Monster Hunter Rise has finally launched on Nintendo Switch, but will it be of interest to fans of Monster Hunter World, especially if that game was their introduction to the series? Monster Hunter World attempted to appeal to a more mainstream audience by toning down the more frustrating aspects of the older games, and Monster Hunter Rise streamlines the experience even further.
Monster Hunter World has far better visuals than Monster Hunter Rise, but looks aren’t everything. Monster Hunter Rise has drastically improved the gameplay experience, with a number of QoL improvements. These include removing the Paint Ball mechanic from the older games, with monsters now appearing on the map at all times, meaning that players don’t have to spend time looking for them. There is now an indicator on the map whenever a monster is ready to be captured. The new Palamute mounts let players race across the battlefield, while also being able to use items on the go. Item harvesting now takes a second and can be done from the back of a Palamute. These are just some of the changes that Monster Hunter Rise brings to the table, all of which cut down on the time-wasting that hunters had to endure in Monster Hunter World.
When discussing Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter World, it’s important to note that they currently don’t share a system. Monster Hunter Rise is coming to PC in 2022, but it’s currently only available on the Switch. Monster Hunter World is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, as well as on PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S through backward compatibility. The game is also available as part of the PlayStation Plus Collection on PS5 and through Xbox Game Pass. System ownership will obviously play a role in whether someone can check out both Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter World, and both games are worth checking out for people with the ability to play them.
Monster Hunter Rise Vs. Monster Hunter World
For people with access to multiple systems, Monster Hunter Rise is a worthy successor to Monster Hunter World. The levels in Monster Hunter World were massive and impressive, but the Wirebug mechanic in Monster Hunter Rise allows players to swing about like Spider-Man. This means that the player characters are far more agile and there is less of them standing around and waiting to be crushed by monsters, as happened a lot in Monster Hunter World. It’s now possible to scale cliffs and leap onto buildings, making the stages a lot easier to explore.
The biggest improvement is the multiplayer, as it’s now easy to drop into hunts with other players online. The restriction that Monster Hunter World used for seeing monsters for the first time is gone, which means that it’s easier than ever to play through the missions alongside friends. It bears mentioning that Monster Hunter Rise isn’t as story-focused as Monster Hunter World, but the narrative has never been the series’ strong point. The draw of Monster Hunter is fighting the monsters, not the background for why they need fighting.
One major difference to take into consideration is content. Monster Hunter World received a lot of free content updates and crossovers throughout its run, including the paid Iceborne expansion. Monster Hunter Rise has considerably less content at the moment, as it will be following a similar update schedule. The people who are looking for more content should definitely go for Monster Hunter World, especially as it still has an active player community. Monster Hunter Rise is the better title in terms of gameplay and multiplayer access, but people who are playing the game at launch are experiencing it with only seven ranks worth of content.
As time goes on, Monster Hunter Rise will flesh out its setting with new monsters and weapons, but it’s unclear exactly how long that will take. Monster Hunter Rise‘s gameplay will be familiar to fans of Monster Hunter World and all of its new additions expand on the experience, rather than replacing elements that fans will be familiar with. Fans of Monster Hunter World should definitely check out Monster Hunter Rise if they have a chance, and they may have a hard time going back afterward.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for Nintendo Switch and it’s coming to PC in 2022. Monster Hunter World is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.