There are few sport titles extra literal than Monster Hunter. This can be a world crammed with monsters, and your job is to hunt them. However what makes the sequence so engrossing is the gameplay loop tied to these hunts: the best way you put together by accumulating the proper gear, weapons, and potions; the way you spend time finding out your goal earlier than heading into battle; and at last, utilizing the downed monster to craft higher gear so you’ll be able to tackle much more difficult beasts. It’s a protracted and concerned course of but in addition one which feels so satisfying while you pull it off.
Monster Hunter Now, a collaboration between Capcom and Pokémon Go developer Niantic, makes an attempt to take that method and streamline it into one thing that works briefly bursts in your telephone. In numerous methods, it’s profitable: the hunts in Now are fast little battles you could principally full in underneath a minute whereas ready in line for espresso. However whereas the sport feels good in these periods, it’s lacking a lot of the technique and planning that MonHun makes use of to get its hooks into you. Monster Hunter Now has numerous potential, however in its present kind, it’s extra of an introductory MonHun than one thing that may fulfill present gamers.
The sport truly has a narrative, which is in regards to the MonHun realm bleeding over into our world — a bit like the Monster Hunter movie starring Milla Jovovich — but it surely’s principally simply an excuse so that you can stroll round killing monsters. Now is a location-based sport from Niantic very a lot in the identical mould as Pokémon Go and its less successful successors. That implies that you’ll must exit into the actual world to search out places for mining assets or to hunt out monsters. The sport doesn’t depend your steps — there’s always Pikmin Bloom for that — however getting out of the home is an enormous a part of the expertise.
What actually makes Monster Hunter Now completely different is its battles, that are the primary focus. Initially, fight is fairly simple. While you first get right into a battle (which you do by tapping a monster close to you on the map), the controls are quite simple: you faucet on the monster in entrance of you to assault and swipe proper or left to dodge. It’s very simple and, not less than at first, I used to be in a position to win principally each battle simply by rapidly tapping on the monster in entrance of me. However as you degree up and progress by way of the story, the fight expands fairly a bit.
Most significantly, you unlock larger and extra harmful monsters to combat. Not solely do they appear nice, with element and animations that rival the console Monster Hunter video games, however additionally they add some much-needed problem. The bigger beasts require closely upgraded gear and well-timed dodges to succeed. It doesn’t matter what, the battles are over in a short time — in actual fact, if you happen to don’t end a battle in 75 seconds, you’ll fail — but it surely’s spectacular how a lot motion is packed into that quick timeframe.
Along with extra creatures to combat, you’ll additionally steadily unlock extra weapons and, with them, skills. You need to forge all your personal gear and, finally, you’ll be capable to craft a lot of weapon sorts that each one really feel very completely different, from devastating however gradual greatswords to ranged weapons like a bow and arrow. As you degree up these weapons, it’s also possible to unlock particular assaults that cost up throughout a battle, and shortly, you’ll be capable to goal particular elements of a monster, identical to within the mainline MonHun video games. Sure, you’ll be able to nonetheless chop off a Barroth’s tail.
The issue is that, whereas the fight will get tougher over time, the technique by no means modifications all that a lot. It doesn’t matter what gear I’ve outfitted or what beast I’m up in opposition to, the battles all the time play out the identical: spam the assault button till the monster flashes purple (an indication they’re about to assault), dodge till I’m secure, after which repeat. Possibly I’ll must down a potion if my timing is off a bit, however in any other case, issues principally play out the identical. At any time when I do die, it’s often as a result of my gear is just too weak, not as a result of my technique wasn’t sound.
What’s lacking is the “hunt” a part of Monster Hunter. I don’t must study something about my prey to achieve success or grasp a selected fashion of preventing, and there’s merely not sufficient time in a battle for there to be a lot differentiation between the beasts. They give the impression of being completely different, however defeating them is just about the identical throughout the board. And outdoors of fight, there’s not a lot to do apart from mine for assets at real-world factors of curiosity, which you should use — together with monster elements you get from battle — to enhance your gear or make new stuff.
All that stated, the skeleton of a stable MonHun cell sport is right here. Now appears to be like nice, has a slick battle system tuned for a smartphone, and even consists of some very intelligent quality-of-life options, like paintballs that allow you to mark monsters within the discipline so you’ll be able to battle them later from house. There’s numerous room to develop — and contemplating the way Pokémon Go added key features years after launch, Monster Hunter Now might comply with an identical trajectory if it’s profitable.
However that’s an enormous if. Whereas Pokémon Go stays a hit, it’s in any other case been a rough road for location-based mobile games, and not only those from Niantic. And whereas Monster Hunter has a robust transportable pedigree, that’s no assure of long-term success right here. Proper now, the sport nails the monster a part of the expertise — I’m simply ready to lastly really feel like a hunter.
Monster Hunter Now launches on September 14th on iOS and Android.