felt that way on the one hunt I did with it in the demo
Because I was trying to mount the whole time and nada
I think there’s also like a 10 minute cooldown per monster on mounting too
Since mounting is just so goddamn powerful for this game
Lots of reviewers are calling it overtuned
I’ve barely been able to pull it off myself
That Sweet Monster Hunter Charm
— Also, I stepped in this channel just to say originally that I’m listening to Rise BGM because you can change Hub music and like … Like ALL of the music slaps. So much has been remastered for Rise too. Like before I would say Monster Hunter music was good but most of it never really got me super hyped. But Rise? Whew buddy
ALSO
Rise is easily the most charming MH game I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing
That Monster Hunter charm is here, but with a very distinct Japanese spin, and they cranked the dial up to 11 and threw heaps and heaps of it in
A – I noticed just from Max’s first compilation of it. Charm is apparent which I do enjoy about MH the most from the bit I’ve played it.
A Great Entry Point for New Hunters
I don’t know what it is for me but Rise struck this like perfect balance in my heart. I wasn’t too hyped for it so I wasn’t overblown by massive expectations. It has so much charm have MHW took away some of the charm that I love about these games. The lore/setting/story of Rise feels way more believable and less hamfisted than World‘s, which is incredibly immersive. I can’t believe I’m saying this but Monster Hunter Rise is the first game in a long time where I can truly say I’m actually immersed. I’m taking the game slow and just enjoying my time exploring and interacting with and taking in absolutely everything I can.
Also, if you’re a first time Monster Hunter player, I feel like Rise‘s story makes more sense than most. I don’t really remember 4U but I remember it being good. Rise on the other hand like … I’m still super early but the super basic premise of the story? “Oh No Rampages causing monsters to attack the village?” It’s introduced before you do anything in the game, giving you, the player, a clear reason to go out and hunt monsters, something I’m not sure prior games ever did before (not like you need one if you’re buying a game called Monster Hunter but … idk. It makes it feel more cohesive you feel?)
And here I am writing up a full review/impressions of Rise in #all-games courtesy of me
[There were a few eyes emoji’s, then Anthony nodded their head at me and I produced this.]
Further Blurbs
Over the next few days I would continue to post in #all-games whenever I had a few thoughts I just had to share with the world. Here’s what I had to say:
March 29th
I think a lot of the reason why I thought I would like Blue Fire but ultimately ended up feeling kind of mediocre about it is because I wanted a game with fun, fluid 3D action and mobility. But its combat is actually just trash (though its platforming is pretty nice). [Read our review of Blue Fire here.]
And then comes Monster Hunter Rise. A game in a series that’s known for clunky and “slow”, yet incredibly fun and satisfying combat. It’s been getting a little better, lately, sure. But Rise completely blindsided me. Like I was cautiously optimistic with the wirebug but after playing with it for just about 10-15 hours it feels so comfortable. And more importantly, I feel absolutely enthralled by the gameplay. In no way do I feel like the game hinders my will to move freely in the world and that in turn leads to a strangely immersive experience. I can’t even describe the feeling, if you haven’t had a chance to play it, idk, it’s just so nice. Gonna be sad when they ditch the wirebug in MH6.
April 6th
This morning before work I finally fought the flagship monster. This is all I had time to say before I had to leave:
Just beat my first Magnamalo in Village Quests and my god is that monster hype. I’m glad I held off on fighting him in the demo.
To expand a little bit right now, I just want to say, the music for Magnamalo is absolutely incredible, the way the monster moves is wild, the wirebug to place hellfire mechanic is so cool, and the cutscene before you fight it absolutely sells you on the threat that this monster poses.
I never really liked Magnamalo before fighting him, I respected his design but it wasn’t something I was drawn towards, and I just wasn’t sure I would enjoy him as a flagship because something about him just seemed a little bit off. But I am glad to say he’s more than earned his spot among the other great flagships of the series
Free Title Update 2.0 (April 27th)
Also the free title update for Rise is tomorrow
Adds 2 new Apex, adds 3 Elder Dragons, unlocks HR cap, and adds quests to fight Apex monsters outside of Rampages?
UH
Can I get a HELL YEAH?
They are doing event quests that you download like past MH games too, instead of them being timed like in World
And apparently some future event quests will unlock gestures and stickers, not just cool armor and weapons
Of note:
Specific wording is some Apex monsters are getting regular quests. I saw Arzuros, Mizutsune, and I think Rathalos and Diablos out there. I haven’t beaten the game yet so unsure even what else there is.
Also apparently we’ll be able to craft layered armor too
Update 3.0 scheduled for the end of May, adding several new monsters and a new ending. Which I heard a lot of people weren’t satisfied with the ending
The future for Monster Hunter Rise looks bright and I can’t wait to see what future updates will bring to the game. It looks like they’ve really perfected their update schedule since World, and I’m really excited to see them embracing the downloadable event quests of the past instead of making them timed again. I can’t help but wonder what else they have planned.
Until then, I suppose I have some catching up to do, eh?
Join the Discord!
Want to join in the discussion? Want to hunt with the UzerFriendly community? Follow this link to join the Discord! Discord is a free messaging platforming where we have created our own server with several different text and voice channels where you can hang out with and talk with the community about all kinds of things related to geek culture, celebrating diversity and love, and much much more.
I still have plenty of Monster Hunter Rise left and you can bet I’m going to be sharing my thoughts in #all-games as I go! We’ll likely make a full review later down the line using a very similar structure, and goodness knows I would find your input invaluable. I hope to see you there!