As the Monster Hunter: World Beta draws to a close after what seems like an incredibly short 3 days, we are left with some insight into what the full retail version has in store. In this article, we touch on our MHW Beta impressions, some key takeaways, and our wishlist for the upcoming release based on my own experiences and contributions from members of the Monster Hunter World discord.

MHW Beta Impressions

? Verticality!

As pointed out by kingchangling, the map inter-connectivity has brought about a more fluid style of climbing, with beautifully rendered vine surfaces that blend seamlessly into the scenery. This is indeed quite the unexpected improvement for map traversal, and one that I hope we’ll see further expanded by the promise of the Glider Mantle, that should allow us to essentially take flight within the Coral Highlands.

9️⃣ Map Scale

Monster Hunter has always had large environments, but the scale feels completely new in Monster Hunter: World. The key difference comes from the inter-connectivity, but there’s something else to the simplicity of the layers of content and depth to each Location. The Ancient Forest lets you get lost in caves as you explore and gather materials, and hides away small monsters to discover and observe, making you wish the quest timer was not locked at 20 minutes! When the game is out, make sure to venture off the beaten path to find all sorts of small but fun items like the Sushifish Scale.

8️⃣ Ecosystem in full view

Seeing all monsters coexisting (amicably or not) brings the world to life, but seeing the small and proper reactions of Monsters to unique situations made it all the more fun. I had a “crying with laughter” experience as I took a small sideturn from my group and accidentally picked up an egg in the Wildspire Waste. The animation for the egg carrying is hilarious as always, but the real fun came from the full reaction of my party. “Where did you get an egg?” as people ran around looking for the nest, only to turn around and realise an army of Apceros had rocked up and were hell-of-a-pissed-off at our transgression! The slow-motion pursuit that followed was interrupted by a Barroth, that scared off the Apceros and led to all of us breaking our eggs. Fun times!

 

7️⃣ Carve Everything

A dedicated group of us were aiming to record as many Carvings as we could find, but it seemed some of the smaller monsters were limited to set non-material drops. However, we persevered! Monster Venandi found out that Mernos eventually dropped “Windrake Hide”, and Rathalos and Anjanath Plates. It was fun to discover what parts of the monsters could give what rewards, and we went on several dedicated hunts just to try to get something else to drop out of the Apceros. Monster Hunter’s loot-driven motivation continues to hold us through each iteration.

6️⃣ Grimalkaynes and Palicoes are awesome

I’ve always loved Felynes, as any proper cat lover would. But the adorable effect is full up with Palicoes taking advantage of graphic improvements. Their little boats as you fight the last stage of Rathalos in the mud is simply “squeee” inducing. Further, the little guys pack a punch by recruiting Kestodons to fight with you and mounting them as valiant knights in shining nyarmor. And then come the Grimalkynes and their fantastic monster trapping. There are a few instances where you can obtain such assistance in the beta, but specific camps for the NPC allies can be found and sound like promising depth to this mechanic.

5️⃣ Turf Wars are epic

An abundance of predators means an abundance of territorial fighting, to the point that preview videos made fans wonder “Is there a monster hierarchy? Who wins?“. The beta seems to have answered some of that, As you notice the Barroth seems to win when attacking Jyuratodus, but has zero chance to live through the Diablos, that hit it for a whoooping 400 damage! Adding to the territorial element, I watched as the Anjanath was simply picked up and dropped off a cliff by a Rathalos… there goes my loot 🙁

4️⃣ Weapon variety and combo fluidity

Monster Hunter has always provided players with a variety in combat choice. However, this time around, the 14 weapon categories are all incredibly enticing. From the difficult-to-understand but awesome to play Hunting Horn, to the Glorious Nippon Steel Longswords, there’s a space for everyone including those wanting to use that Horizon fashion for their Bow feats. Of particular note, the moveset of the Insect Glaive and the Dual Swords brings on fluidity and landscape exploits that are perhaps only matched by some of the crazy stunts we’ve seen people pull off with the Switch Axe!

 

3️⃣ Newbie Friendly

New players to the series have traditionally hit the complexity wall early on, and drowned in tutorial levels that could be quite repetitive and seem pointless. The new approach seems to have trimmed away some of the more tedious reading, and instead implemented large in-screen explanations of what is happening and when. This is a huge plus for the game, as it lures over players from the far corners of the Dark Souls world with its enticing weapon showcase. It will probably now not scare them away with all the reading!

2️⃣ Secrets abound

Small bugs hint you to hidden areas, mining and gathering in general are now much less of a pain and much more interesting with the on-screen tips. But the real treat was in discovering rare spawn of Pukei-Pukei! Since each map has a limited Monster spawn, discovering this chance element made for a mad rush among the players to find and defeat the beast.

What other secrets will surprise us with launch? We can’t wait!

 

1️⃣ Capcom is aiming big but staying true

Monster Hunter: World looks like a deserving entry into the larger PC and Console markets for the franchise. With streamlined “auto-crafting“, helpful tips, and upcoming in-game previews of Monsters‘ weaknesses and carvings, many players worried that the game would lose its original hook. But, as LucentMoon says: Underneath all of the updated graphics, Monster Hunter World is still at its heart, a Monster Hunter game. Although the game did not introduce any game-changing features, it improves upon everything else instead. This is extremely important, because this has allowed Monster Hunter World to make a smooth transition while somehow still managing to remain as the series that we know and love.

 

I loved the Beta, every second of it. I laughed, I ran for my life, I rooted for my little palico in his small monster mount. I quickly built comradery and belonging with members of my party, and was satisfied to find the world a simultaneously completely new yet familiarly beloved experience. Monster Hunter: World looks amazing, plays amazing, and will certainly deserve a day one launch!

 

 

Check out gameplay footage of Monster Hunter: World‘s  combat, these collection of short but sweet nature clips and all of the NEW stuff coming to the game.

Monster Hunter: World  was officially announced, with pre-order details, to launch worldwide for PS4 and Xbox One on January 26th, 2018, with a PC release following sometime later.

---

Fextralife had an amazing capture opportunity of MH:W  at TGS 2017 of Barroth and the Wildspire Wastes! Also, a limited PlayStation 4 Pro “Liolaeus Edition” was revealed at the event.

Need more of Monster Hunter: World?  Then check out these screenshots and  weapons showcase trailers! If you’re more of a strategist, then this Hunting 101 trailer and survey of the Wildspire Waste, complete with recon images, will help you in your hunt.

---

Visit the Monster Hunter: World wiki

More Gaming News