Monster Hunter World (PS4)
The game that so many people have been wishing and waiting for, a Monster Hunter game that isn't on handheld, Monster Hunter World! I have never played Monster Hunter before, and never found it that appealing though I did try this game out. Playing it, I can see why people like it. It can be a bit confusing at first, but once you do a few hunts you will start to figure things out easily. I played it solo, but it does have multiplayer though you need PS Plus if you're playing on PS4 to have the muliplayer. I do recommend this game though! It is fun with friends and even solo.
The multiplayer is confusing as there are multiple ways you can join others on hunts. Even if you don't have PS Plus, if you're connected online, you will still be put into an Online Session. This is were you and a bunch of randoms are connected to each other. There will be notifications if someone comes in or out, and if they are posting quests or not. So when you go to find a hunt, only the hunts posted by the people in the same Online Session as you are what you can see and accept. So if you want to play with friends, you will need to be in the same session. You can also be in a squad which is like a a mmo guild. A strange rule they put in multiplayer is that you have to wait for the one who posted the quest to see the cutscene in the quest first before anyone can join. Another way to join is using the SOS Flare. Its a way to get others to join in the middle of your hunt. Only 4 people can be in hunt, and your cat friend may end up taking a player's spot so you will have to leave your cat at camp if you want others to join. There are some quests/expeditions that others can't join.
The game is mostly centered in you being in this hub area called Astera. This hub area is like a maze at first so do take a minute to get familiar with it. In the hub you take on quests to go out to hunt monsters, gather items for crafting, and other missions. So its not like a story centered game or an open world game. There is a story quest, and story is basically you arrive in this "new world" on boat and are part of this research effort to understand nature, monsters, and the elder dragons. The graphics looks nice in this game though the lip syncing for both English and Japanese voices isn't the best. Doing the story are the quests and will unlock more quests and maps as you progress in it so its important to do. You will have to do a few to unlock online play and other features.
As for gameplay, getting to know how to use combat is important. The monsters do get stronger and difficult as you progress so you can't lock on and mash buttons at will and be fine. You can lock on, but it won't guarantee to make your character face the monster and hit it when you go to attack as its just a camera lock mostly. You will have to keep in mind the direction you're making your character go and face. Also all the weapon types play differently so you may need to try out a few to see which works well for you, your friends if you're playing online, and the monster you are after. This is definitely important if you're playing solo as you mainly only have your cat with you and it can only do so much. You don't die or get a game over, but you just faint and get taken back to camp. When that happens you will have to run back to the monster. On quests, if you faint 3 times you fail the quest or if the timer runs out. Quests mainly have a 50 minute time limit. Expeditions on the other hand have no time limit or faint limit, but monsters have their own time limit and will leave the map.
Monster Hunter is know for not having a health bar for the monsters. You will have to keep attacking the monster till it dies. The smaller and easier monsters will just die, but bigger and more difficult monsters will have a few more phases before it dies. One of the first phases is running away to a difficult location. You have to chase it to keep fighting, this can be annoying running after it but it will give you time to whetstone your weapon and heal. Monsters may do this more than once. A sign that the monster is close to its end is when it starts limping away. They may run away to its nest and you may find it asleep. I do feel bad when they do this as you have to wake it up and it will die soon after. Though this is a good time to set up traps and such. Once you've done the kill, you can carve the body and get crafting materials. If they monster is a quest objective, there will be a automatic 30 second timer and you will be loaded back to the hub.
Overall, it is fun to play with the character creation, even customize your cat friend. Though I do wonder if the cat is an animal or a furry. Its weird though I guess it is their own race. Crafting weapons and outfits is fun. Also gathering stuff in the world is feeding that hoarder part of me. You can even catch animals, fish, and bugs that you can put and decorate your room with. There are Events in this game too which sadly only PS Plus limited. PC version comes out later this year. Definitely recommend trying this out especially if you have friends who are also playing or interested in playing. There's no local multiplayer though.
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