Dabbling in Demos: Monster Hunter Rise – Sunbreak

 

My first foray into the legendary monster-slaughtering series didn’t go well. I steered clear of it after that, only daring to purchase a couple of spinoffs I have yet to play; but for some reason, my gaming instinct suddenly wanted to try the thing again after seven years. I know better than to fight the gaming instinct’s flights of fancy; however, years of gaming purchases have made me wiser, and I reasoned than a demo would be more than enough to satiate my gaming instinct’s curiosity.

 

A few hours later, I found myself playing the demo for the newest Rise extension — which you can play without owning Rise, surprisingly enough. I picked a random character that looked good — fickle gamer is fickle — and proceeded to find the beast I was ordered to slaughter. The game described that hunt as a mission for beginners, and I was fully confident I could do the deed.

 

 

Two things immediately blew my mind. The first is that you can go absolutely anywhere, and you don’t die from high falls — I’m rolling my eyes at you, Breath of the Wild. I don’t like open worlds as a rule; but I have to admit that 360-degree roaming is a thing of beauty and awesomeness. It’s not like real life, it’s better than real life, because real-life physics won’t let you perform the kind of stunts Sunbreak allows — like, I was sure as heck that reckless jump down a waterfall would kill me; but I landed safe and sound, and could run right away like nothing had happened. 

 

 

The second thing that blew my mind is how darn sluggish the physics are. Are you kidding me, Capcom? Am I really supposed to hunt wild beasts with such slow reflexes? My character felt like a ten-tonne truck — or, more precisely, it felt like what it actually was: a creature trying to run while decked in a full set of armour and carrying a huge sword on its back. The thing is, I hate when developers play it realistic with some parts of a game’s physics while making other parts completely bonkers. This is the Valkyria Chronicles 4 story all over again; why on earth implement no-damage jump, if you’re going to ruin it with impeded sprint? 

 

 

Rantings about physics aside, it took me five real-life minutes to reach the beast of interest. I don’t fancy running around for minutes in RPGs — and I fancy it even less when I get knocked out cold after thirty seconds of tedious fighting. Why, thank you, game! I blame my resounding defeat on the aforementioned sluggish physics — even though deep down, I know my shitty motor skills and exclusive love for lightning-fast real-time combat are to blame. I have neither the ability nor the desire to master Monster Hunter’s deliberate and leaden brand of physics — as a matter of fact, I didn’t even give the mission a second try. 

 

The end!

 

Monster Hunter Rise is a gorgeous game for sure; but just like its predecessor, it’s clearly not made for me. I have good hopes that the Stories spinoffs will suit me better, though — good thing I have them lined up for the New Classic test! I’ll see you later with plenty of gaming goodness, dear fellow gamers; in the meantime, keep doing your thing and take care!