Monster Hunter: World

Here is what we wrote when it was released on PS4 and One:

"Whether or not it is the best, it is certainly the most ambitious Monster Hunter. World takes a very different turn to appear visually, emotionally and greatly new, while at the same time staying true to the ideals of the series, retaining exciting fights, intimidating monsters and with the significant rewards that fans love. The depth and commitment required is still just as intense, and Capcom is clearly not aiming to woo casual players. In the end, it's still as time-consuming and incredible as ever. "

>>> Read our original test

Quite brilliantly, this first release of Monster Hunter on PC in the West is an almost perfect recreation of the console experience that I enjoyed so much last winter.

Those who hoped that this port would be the excuse for Capcom to add the much appreciated challenges of rank G will be disappointed, but the title remains as incredibly generous as that which we have already discovered a few months ago, with hundreds hours for those who are fascinated by its sprawling quests and improvements. In fact, those who return after giving up on consoles will find a more welcoming experience on PC. Months of updates have allowed Capcom to resolve some of the few complaints from players at launch, including the ability to sort an endless list of quests, or change the text size, as well as adding several diverse options. . It's not radically different, but it does make the game significantly more efficient.

While all the improvements to the console gaming experience are already available on consoles, PC players will have to wait a little longer to take advantage of post-launch content updates, including unlocking the Deviljho and Lunastra monsters - but for a game that requires a hundred hours to complete the main scenario, this is a false problem.

The real interest in playing on PC is, logically, to enjoy better performance. Playing at the "High" level of graphics doesn't change fundamentally from what we've seen on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, but as you might expect, you don't have to choose between a better resolution , better graphics or better framerate. The result shows a game as beautiful as on a powerful console, but without the slight slowdowns (and with the unlimited framerate option for the most powerful machines).

Although it takes a PC more powerful than mine to run the game with the settings at maximum, my hours of play in 1080p, 60 FPS in maximum quality with a GTX 1070 went without a hitch. Capcom has hinted that it could offer a patch for PC-exclusive graphics enhancements, but even without that, these performances have nothing in common.

Speaking of fixes, you've probably heard of a non-final version of the freezing PC game. A patch came to solve the problem. And despite several fixes for crashes, I was not a victim during my test hours.

Finally, the other important addition to this PC version remains the support for the mouse and keyboard. Although it works better than I thought it would, and it sounds appealing, I start playing controller again. Fighting against monsters requires precise timing at best, and using some of its complex weapons may seem more complex than it should. That said, with a few key remaps, I found that ranged weapons are more usable with the keyboard and mouse, providing real precision. But the default control scheme is just not good.

Well, let's try, I do this a lot of work, and the IGN Italia review must be done in any case, so we can combine two pigeons with one bean (I'm the bean) and offer you a point of view that maybe is also particularly interesting interesting, since generally the reviews are written by those who know the context (the saga, the genre) in which the game is inserted. You will not struggle, I imagine, to find the opinions of those who follow the Capcom series since its debut (dating back to 2004, on PS2) around the web. Here, however, you will be told a different experience, the point of view of those approaching the world of Monster Hunter for the first time, as perhaps many of you may be tempted to do. Among other things, in Capcom's intentions, Monster Hunter World is precisely the episode designed to broaden the horizons of the series a bit and make it attractive even to those who, like me, had never approached it before 'Now. First of all because, after years spent on Nintendo consoles, especially portable ones, Monster Hunter returns to exclusively home machines (PS4, Xbox One and soon PC). And secondly because the software house has endeavored to make the game more accessible, a little more guided, trying not to give up the depth that has always characterized the series.

"And thank goodness," I thought in the early hours of the game. Because, to be honest, although it reminded me of my short past experience (in which the complexity of the interface and game system had made me give up quickly), and while actually noticing a more user friendly approach, however Monster Hunter World has struggled to make me enter its mechanisms. This is an aspect that I want to underline very well. Fans of the saga will find it much more accessible, compared to previous episodes, but new players do not expect to find that comfort to which the games of these years have accustomed us, especially the western ones. While definitely marking a step forward in the series, from this point of view, MHW can still be a very difficult game in its early stages. And by initial phases I also mean the first 20-30 hours, a period in which one is submerged by information of various types, but at the same time, paradoxically, many elements and some mechanics remain unclear. Added to this are cumbersome if not wrong interface and system choices (some of them are described in more detail below), with the result that the game can struggle to mesh.

I do a fast forward that I consider appropriate at this point. After seeing the credits (reached in 73 hours of play), I can say that Monster Hunter World is elbowing to enter the top 10 of my favorite games of this generation. The experience I had was splendid. a real crescendo of satisfaction, which from the initial (in) suffering came to the current enthusiasm, passing through many small steps in which the awareness of starting to understand each other and the greater familiarity with some mechanics increasingly took over the displacement of the first ones moments. And it was all good. I know it may sound crazy, but today I wouldn't give up on the loss of the early stages, because starting from there has helped me enjoy it even more.

The advice I can give to those like me who are new to the series, therefore, is to have a lot of patience in the early stages, where everything can seem complicated and uncomfortable. In my opinion, some choices remain wrong even after becoming familiar with the system, but I assure you that instead the vast majority of the game mechanisms become clearer simply by continuing to play, try, experiment. Know that you cannot make particularly wrong choices, there is nothing "missable", everything can be recovered, the game structure allows you to repeat endlessly all the things that make sense to repeat, so don't worry. Get guided by the main plot, initially, because it will help you get into the mechanisms slowly. Then you will see that, at some point, you will be masters of your choices, you will decide how to play and you will be able to feel that pleasant feeling of being able to tame the game.