Monster Hunter Rise PC review: Barely better than Switch

Monster Hunter Rise is among the greatest video games on Nintendo Swap, nevertheless it doesn’t command the identical respect on PC.

Like Monster Hunter World earlier than it, Monster Hunter Rise had about 10 months of console exclusivity, a time when gamers like me may intimately get to know its methods, maps, and monsters. For Rise particularly, this Swap exclusivity window gave Capcom time so as to add within the sport’s ending — which was unfinished at launch — and a handful of fan-favorite beasts.

However with Monster Hunter Rise getting a barely noticeable visible improve on PC, I discovered myself disillusioned by what this re-release may’ve been: a extra spectacular model of an already wonderful sport.

The place World was a sprawling journey on a brand new continent, Rise affords a extra compact sport, going down in a Japanese-inspired village known as Kamura. Gamers spend dozens of hours looking beasts in an try to unravel the thriller of why monsters are going right into a rage and attacking their hometown — one thing the creatures haven’t finished for the reason that elders of the village had been younger.

The brand new Wirebug mechanic in Rise makes it essentially the most cellular and accessible sport in a collection identified for being inaccessible — and helped land it on Polygon’s greatest video games of 2021 checklist. It’s crammed with fascinating selections, just like the weird tower protection mode that’s surprisingly enjoyable to puzzle out, or the musical Japanese intros for every monster. And with the Swap’s capability to swap between TV and handheld play, it felt like one thing I may play for hours on a flight, or dedicate weeks to on my sofa after a serious replace.

After all, all of that is current in Rise’s PC model (the portability being the exception). Nevertheless it doesn’t really feel enhanced for the extra highly effective system. It might have an uncapped framerate and excessive graphics settings — the latter of which my PC cleared simply — however on the finish of the day, it nonetheless seems to be like a Nintendo Swap sport.

Picture: Capcom

Monster Hunter Rise seems to be nice on the Swap, particularly in handheld mode. It was extraordinarily spectacular on Nintendo’s much less highly effective {hardware}, implementing the broad open maps of Monster Hunter World slightly than the segmented ones from the earlier handheld titles. It was solely simple to note the sport’s faults or lack of element in a screenshot, or once I was idling on the town. Nevertheless it’s a lot simpler to see these imperfections on extra spectacular {hardware}.

I see the blurriness in Monster Hunter Rise consistently on my PC, inherent to an artwork type initially designed for Swap. The sport’s opening cutscene simply seems to be fuzzy, even on the very best setting, and the look continues into the precise gameplay. And once I’m working round Kamura village or looking down a monster, I’m typically simply distracted by a flat-looking rock or a easy wall. You don’t discover how fuzzy a PlayStation 2 sport seems to be whenever you’re enjoying on a TV from the 2000s; you all however really feel the whiplash when enjoying a PS2 sport on an HD monitor. Leaping from Swap to PC with Rise is harking back to that feeling.

However in venturing out on hunts within the sport’s first two biomes, I didn’t run into any efficiency points. I used to be additionally capable of practice and improve my gear with none issues — on PC, the sport runs very nicely. The difficulty isn’t that it is a unhealthy model of Monster Hunter Rise, it’s that it’s the identical precise expertise because it was in 2021. It might be on a extra highly effective platform now, however Rise can’t shake its historical past on Swap.

For PC-only gamers who’ve been dying to play since final March, Rise on PC will nonetheless present you an excellent time. The truth is, with all the post-game updates already out for the PC model and an growth coming to each platforms this summer season, you’ll doubtless have a greater first yr with Rise than Swap gamers did.

Picture: Capcom

All the things I initially cherished about Rise continues to be right here — the monsters, the world, the ambiance — and it’s certain to get a well-deserved second life on Steam. Affected person Monster Hunter followers who by no means purchased a Swap will lastly have the ability to dive into their favourite collection, tackling some new monsters and discovering completely different methods. Way more importantly, this PC launch is a chance to introduce new gamers to the franchise with Rise’s friendlier mechanics.

Nevertheless it’s due to this inflow of latest gamers that I want the PC model would’ve improved on the superb framework Capcom constructed on Swap. With out cross-save between the Swap and PC, or visuals that enhance on what gamers have already got on a handheld system, it’s exhausting to see why anybody who’s already sunk tons of of hours into Rise would bounce ship for Steam.

Monster Hunter Rise on PC is only a completely different technique to play a implausible sport. And whereas that’s nice information for PC gamers who’ve by no means purchased into Nintendo’s ecosystem, its graphics fail to impress, even on essentially the most spectacular of {hardware}.

Monster Hunter Rise will launch Jan. 12 on Home windows PC. The sport was reviewed utilizing a Steam code supplied by Capcom. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. You’ll find extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.