[Impressions] Monster Hunter Rise Demo Showcases Familiar Gameplay With New Twists

By M. Kang

Posted on February 5, 2021

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The gaming landscape has been pretty bleak in the early parts of 2021. With few releases on the horizon and next-generation consoles still being almost impossible to purchase, gamers have had little new to sink their teeth into. Although not a full experience, Monster Hunter Rise Demo gave a sneak preview of one of the few highly anticipated games with a release date.

The Monster Hunter series is well known for its mission-based reward system. The game revolves around a relatively simple, but enticing gameplay loop. Players, either alone or with others in multiplayer mode, go out to take down monsters, get rewards which can be used to upgrade armor and weapons, and then take down even more difficult monsters. Unlike other RPGs, Monster Hunter is largely a sequence of boss battles.

Monster Hunter Rise Demo follows the Monster Hunter series staples to a T. The demo itself is based on four missions, two tutorials and two monster hunting missions. It was limited to a total of thirty tries for the missions for the two non-tutorial missions. Additionally, each can be played as many times as wanted (up to a total of 30 attempts) while trying out different weapon styles. These ranged from short-ranged swords to different types of bows.

When it came to gameplay, it largely felt similar to the other games. Not overly strategic nor hack-and-slash, the game fell right in the middle of these two genres. It’s essentially a dance with the monster; learn their moves, read when they’re about to attack, and counterattack at the right moment.

One thing I wasn’t able to get a hang of was the wirebug. The wirebug is mainly used for two purposes: movement and adding to offensive options (both synergising with the weapon types and allowing players to mount certain monsters). When it came to movement, I couldn’t get a hang of using it in the midst of battle to allow me to reposition while still not feeling like I lost the advantage. Mounting certain monsters, too, came only at specific times – one monster, for example, materialized out of nowhere so that I could ride it and use it against the monster I was fighting against.

However, these issues will likely get better with more time to familiarize myself with the system. Adding mobility options is usually a good thing in these action based games and the demo itself was limited to 30 total tries. With more time to play, these aspects will become second nature.

Overall, the demo seemed both small and large in scope. With only two missions to play, the demo only gave a small preview of what’s to come. However, allowing players to use different weapons classes and practice new mechanics, players were able to see the depth of the system to come.

Monster Hunter Rise is set to release on the Nintendo Switch March 26, 2021.