Monster Hunter Rise : What’s New, What’s Gone

Capcom has been making the media rounds, with lots of new information regarding the upcoming Monster Hunter Rise. They’ve discussed broad stroke ideas of the game, as well as some of its more technical aspects.

World Vs Rise

One of the most important pieces of information was where exactly Rise fits in the grand scheme of Monster Hunter. For example, Monster Hunter World, despite lacking a big number, was essentially Monster Hunter 5. This marked the 5th generation of the game, and you’ll find many references to it in the game itself.

With Rise however, it’s not exactly Monster Hunter 6. Instead, the game fills a role much more similar to the 3DS’ Monster Hunter Generations. It acts as more of an in-between of the generations, so it would fit the general themes of the 5th generation (ie mobility and openness) without introducing too many radical new ideas.

One thing you might have noticed is that the Hunter now has voicelines. These, thankfully, can be turned off in the options settings, so you can decide how vocal your hunter is going to be.

Unlike other games, you may also notice that Rise has a much more traditional Japanese aesthetic. This aesthetic permeates everywhere, from the main village to even the starting armor set. Even the monsters shown so far take their influences from various Yokai in Japanese mythology.

Gameplay

In several interviews, Capcom has answered questions regarding the game’s performance and mechanics. This includes discussing mechanics from previous games, as well as the standout new feature for Rise, the Wirebug.

First things first, Capcom has confirmed that Mounting would not be returning as we currently know it. In previous games, players could do jump attacks to mount a monster, where they could score knockdowns for completing a minigame. With the increased aerial mobility in Rise, this mechanic would not be returning.

The game will also be running on the RE Engine, as previously speculated by fans. According to Eurogamer, the game will be running at 30fps on the Switch. While its always disappointing the game won’t be running 60, it’s the same as World’s frame rate on PS4 and Xbox One.

Additionally, you won’t have to worry about playing with your friends in Rise, as the game’s return to handheld also means the return of local wireless multiplayer. This is great for yelling at your friends who wake up a sleeping monster, since the game will not support built-in voice chat.

One of the big innovations in World was the seamless integration of story and multiplayer quests. For Rise, they’re going back to the old format. IGN reports that they’ll be using the old-school method, with separate “Village” quests acting as single-player only quests, and “Gathering quests” acting as the game’s multiplayer content. There hasn’t been any confirmation on if that means dynamic health scaling is gone too, however.

Bugs And Dogs, Oh My

It’s not all just return-to-old-stuff, though. Rise is adding many new features as well, from new companions to the new wirebug.

The Wirebug is by-and-large the biggest new feature in World. From the gameplay demos, we know that they allow hunters to grapple on to even thin air. This means you can basically do jump attacks from anywhere, which explains them cutting mounting.

You have two wirebugs, which are on a cooldown. You can also pick up additional wirebugs in the environment. Each weapon also gets special Wirebug moves, with different ones causing different cooldowns on the wirebug. This is a pretty large change from the Slinger in World, which had no cooldown and was reliant on ammo and grapple points.

Similarly, don’t expect to get any more wall slams in Rise. Since the Wirebug is purely a grappling hook, you’re not likely to be launching projectiles with it.

Wirebugs also work in tandem with another great new addition to the game, wall running. Now you can seamlessly run up vertical surfaces, which can be comboed with the wirebug to get you some good airtime. It’s no Glider mantle, but in my opinion it’s a linear improvement to it since you get to keep your momentum on the way down.

Wirebugs aren’t the only new thing coming in Rise, though, You may have seen the latest companion, the Palamute. In Rise, you’ll have two ‘companion’ slots. You can fill these with either the support-focuse Felynes, or the offense-focused Palamutes. Additionally, these dog-like companions can also be ridden to get across the large, seamless maps.

In multiplayer, you’ll only be able to take one companion with you. However, unlike previous games, you’ll be able to take these companions even if your hunt is at max capacity. What this means is that the Switch will be processing 8 moving entities in a hunt at any given time, not including the monster you’re hunting.

Rising Star

It certainly seems like Monster Hunter Rise is going to be an interesting mix of both old Monster Hunter elements and new ones. As someone who really enjoyed World, it’s a little disheartening to see some of the more obtuse mechanics like the Quest separation come back. However, the inventive new mechanics like the Wirebugs definitely seem like something to look out for.

What we do know, though, is that Capcom are clearly not content to rest on their laurels and are working hard to make a new iteration of the beloved hunting franchise. Happy hunting!

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