Monster Hunter World is at half off on Steam. Any thoughts on the game? I've been eyeing it for a while now, I'm just unsure how much I'd actually enjoy it. So far the DS series has been my go to game of such type, MH seems similar enough in the sort of unforgiving combat area but I'm not entirely sure if I'd like the stuff that's different. Any thoughts from you folks?
This basically describes me to a T, when I was looking at getting MHW. Seen some stuff about it, was interested but wasn't sure I'd like it.
Turns out Monster Hunter World is great, but in a way it requires a commitment to the idea.
I loved it, but my friend could not be brought onboard.
Basically, MHW is a vague simulation of hunting giant monsters. So there's actual work and prep and process to doing it.
You gotta track the monster down. You gotta understand its weaknesses and vulnerabilities if you don't want to get railed. Starting out, not knowing anything or tactics or what not, you will have to wail on it for quite a while until you either kill it or weaken it enough to capture it. It will run, frequently, and you will have to chase it. There are time limits on capturing or killing it (I think like 40 minutes?) You gotta navigate and negotiate the environment while hunting it, whether that's climbing up shit to chase it, or dropping down places to follow it. You will get knocked back, knocked off ledges. Other monsters will interfere in your meticulous hunt. In order to get all the monster parts you need to upgrade the many armor sets and weapon variants, you're going to hunt the same monster many times in a row. There's an element of RNG to which monster parts drop for you, so for some of the rarest monster drops, you will fight and kill or capture them many times. There's many mechanics that are intentionally opaque and a little confusing to understand, like how food buffs work. But the MHW community has cranked out tons of videos explaining how things work and what the optimal methods for doing things are. And it's a Japanese game so things like matchmaking and coop are incredibly wonky in their design compared to how western games handle it.
Lastly, what weapon you choose to use has a HUGE IMPACT on how the game plays for you. Each weapon has a different style, different attack speed, wildly different combos and meta systems in them. Picking a weapon you don't like or don't feel you can use effectively can absolutely torpedo your sense of fun in the game. That said, there's a lot to choose from and you can change or build new weapons at any time. So if you do some research or try to find the one that works for you, and then start investing in upgrading it, you'll be fine. There's a good variety weapon types and 4.2 million upgrades for them when you take them all together, so unless you plan to play MHW until the end of time, it's best to pick a single weapon type and become a master of it. If you're like me and hunt a ton of stuff and collect everything you can, it's not hard to have enough materials to build whatever you want without investing a crazy amount of time doing so.
For my friend it all felt like work rather than fun. Granted, he's uh...particular in what his sense of fun allows. He felt the time pressure, felt frustrated by the combat, I think his choice of weapon (Dual Daggers) hurt his ability to enjoy the game as well. He loves Dark Souls but feels like MHW isn't in the same bag of "skill and pattern based combat." I thoroughly disagree because I feel like he didn't put in the time really, and gets easily frustrated by failure. He prefers quick weapons and quick movement and the overall flow of MHW combat isn't that, it's more meticulous and measured. He gave it the ol college try, but it just wasn't for him.
For me, initially, it was a bit of a struggle. MHW throws you in to pretty much all game mechanics from the outset, so there is a lot to take in. It feels a bit like an MMO with MMO depth and complexity starting out. But after my first few hunts, I was in love. It's a visually stunning game, the fights are cinematic, the music is great, the level design is pretty good, especially the first area of the game. I had a few hours of "WTF HOW DO YOU DO THIS" but eventually it clicked, and then I was coasting. I enjoy the combat although it can feel clunky and slow compared to other faster paced games. Positioning is everything in MHW, as opposed to something like Dark Souls where, at the end of the day, you can kinda just roll out of most problems. Not so in MHW. Learning the monster, when and how it's safe to attack it, and mastering your weapon's move set so you always have the best positioning possible are key to both successfully playing the game and enjoying it. And the tougher the monsters are, the less margin for error you have. Getting one shot or nearly one shot by certain attacks is a thing that happens, and it can be really discouraging starting out to get wasted in the first few minutes of a hunt. Just like Dark Souls though, there is that element of "git gud" and for me, the payoff of actually beating a monster that you really struggled with. I remember when I first fought Rathian I was like "how on Earth are you ever supposed to fight this thing." Now I eat Rathian's for lunch.....most of the time.
Once you're comfortable, there's a wealth of options for how to fight monsters, how to attack their vulnerabilities, use the environment to help you, etc...IMO the game gets dramatically easier once you've started upgrading weapons and can choose the one that's best for the hunt you're facing. Starting out when you just have basic, non-elemental weapons, it takes a bit more effort to bring down a monster. Once the monsters start having elemental weaknesses, and you have weapons that deal that damage type, the fights aren't quite as grueling.
And beyond the actual hunts, there's a fair amount of side activities and quests and what not to do in each area, secrets etc...so it's got that element of exploration as well.
I'd also say that the vast majority of the game is enjoyable solo. Technically you can fight all the monsters solo but many of the special end game ones are designed as group fights. But I think I put 140 hours in to the game completely solo without much issue. After hunting solo for so long, playing with another person almost feels like cheating.
It gets both thumbs up from me, but like I said, it's the kind of game you have to commit to, to get the most out of it. It's not a casual affair.
Author
Topic: SALES Thread (Read 1382338 times)