What does the monster hunter Series so entertaining? Is it the hypnotic rhythm that entices you to hunt, harvest, improve and repeat? Is it the intense battles that make you feel like a shounen anime protagonist about to chop down your prey with a scrap of your health? Is it the ridiculous concept of taking on one of nature’s greatest wonders on a dog while a tiny cat leaps into battle beside you?
In truth, I think Monster Hunter’s success is due to a combination of the above elements. and Monster Hunter Ascension – the latest entry in the 17-year-old Monster Hunter franchise – perfects the formula with aplomb. The game is coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2023 and I couldn’t be more excited. Because it means even more people can fall in love with this absurd series and the pure, digital joy it can inspire in the hearts of even the most jaded of gamers.
Monster Hunter Rise lowers the barrier to entry compared to previous games, allowing newcomers to brandish their glaives and swords around their heads like toddlers. The game has easier kills and quicker paths to the best armor than previous titles, and also does a much better job of explaining the intricacies of the Monster Hunter gameplay loop to players. “Like the great sword, isn’t it?” it asks. “Well, use that special attack, kill those monsters, and get an even bigger, better sword!” That’s it. And with an encouraging slap on the butt, you’re on your way – spiraling into this endlessly addicting Monster Hunter loop that will steal hundreds of hours of your life.
You’d think that de-escalating the difficulty would detract from the point of the game, but actually the opposite is true: by making the game easier to play and easier to understand, all of Monster Hunter’s slapstick mayhem becomes tight and satisfyingly action-packed even more pleasant. Once you get going and start learning how to make the most of your weapons (and how to dodge the most devastating tail swipes and bursts of fire from your least favorite dragon in the game), Monster Hunter Rise feels like poetry in motion; a terrific action game up there with the likes of Devil May Cry, Bloodborne, Metal Gear Revengeance.
If you played the uncomfortably colonial Monster Hunter World back when it took the world by storm in 2018, then you’ll feel pretty much at home in Rise. Many of the branching weapon techniques from Xbox and PlayStation’s last Monster Hunter game have been scaled back a bit, making everything feel more arcade-y in Rise. That’s a good thing: special attacks can be swapped out on a whim, giving you more control over how you play (and what support you can offer or what damage you can deal).
Rise puts the spotlight on 14 weapons, all with swappable abilities and amazing over-the-top specials, and if you play with friends you can see just how diverse these all are. I’m a hopeless sword-and-shield fanatic – there’s just so much satisfaction in severing a monster’s tail with a sword before knocking it off its shield with a chop on the head – but I routinely play with hunting horn specialists who are buffs and nerfs as well as hammer obsessives that can curb a monster in seconds if set up properly.
What I’m saying is: I’ve already finished this game. Twice. Once on Switch when it was first released, and then again on PC when it launched on the platform earlier this year. And you better believe I’ll do it all over again when it finally comes to Xbox Game Pass in 2023. And I encourage you to do the same – especially if you’ve never played it before: Monster Hunter is at the pinnacle of what games should be, to me. It’s fast, fun, compelling, silly, smart, pretty, hard, and simple all at the same time, and Monster Hunter Rise is the perfect expression of a formula Capcom has been working on for decades.
Monster Hunter Rise is without a doubt one of the best games for Xbox Game Pass since the service began. And it looks set to set the tone for the platform in 2023.
