(PAX West 2017) Monster Hunter: World

If I’m going to be completely honest, while Monster Hunter: World does look beautiful it wasn’t your traditional Monster Hunter and with news of Monster Hunter XX not coming to the US (as of yet), I was a little bitter. Can you really change the game this much while maintaining the original feel that made me love the game to begin with? Do we need this change for the franchise? From Capcoms resistance to bring XX to the states, it sure seems that they are saying yes.

World does abandon a few things that are staples to the franchise (game mechanic wise). You can harvest items on the go, no more stopping. There are no more zone changes with loading screens mid-hunt. None of this is critical though and it is honestly nice to see these things go. I played the PS4 build at PAX and I’m hoping that the camera lock-on is fixed. I’m used to a more free-flowing camera, but pressing the right joystick down locked your camera onto the monster which I’m hoping at least some people enjoyed because it was very jarring for me. I prefer the quick spin camera and then it’s up to you to keep it in your sights because your character feels more free.

The other main difference would be the world in World. It’s crazy lush and full of verticality. There is some verticality in 4U and Generations, but World takes it to a whole other level. (Verticality pun intended.) There are a ton of things to look at and take notice of with bugs that you can kill to gain health or set off as flash bombs and other things to pull down or set up. It was kind of overwhelming at first, but with time I’m sure I would get used to it. I’m looking forward to Monster Hunter: World when it hits the PC next year.

Further Reading on Monster Hunter: World: Facebook / Official Page / Twitter

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