The big game in the increasingly popular Monster Hunter series has arrived today. Monster Hunter Rise is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch with Standard ($59.99) and Deluxe Editions ($69.99) that includes bonus in-game goodies, such as the Kamurai layered armored set.
In Monster Hunter Rise, hunters operate out of Kamura Village. Kamura Village is under attack by waves of ferocious monsters called the Rampage. When not defending the village, hunters can hunt monsters in five different areas, including the Flooded Forest and Shrine Ruins.
Hunters can use 14 different weapon types that fans of Monster Hunter World will recognize, such as the charge blade, insect glaive, hunting horn, or good old sword and shield. New to Rise are Switch skills, allowing hunters to swap out skills with new attacks, creating new combos that match their preferred playstyle.
The “Rise” in Monster Hunter Rise comes from another new feature, the Wirebug. The Wirebug acts like a grappling hook that hunters can use to traverse around the world as well as to unleash different attacks (or dodges) in combat. Damaging monsters with Silkbind attacks using the Wirebug opens them up to the new Wyvern Riding technique, with hunters temporarily taking control of a monster by riding them.
Finally there’s the new Palamute companion, warrior-dogs that join the ferocious Felyne cats from previous games. Palamutes are loyal companions that help their hunters, and can also be ridden to quickly give chase to fleeing monsters.
Monster Hunter Rise supports cooperative multiplayer with up to three other players, with difficulty dynamically scaling to the number of players. Online players can create tags with their objectives and playstyle to improve online matchmaking.
Capcom has confirmed the first free post-launch update will arrive at the end of April, adding Chameleos, Apex Rathalos and “several new monsters,” as well as increasing the hunter rank level cap.
Monster Hunter Rise is available on Switch, and coming to PC in 2022. It’s rated T for Teen.
