#22: Monster Hunter Rise
The first Monster Hunter I played was Generations Ultimate on the Switch. I can safely say that Monster Hunter Rise is way more accessible thanks to quality of life features and more fluent gameplay and better traversal options. Said traversal options are the palamute and the wirebug. Both are very convenient and work perfectly. Using the wirebug is a ton of fun and really gives the game alot of verticality. It's implementation is perfect. Wyvern riding is essily the coolest thing that comes with this. Thankfully there's no fall damage, otherwise that would have been my number 1 cause of death and it would discourage me of wanting to go to high places and make it impossible to just fly through the air with your wirebug from anywhere without dying afterwards.
The customisation at the start of the game is great with a ton of options. Customising the felyne and palamute is quite fun. The wide range of armor for the player character and both buddies is great. Getting enough material for many sets is now easier than in previous games (thank god). Kamura Village is a great hub with alot of charming characters and beautiful detail.
The maps offer a great level of detail and alot of stuff to find and explore. I like how there are no loading zones. The wirebug allows you to climb to impressive hights with great views from the top.
The different weapons offer wildly different combat gameplay and all completely change how you play the game. I prefer the switch-axe with it's heavy damage, wide range and gluid swings. Coupled with the wirebug the combat is on another level to MHGU. The insect glaive offers even more verticality and is also a ton of fun.
Now to the stars of the show: the monsters. They look fantastic with a (for the Switch) impressive level of graphical detail. The animations look incredible especially when they fight each other. The hit boxes are great this time around.
The coolest monster is imo Magnamalo. His samurai inspired design makes him look menacing. He looks and fight like the absolute alpha he is. His own theme is one of the best in the game.
He is the devourer if the horde. Said horde are the other monsters that attack Kamura Village. They call it the rampage. During the game you will have to fight the rampage several times. It's different from normal hunts and offers some interesting ideas but it's not really that much of a stand out part of the game as the developers maybe hoped for it to be. I still vastly prefer normal hunts or even the arena fights, which are also fun. Said arena fights force you to use weapons you might not be very familiar or skilled with if they're not the one you usually use.
The story is not very deep or outstanding. The music in general isn't very impressive either except for a few tracks like the aforementioned Magnamalo theme.
Monster Hunter Rise is a fantastic, fun and highly polished action game with some truely great moments.
My favorite Capcom game.
Essay Pro