Monster Hunter Rise Review

Ever heard of the Monster Hunter franchise? Made by the game company Capcom and its many partners, Monster Hunter is a beloved game franchise that has more recently come out with the game Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. While it is easier than their older and more popular title, Monster Hunter World, it is still a challenging game with new and older monsters to go after. Plus, the new mechanics in the game with the wire bugs allow for much more unique attack patterns and strategies.

Not only has the game introduced new mechanics, but it has also reintroduced an old buddy that would help your hunter player - the Palamute. The Palamute is a dog-like creature that you ride to get from place to place faster. It not only can be used as a ride but also as a fighting buddy. Like the cat-like creature the Palico, Palamutes are skilled buddies who can use a variety of weapons, skills, and techniques to help the player when fighting a monster.

Alongside the reintroduction of the Palamute buddy, older monsters like the Rajang and the Crimson Glow Valstrax all get a spotlight back into the newer games with the newer introductions to the franchise. These newer introductions include the large, frog-like Tetranadon, the Direwolf-esk Lunagaron, and the vampire dragon Malzeno. While Monster Hunter: Rise starts off relatively easy for beginners with monsters like the Great Izuchi and the Lagombi, it begins to get harder and trickier the further you get in ranks and quests.

The way I prefer to play is with the duel blades along with the Nargacuga armor set, which allows me great dodging. It also makes it seem like the attacks just go through me along with helping me with fast in-and-out attacks. A skill with the duel blades is being able to launch onto a monster and easily cut into its back, wings, or tail. However, when fighting alongside other hunters online, duel blades are best used to stun and trip the monster up by being able to do damage and hit the monster in quick intervals. This fast fighting and dodging is my preferred fighting style in the game, but there are so many other weapons and strategies that can be used with each set of armor and weapons.

Overall, I do suggest people try the game. It's fun and challenging with the newer monsters added and the older ones being reintroduced. It can be frustrating at times but well worth the triumphant feeling of defeating a powerful monster.