THE best looking game on the Switch: Monster Hunter Rise Review

[ZyroXZ2]

d21lewis said:

I've only ever purchased one Monster Hunter game and that was for the Wii U. I never even got to the monster hunting!
And yet, your review makes me want to give this one a go.

DOOO EEETTTTTT.  This is leagues above MH3U, and in a lot of ways, I was pissed they didn't even bring MH4 to the Wii U...

Spindel said:

ZyroXZ2 said:

Yea, from discussion with curl, and the way my own fanbase is responding, I'm recognizing that Nintendo fans are used to the good-looking games being the stylized ones, or at least ones that focus on visual appeal more than technical prowess.  This isn't mockery, by the way, I just mean that's what Nintendo-focused people have become accustomed to having.  Thus, I, too, agree that Mario+Rabbids is a good-looking game.  But if I asked you on a technical scale if you think it looks better than Ratchet and Clank, I would bet you'd be reasonable enough to say "well, no", and that's simply because while Ratchet and Clank is also highly stylized, it's also graphically superior.

Thus, this is my take on MHRise.  It's a perfect balance between stylization and actual technical prowess on the Switch, something not commonly seen on the platform.  BotW falls drastically short in the technical aspects (I mean, as I said to the other person, the textures are almost non-existent!), and makes up for it with art style (don't get me started on BotW, I can tear that game's graphics apart SOOOO easily, and I love the game to death!... I even have pics of completely borked lighting in the engine!).  Same for SMO, one only need to look at New Donk City and realize that when the design aesthetic requires realistic (or quasi) appearances, it looks rather... dull.  Splatoon 2 suffers similar issues.  Nintendo has always been intelligently using art style to mask this, and I appreciate that.  I just don't think that they can hold a candle to how much MHRise actually pulls off on a technical scale, and yet it's still stylized with a very clear design aesthetic (ergo, "cartoony" and "unrealistic" as the other platform tryhards would call it).

I do admit, even in my review, that I do play it enhanced with an mClassic.  This does provide me with a drastically sharper image, as I did turn it off in response to curl and realized just how much worse the environments looked.  Of course, when all the action is popping off like fireworks, there's no time to notice this, but perhaps I skewed my own perception unfairly to everyone else.

This is a topic where we can throw shit at each other from our trenches and anything I say isn’t anything personal against you. Just so we are clear.

You need to keep apart technically impressive and good looking. 

While MHR might be technically impressive for the hardware I (very subjectivley) still argue that it isn’t the best looking for the hardware. If they would have gone more stylized the game would have masked the hardwares shortcomings better and looked better. This is just in line with what you said, I’m mainly arguing semantics.

Further you say that BotW has basically no textures, while true this is not an negative. Since that game is styalized to look more like a classical Studio Ghibli movie it actually does not need to have that much detailed textures if you look at a movie like Kaze no tani no Naushika or Mononokehime the game nails that look. It is smart utilization of resources.

Technically impressive games that go for ”realistic looks” are still (and will probably never leave) uncanny valley when it comes to depicting humans heck even cinema has this problem (any movie that youthifies an actor suffer from this, they look off and don’t get me started on the latest star wars movies).

I respect civil discourse, you don't need to worry about presenting your thoughts as long as you are not denigrating the discussion with personal attacks.  Having said that...

Respectfully, sir: no, it is the fact that I merge artstyle and technical prowess together as the definition of "graphics" that offers the most balanced perspective.  Focusing primarily on one or the other is like picking a side, and picking a side usually blinds a person to the other.  There are times, naturally, where other games push technical prowess so far that it is impressive.  There are times, naturally, where Nintendo focuses so much on artstyle in lieu of technical prowess that it is also impressive.  But the fact that games exist in which BOTH are in play (Ratchet and Clank is an easy example to pick) says that my line of thinking is the eventual pinnacle of graphics.  More and more, that is coming to light as well: Tales of Arise and Scarlet Nexus (I've preordered both, naturally haha) both prove that even in anime-inspired games where artstyle is PARAMOUNT, they are understanding how to use the additional power to enhance the aesthetic.  Code Vein was already a step forward in the artstyle vs graphics arena for JRPG/anime-inspired looks, and it'll only get better from here.

I think your statement is coming from one side, and it is the same side most Nintendo fans come from.  This is why I find that this stems from most good-looking Nintendo games focusing on artstyle that THAT standard becomes the norm.  The only people I've known to disparage Demon's Souls shockingly CG-like appearance are usually Nintendo fans or people who primarily find artstyle more appealing.  Everyone else is impressed by the imagery on show in Demon's Souls, me included.

In a closing statement to this: never at any point have I not said anything about not appreciating a game devs' choice to focus on arstyle.  In fact, you know who I think is besting Nintendo in that department?  Over the Moon Studios with Ori.  Both Ori and the Blind Forest and Will of the Wisps push artstyle HARD, and I absolutely LOVE it.  The experience is naturally enhanced on more powerful hardware because of smoother/higher framerates and higher resolution.

But after all this, I still stand on this hill: MHRise on the Switch is THE best-looking game because it pushes graphics on a level that's unexpected on the Switch.  Just about everyone was shocked this game was a Switch game, or at least running on the Switch, and that should tell you everything right there.  The fact that this technical level was pulled off while pulling off a distinct anime and Japanese inspired artstyle is just that much more impressive.  It only looks "realistic" BECAUSE of the technical prowess!

AngryLittleAlchemist said:

I think the clickbait of your thread title (not that it's bad clickbait, it's just what it is: a title meant to get people to click) detracted from the overall conversation around the review. Then again, it probably sparked way more conversation than just a review itself would have.

Personally I do think Monster Hunter Rise is one of the best looking Switch games, along with Luigi's Mansion 3, Paper Mario: Origami King, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. If we're including games that don't push the Switch at all, I really love the beautiful artstyle of HD Ace Attorney, which I know is a bit divisive in the community. Also probably REmake remastered, though I haven't played the Switch version, just the PC one.

I don't know if it's the #1, but I think I'd be willing to say it is because of the extent it pushes fur and skin textures for monsters, along with how gorgeous a lot of the environments are (the forest levels being a bit inconsistent). Then again I'm biased because of course I love to see a series that's about creating highly detailed cryptoids in highly detailed immersive environments.

Erhm, is it really clickbait if I actually said those words verbatim?...  I don't think the thread title is clickbait when my review contains the exact statement made lol

I think I've said everything I can possibly say already in this thread (not that I expect you to read every post, even I'm guilty of skipping pages, especially if it's 5+ pages), but I think the only games that could possibly top this are going to be either MP4 or Bayonetta 3.  I'm worried that MP4 will focus too much on technical prowess and suffer other ways, though.  The GameCube was competent hardware in its generation, the Switch is not.  And that same concern is there for Bayonetta 3.  Bayonetta 2 looked amazing... for a Wii U game.  If Bayonetta 3 looks the same, they've fallen below the bar and while I'm sure the game will be good, it'll also be another graphical disappointment for the Switch where basically only Nintendo fans are saying how amazing it looks.  Everyone else will be muttering "for a Switch game, sure...".

Or in short: Nintendo needs to upgrade or replace the Switch... and I made a whole video that triggered fanboys over it, but I think they need that mid-gen upgrade or something to keep it fresh or it's just going to turn into a Wii situation where it sells great, but no one takes it seriously in the gaming community because despite having good games, it's just too far behind and ends up appealing purely to casuals.