Getting started in Monster Hunter Rise is all about a whole bunch of customization options. First of all, you have to choose if you want to hear English, Japanese voices or in the fictional Monster Hunter language (knowing that the subtitles and other texts are available in French). Thereafter, it is a fairly rich phase of character creation that is offered to us. Very complete, the customization of the hunter goes from the size of the cheeks to the height of the bridge of the nose through the position of the eyebrows. Makeups, hairstyles, clothes, voices and other details are also available to create the hero you want. These now classic possibilities are here accompanied by additional refinements, since we are also offered to configure the coats, eyes, ears and tails of a Palico (the cats that the regulars of the saga know well) and of a Chumsky ( a new canine companion which we will discuss below). Then, the first contact with the village of Kamura proves to us that the game is among the most beautiful available on Switch.
The Japanese, medieval and fantasy atmosphere works perfectly well, even if it is the creatures to be slaughtered that remain the real stars of the adventure. Monster Hunter Rise presents us with the most important ones in a cinematic way, with direction, voiceover and grainy filter that go well. On the other hand, do not expect prowess with regard to the scriptwriting aspect. Monsters attack the village after fifty years of tranquility, and it is therefore necessary to exterminate as many critters as possible to fight against this Calamity (with a capital C to give some consistency to this unimportant story). Here, here… Like its predecessors, Monster Hunter Rise favors the gameplay loop over the narrative experience or immersion. The game does not hesitate to explain that the village can be "offline" or "online" when Senri the postman cat informs us that it is possible to meet other hunters. It is actually allowed to play in cooperation up to four rather than alone, for even more intense and interesting hunting parties.
FOR HUNTERS KNOWING HUNTING
Before discussing the novelties of this episode, it seems important to us to clarify a point about its accessibility. Despite some efforts compared to previous installments, Monster Hunter Rise remains a difficult experience to access, which not only tends to multiply game mechanics, but also complicates their assimilation by drowning the player in unfamiliar terms. Those who discover the series with this opus will have to digest the existence and usefulness of the Pilpoils, Felynes, Canynes, Filoptères, Grand Filoptères, Precious Lilies, Silk Links, Iron Silks, Filochutes, Florelets, Spectroiseaus, Tissusinsecticides , Kinsects, Talents, Substitute Talents, Negotiation Talents, Dango Talents, Dango Tickets, Maxiboosts, Gizmos, Waterblight, Fireblight, Mounted Punishment, Cinderlets and other Sending Saplings. Even a concept as classic as quests is split between key quests, urgent quests, village quests, Grand Camp quests, optional sub-quests, questors, quest counters, quest panels, Arena quests, challenge quests, quests training and queries. This tendency to do too much is reminiscent of certain MMOs and other free-to-play games, which multiply the angles of approach, even if it means losing a few players in the process. Monster Hunter Rise would benefit from going to the essentials, especially since the learning curve is not particularly well managed. By way of tutorials, the adventure imposes on us very (too many!) many written messages, which regularly interrupt the action to explain to us, or even re-explain to us, such and such a concept. Add to that a permanent incentive to farm, since the gameplay loop essentially consists of harvesting ever more materials to kill ever more monsters (the sub-quests are also to be done in a loop), and you get an action-RPG which may not be suitable for everyone. On the other hand, we will see that players compatible with this philosophy have many reasons to rejoice.
THE GOOD HUNTER, SEES A TRICK, SHOTS IT…
In addition to all the usual qualities of a Monster Hunter, this 2021 version brings us some welcome new features. The most important are three in number, the first of which relates to the arrival of the Chumskys. These canine companions are added to the presence of the Palicos, and play a complementary role. While cats essentially act as support characters (healing, placing traps, etc.), dogs are more attack-oriented. In addition, it is possible to overlap them, just to flee a losing battle more easily, to more effectively pursue a monster, or simply to shorten the exploration phases. And if you needed additional proof that the dog is the best friend of the man, know that it is possible to attack on the back of Chumsky, and even to use the sharpener or objects of recovery in full race. The range of movements is also reinforced thanks to Filoptera, insects that allow our hero to initiate a "propulsion", in order to perform an aerial maneuver or run for a few moments on a wall. This novelty also gives access to special techniques, specific to each weapon and called Silk Links, as well as a Filochute allowing you to quickly regain your balance in the event of a knockdown. As for the Great Filoptera, they allow you to unlock special travel points, thanks to which you can travel long distances in the air following a predefined route. It should also be noted that the five major maps of the game give pride of place to verticality, in order to encourage the player to use these new tools. Incidentally, the playgrounds also have the good taste of being able to be traversed without loading and of offering quite varied environments (ruins, marshes, deserts, lava, snow, etc.).
Third and last major innovation: the Ride of Wyvern. This term simply designates the possibility of climbing on the back of certain monsters and directing them, in order to force them to face other creatures or, more simply, to send them smashing their heads against a wall. To do this, you must first weaken the beast, using in particular "Silk Link" techniques and "Filoptera" jump attacks. Monster Hunter Rise therefore manages to renew the basic formula sufficiently to arouse the interest of any self-respecting fan of the saga, while retaining certain major assets. We are thinking in particular of the wide variety of weapons, which allows everyone to find what suits them. Bows, double blades, spears, swords, bowguns, hammers, axes and other hunting horns: there are a total of fourteen different types of weapons available to us. This point also ensures some replayability, as does the promise of free updates to come after the game is released. This year, the hunt is good!
