Monster Hunter World is, quite simply, marvellous, and has quickly become one of my favourite RPGs to date. As you play you constantly feel like you are learning new skills, improving, combos begin to slot in with one another more seamlessly, and the ramp up of the monster and the compulsion to hunt each repeatedly and craft gear from their drops leads to an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop that never seems to bore. The variety of weapon types, all available from the start afford you a veritable chest of toys to take out and play with, to learn and grow with, while the fights themselves benefit from the periods of calm and the intense periods of combat, giving hunts a very enjoyable ebb and flow as you track, attack, and manage your sharpness and other tools.

Monster design is good, particularly in the early game when the variety is at its greatest from the slow, bloated Great Jagras, the bird like Kula-Ya-Ku, the ferocious and large Anjanath, tank like Barroth and the monstrous mix of animal parts that is Pukei-Pukei, but does end up with a lot of flying dragon like monsters later on. However, the attacks are varied enough that even the very similar looking Rathian and Ratholos pairing are sufficiently different to be enjoyable fights in their own right. The maps are also a joy to run around in and explore, with plenty of nooks, crannies and short cuts to keep them fresh.

At launch there were some online issues reported, but as I was in the countryside at the time, I did not play in online lobbies due to the inherently terrible internet speeds at my location. During the first month I hunted solo and the game was still immense fun, learning my weapon of choice, the Charge Blade, the enviroments, monsters and the game itself at my leisure and without fear of angering random players. That said, having now returned to the city, a month after launch, I have been playing a decent amount of online play and have not encountered any problems, so I can only assume that that issue has been fixed in post.

Graphically, the game is utterly gorgeous, at least to me. The beauty of the world is no more on show for me than standing on the balcony of my player housing, overlooking my pond as the sunset basks my characters face in its warm orange glow. Similarly, the animations, from the cats cooking your dinner as a cheery tune plays to monsters animations as they wander the landscape, drink from rivers and marshes, or challenge one another in turf wars, is wonderful, the odd janky animation from an awkward piece of terrain notwithstanding.

The game is also more accessible, and on a personal level, more enjoyable than MH4U. Part of this is admittadly the ability to use a comfortable 360 controller as compared to a 3DS with a Circle Pad Pro, but also in the presentation. The vertical enviroments are smoother and more enjoyable to traverse than compared to MH4U. You can hold sprint to scale the wall quickly, dodge to shoot out a grapple from your slinger and dodge on the the climbable, or use both in tandem. The detailed maps provide more terrain to manipulate in fights, making it feel part of the dance of combat, which I never really felt playing MH4U early game, and the paratoads, flashflies and sleeptoads dotting the map lead to some fun enviromental traps. Mounting also feels considerably better, with a flashy move pulled off at the end of the mount dropping them to the floor, while the hanging on and stabbing the beast balance is no longer a visual bar you have to follow, with the shake off chasing your stabbing quota, a change which makes it feel like a cleaner continuation of the fight and less of a little minigame interrupting it. A lot of this is likely due to technological difference in platforms, but it all adds to a smoother, more enjoyable hunting experience, one I have been able to keep with and continue enjoying much longer than MH4U.

It's certainly not for everyone, but there is a lot to like about Monster Hunter: World. While doing its own thing, it reminds me of Dark Souls, fighting large strong monsters whose weak points you have to exploit, as well as MMOs, with that familiar mob farming, equipment upgrading loop that makes MMOs so addicting and satisfying to play when you get comfortable with them. The variety of weapons mean you almost certainly will find something that'll suit you and eventually click, although if you're coming from outside the series, they will still likely feel 'odd' compared to their counterparts (if they have any) in other games. In all, the game is a very entertaining, continuously rewarding and challenging romp, even alone, and almost certainly improved with a few friends on teamspeak to hunt with.

Monster Hunter World is, quite simply, marvellous, and has quickly become one of my favourite RPGs to date. As you play you constantly feel like you are learning new skills, improving, combos begin to slot in with one another more seamlessly, and the ramp up of the monster and the compulsion to hunt each repeatedly and craft gear from their drops leads to an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop that never seems to bore. The variety of weapon types, all available from the start afford you a veritable chest of toys to take out and play with, to learn and grow with, while the fights themselves benefit from the periods of calm and the intense periods of combat, giving hunts a very enjoyable ebb and flow as you track, attack, and manage your sharpness and other tools. Monster design is good, particularly in the early game when the variety is at its greatest from the slow, bloated Great Jagras, the bird like Kula-Ya-Ku, the ferocious and large Anjanath, tank like Barroth and the monstrous mix of animal parts that is Pukei-Pukei, but does end up with a lot of flying dragon like monsters later on. However, the attacks are varied enough that even the very similar looking Rathian and Ratholos pairing are sufficiently different to be enjoyable fights in their own right. The maps are also a joy to run around in and explore, with plenty of nooks, crannies and short cuts to keep them fresh. At launch there were some online issues reported, but as I was in the countryside at the time, I did not play in online lobbies due to the inherently terrible internet speeds at my location. During the first month I hunted solo and the game was still immense fun, learning my weapon of choice, the Charge Blade, the enviroments, monsters and the game itself at my leisure and without fear of angering random players. That said, having now returned to the city, a month after launch, I have been playing a decent amount of online play and have not encountered any problems, so I can only assume that that issue has been fixed in post. Graphically, the game is utterly gorgeous, at least to me. The beauty of the world is no more on show for me than standing on the balcony of my player housing, overlooking my pond as the sunset basks my characters face in its warm orange glow. Similarly, the animations, from the cats cooking your dinner as a cheery tune plays to monsters animations as they wander the landscape, drink from rivers and marshes, or challenge one another in turf wars, is wonderful, the odd janky animation from an awkward piece of terrain notwithstanding. The game is also more accessible, and on a personal level, more enjoyable than MH4U. Part of this is admittadly the ability to use a comfortable 360 controller as compared to a 3DS with a Circle Pad Pro, but also in the presentation. The vertical enviroments are smoother and more enjoyable to traverse than compared to MH4U. You can hold sprint to scale the wall quickly, dodge to shoot out a grapple from your slinger and dodge on the the climbable, or use both in tandem. The detailed maps provide more terrain to manipulate in fights, making it feel part of the dance of combat, which I never really felt playing MH4U early game, and the paratoads, flashflies and sleeptoads dotting the map lead to some fun enviromental traps. Mounting also feels considerably better, with a flashy move pulled off at the end of the mount dropping them to the floor, while the hanging on and stabbing the beast balance is no longer a visual bar you have to follow, with the shake off chasing your stabbing quota, a change which makes it feel like a cleaner continuation of the fight and less of a little minigame interrupting it. A lot of this is likely due to technological difference in platforms, but it all adds to a smoother, more enjoyable hunting experience, one I have been able to keep with and continue enjoying much longer than MH4U. It's certainly not for everyone, but there is a lot to like about Monster Hunter: World. While doing its own thing, it reminds me of Dark Souls, fighting large strong monsters whose weak points you have to exploit, as well as MMOs, with that familiar mob farming, equipment upgrading loop that makes MMOs so addicting and satisfying to play when you get comfortable with them. The variety of weapons mean you almost certainly will find something that'll suit you and eventually click, although if you're coming from outside the series, they will still likely feel 'odd' compared to their counterparts (if they have any) in other games. In all, the game is a very entertaining, continuously rewarding and challenging romp, even alone, and almost certainly improved with a few friends on teamspeak to hunt with.