Monster Hunter: World Review – The Greatest Entry In The Franchise

Although its groundbreaking success seems incredibly obvious in hindsight, it’s sometimes easy to forget that even up until a couple of years ago, the Monster Hunter franchise was not the behemoth it’s seen as nowadays.

It has always had a moderate amount of success in Japan and niche communities outside its home country but for many Western fans especially, Monster Hunter: World was their very first foray into this incredible series, and it’s the one entry that truly set the world on fire.

So join us now as we look back at this remarkable game to see how well it holds up in 2024.

Story And Setting

Now Monster Hunter games are not exactly known for their narratives, and I don’t go into them looking for one, but there is a plot here for those looking for some context.

As a Hunter, you are a part of the latest fleet en route to the New World, and your job is to help solve the mystery behind the Elder Crossing among other things. And for the most part, this involves going from location to location, killing giant monsters as the situation calls for it.

World’s story is not particularly gripping, but it’s a great way to introduce us to the universe and the various awesome beasts that inhabit it.

I will also say that I did find myself getting particularly invested in the eventual end goal of the Elder Dragon Zorah Magdaros, and it made me want to see the campaign through to the end.

World’s story is not particularly gripping, but it’s a great way to introduce us to the universe and the various awesome beasts that inhabit it.

Other than that, the plot only serves to cart you from one monster hunt to another, and I’m just fine with that. The Iceborne expansion further builds on the base game’s narrative, but again, it’s still not really the main draw here.

Gameplay

Monster Hunter: World, like many of its predecessors before it, features one of the most engaging and satisfying gameplay loops in existence. Capcom has been refining this down to a science for almost two decades now, and it’s unlike anything else you’ll find in the world of video games.

Basically, several incredible monsters inhabit this world and it’s your job to hunt them, carve up their parts, and then use them to craft better and flashier gear.

You can then go after tougher monsters using this gear, and rinse and repeat. Sounds repetitive on paper, but it’s anything but.

In many regards Monster Hunter: World is a much more approachable game than any of its predecessors.

Each monster is not only varied visually, but also mechanically, and learning their behaviors and attack patterns to understand how best to counter them is a skill in itself. Tactics I picked up from farming the swift-moving Tobi-Kadachi for example, didn’t necessarily translate well to the slow lumbering Barroth.

Thankfully, the game also has dozens of unique armor sets you can craft with their own unique resistances and skills, as well as hundreds of different weapons split into 14 different weapon classes, each of which comes with its own unique set of movesets.

I’m personally a big fan of the Charge Blade because I love how much raw damage output it has, but I understand that it doesn’t work in all circumstances due to the setup required to get the most out of it.

Monster Hunter: World, like many of its predecessors before it, features one of the most engaging and satisfying gameplay loops in existence.

So when I go up against particularly annoying monsters like the Deviljho, I opt for simpler weapons like a Switch Axe or Long Sword instead.

In the same way, different weapons will click with different players, and due to how long it takes to master each, few are ever going to invest in more than one or two different weapon types. And that’s the jist of this game, you find a role that works for you, and get other team members to fill up the gaps in your squad.

In many regards Monster Hunter: World is a much more approachable game than any of its predecessors because it’s not only the most newbie-friendly but also the most mechanically poished.

Attacks feel more physical, movement is better than it’s ever been, and moments where an encounter feels truly unfair are few and far in between. If you’re having too much trouble with a monster, most times the chances are that you’re not equipped well enough to take it on.

And the Iceborne expansion builds on the base game by introducing a new icy region, a bunch of new end-game monsters, new weapons, and tools like the Clutch Claw, as well as brand-new weapon moves. So yeah, it’s a whole other game in itself and worth picking up with the base game.

Performance And Visuals

Even in 2024, Monster Hunter: World is still one of the prettiest games that Capcom has ever put out. It might not be photorealistic like man of its peers, but it manages to shine where it truly matters; the art direction and consistency.

Every single location in the game is rendered with so much detail, from the way the foliage reacts to your hunter brushing past it, to the numerous little critters that roam about, to even the way different monsters have pre-determined lairs in certain sections of the maps.

I love how the Coral Highlands is this ethereal area that houses some of the prettiest monsters like the Legiana, while the Rotten Vale is this dark and disease-ridden pit that’s home to some of the most hostile-looking monsters like the Great Girros. I like the contrast, and it makes each location stand out from one another.

Each map also feels like a living breathing environment with its own hierarchy and hazards to overcome. And learning where each monster is located, and which hazards you can exploit to trap or damage them is a joy in of itself.

Performance-wise, the game is a bit of a mixed bag because of some of the same attention to detail mentioned. Each of the maps in the game is huge, and they are chock full of foliage and monsters, and different effects and mechanics of all types. And that gets complicated when it comes to maintaining a steady framerate.

Each map also feels like a living breathing environment with its own hierarchy and hazards to overcome.

Now obviously running this old game on the highest settings on an RTX 3080 was a piece of cake, but I also tested it out on an older GTX 1660 with fairly positive results. I could manage to run the game on high settings with no problems, but often in the most dense maps, the framerate would fluctuate between 40-50 FPS.

Turning some settings down a notch and turning off volume rendering quality in particular helped fix this problem but in my opinion, the atmosphere of the game also took a massive hit as a result. So yeah, you pick and choose what works for you.

Verdict

Not only is Monster Hunter: World the best game in the series so far, but it’s also one of Capcom’s greatest titles to date, and they’ve put out some of the most iconic games of all time. It’s a testament to the lasting power of the franchise, and I hope its success translates over to the next AAA entry in the series; Monster Hunter Wilds.

Its combat is incredible, the build variety is staggering, and the monsters all look amazing. Its core gameplay loop is so addicting, that after well over 200+ hours, I’m still playing the game on a brand new platform with a brand new team of hunters.

Give this game a shot in 2024 if you value great gameplay and want the most bang for your buck.

This has been our Monster Hunter: World review. While you’re here, consider checking out some of our other articles. 

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