Monster Hunter: World is currently breaking 128,000 concurrent players about six years after release in 2018. The series has since released an expansion to the game, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, but they also released a new game in the series called Monster Hunter: Rise. AND it has announced Monster Hunter: Wilds for 2025. IS the game still worth your time in 2024? Find out in our Monster Hunter: World review.
Welcome to the new world
In Monster Hunter: World, the player takes the role of a player-created character who travels to the “New World”., An unpopulated land mass filled with monsters, to join the Research Commission that studies the land from their central command base of Astera. The Research Commission tasks the Hunter to hunt down and either kill or capture large monsters that roam outside Astera to both protect the Commission and to study the monsters there.
Although the storytelling isn’t exactly elaborate, there is a cohesive narrative to the story. The game provides what you expect from the series and the premise is simple. Zorah Magdaros, a massive beast introduced early on in the story appears to be migrating and the Research Commission wants to figure out what is causing this to happen. When I first started, this story was also what I expected the focus of the game to be. I wasn’t entirely right about that, as I soon came to find out.
The Basics
The game starts off with the journey towards the island, where you run into Zorah and experience just how gigantic the beast is. It sets off a sequence where you get to learn some of the basics of the game and the fabulous beasts that you will be tracking and,eventually, hunting. The introduction to the game felt a bit slow as I gradually moved closer towards the central command base, but one of the first monsters that I would get had me forgetting all about the story and the many cat puns that I would have to endure. The way dialogue works in these games is just not really my style and I never really connect with it. But the good part about these games is that I don’t really HAVE to care about any of that. Because at the very basis of this game, it is the beasts that are center stage.
One of the first monsters that start to provide some form of a challenge is the Pukei-Pukei. It is a giant bird with a massive tongue that can spew poison. Just during this fight, which happens very early on in the campaign, I had to chase him around multiple different areas, fight off some smaller creatures that got in the way during the fight and then, during one of the latter stages of the fight, I witnessed another large monster fight the Pukei-Pukei while I was the annoying little fly trying to hit either of them.
Finding your way to play
Hitting creatures can be done in a multitude of ways. Weapons are divided into fourteen types, each with special requirements and a unique move-set, complete with different strengths and weaknesses. When you’re choosing a Weapon, it is important to consider its Damage Type and/or Status Effect to take advantage of a Monster’s weaknesses. In the initial stages of MHW, not all upgrades will be accessible right from the start. A distinct section labeled “Under Development” will be visible on the upgrade screen, serving as a preview of forthcoming enhancements. As you advance through the storyline, this section will dynamically update, gradually unveiling new upgrade options for you to explore and utilize. The game does give you a simple indication how difficult your weapon of choice is to use.
So determining your optimal weapon type in Monster Hunter: World is one of the first challenges, as the choice hinges on individual playstyle, strengths, and weaknesses. Regardless of the choice you end up making, each weapon category provides a distinctive and gratifying gameplay experience. There are quite a number of online guides available that can help you decide which playstyle may be best for you and the game does give you a simple indication how difficult your weapon of choice is to use.
Better together
So, what’s next? The game keeps pitting you against stronger monsters as the story progresses. As you hunt, you collect resources from the map and the animals you hunt, which can be used to craft new and stronger items. I found that the introduction felt a bit long for me personally, but I did read that it was still an improvement over the previous installments in the series. However, before I knew it, I had people joining my sessions and we were tracking quests together. I’d forgotten all about any introductions and felt like I was part of the pack of hunters before I knew it. Now there are definitely some quirks with the multiplayer side of the game. It is a tedious effort to join sessions of friends specifically, but other than that, I didn’t experience any issues with the sessions that I was in.
Which brings me to my next point. Even earlier on, when I had only been playing for a little while, I started to be able to bring down the monsters quite easily. It definitely took a while for them to go down, but the end result was the same. I also never really had any issues during the main story. However, as soon as more experienced hunters started joining my games, I noticed that there were definitely improvements that I could be making in my playstyle and that the eventual skill level could be a lot higher than I initially expected.
Cat companions
When you are out hunting solo, your cat-companion (Palico) will assist you by doing as much damage as he can. Obviously in size, you are no match for most of the monsters that you are fighting in the game, but to see the tiny Palico do its best to fight these massive monsters is a sight that never gets boring. You can also equip them with armor and gadgets to make their impact a bit bigger during the fights. I named the companion Dex, after my old pet, and I thoroughly enjoyed having him around on my expeditions. And although I did play with friends (and a fair few of randoms), I preferred to play solo and managed to get through most of the campaign that way. I would like to say I finished the game, but I didn’t exactly manage to do that.
I did finish the story campaign, which means an entirely different thing for this game. After this, you can do High Rank Quests, which is where the actual challenge and more difficult monsters await. Monster Hunter: World gives you the chance to sink hundreds (or thousands) of hours into it. I still have a lot of work to do to be able to properly do these more difficult quests but I do look forward to playing the game more. I might even have a look at the Iceborn expansion because I did read that the expansion had some excellent new (and difficult) beasts to hunt.
Still looking great!
The game still looks great. The hunting grounds are vast and look fantastic. Yes, the game is six years old now and there are certainly games that look better than MHW does, but the point stands. It is a good-looking game with some fantastic areas to fight in and some great monster design. The animations are quirky at times but that is all part of the charm of the game and it is a testament to the game that it looks as good as it does. And once again, that goes double for the beasts.
Conclusion
I would recommend Monster Hunter: World quite strongly. It is my first array into the world of Monster Hunter, and there is still a lot to learn for me. However, I started playing shortly after the new iteration of Monster Hunter (Wilds) was teased and the game had a deep sale. The game was teeming with life and I noticed that a lot of people in my friends list were playing the game while I was playing it for the first time. Most of these people had hundreds of hours in the game and that is for a reason. If you’re looking for a game that you can grind and spend countless hours on: Monster Hunter: World is the one for you.
Pros:
- Many ways to play and plenty to do
- An entire ecosystem where beasts respond to each other
- Great hunting grounds and a vibrant world
- Fun gameplay
Cons:
- Fairly easy story campaign
Score: 9/10
That was it for our Monster Hunter: World review. Monster Hunter: World is available through Boosteroid and GeForce Now. You can follow our Twitter account to stay up to date with the latest changes.