Now that I've beaten everything Rise has to offer, and played past that point for many more hours, both coop and solo. . It is time for the review. Settle in!
Monster Hunter Rise is an incredible game. Just want to make that known before pushing forward. NPCs are really cool and is simply a joy to experience. I get happy everytime the music plays in any given area of the hub-world. Am a long time fan of the series, the Rise entry is a semi-combo of old and new in a delightful fashion. Overall I think it works extremely well from a visual standpoint. Monsters are the real star and outside some hitbox issues, I've had zero problems with the overall flow of each hunt. A minor complaint would be sometimes monsters hop to different zones on a whim.
Presentation is absolutely incredible. Rise was clearly designed with the Switch in mind. Framerate is solid at 30 FPS to my knowledge outside two late-game monsters I would prefer not to spoil here. Loading times are remarkably quick as well, they won't beat a P.C. or PS5/XSX, yet overall performance was clearly considered when developing this game.
Maps and overall level design of Monster Hunter Rise varies on each map, and think 'mostly' the team did a good job providing diversity within each zone to reward risky experimentation. A few are very much bland flat areas, though they are few and far between at least. Solid overall. Ditching hot drinks and cold drinks takes a while to adjust for any long-time hunter, however feel Rise has enough buffs and effects to compensate for the lack of these nostalgic beverages.
For those wondering how it plays compared to World and Iceborne? It is much closer to both those than any other entry. Rise is Portable 5th in everything but name. Would even go as far to state Rise handles much like a modified Iceborne with more of a focus on control over its gimmick features_
Wirebug is a modified Wedge Beetle and Palamutes are an improved riding ability.
Finding prints has been ditched in an effort to get hunters collecting endemic life for various buffs. Both old prints and endemic life have the same focus, the developers want players to explore the environment before going in for the hunt. The new spin on this isn't inherently better or worse, more of the same honestly.
Now for the negatives, please hold-on and consider the context I'm offering, before shouting down my throat with the dango song-
Simply put, the end-game is pretty bad across the board. Fan favorite armors and end build weapons in High Rank are crazy grindy to gather; to the point the percentage in the hunter logs is actually proven to be a lie. that's right, states 3%, it's actually a 0.5% and has been logged and pinned on GFAQ. Making it so you could be hunting a monster 50 times and still not get a single drop for a certain rare material, for either armor piece or weapon. Most hunters will want two of each material. . good luck_
In past games (MH4 or prior) I expect this from Village threat dangers in G-Rank. God monsters and Black Dragons. . but for each and every good monster in HR? too far MH: Rise! and makes the game seem cheap for its replay-able kicks. World and Iceborne had much stronger post-game content on release, they both didn't hold every good armor-set/ weapon hostage.
Talismans are an equal bother because while Rampage quests can sure be fun, they're a bother to grind when they take so long regardless of your build. On that note, Apex monsters also being rampage exclusive is pretty tedious.
Riding monsters is ok, however really halts the pace of any hunt and is kind-of forced upon you, even if mid-combo. Found classic mounting to work much better.
My only other complaint is how easy the game is overall. I've seen the response- "yeah yeah hardcore MH fanboi it challenging enough and more than it needs to be". . No! Rise is extremely forgiving even on the toughest quests possible in MH: RIse, I've been hit by moves that should take all my health (after being elementally blighted) and instead it goes half-bar or less. . . this is without the meal and dec skill to tank damage/ elements. No monster really hits tough enough, or punishes incompetence. Have yet to fail a single quest and way past end-game. After the Magnamalo demo I at least expect an end-game hunt with similar demands of understanding and overall skill. Just with the standard timer. And we do not.
These are purely my complaints. Will reiterate I really do love Rise and think it's an extremely good MH game. Wirebugs are fluid and offer a lot of depth, the palamute-rider quickens the pace and makes quests get more to the heart of any objective.
Post-game content just needs to iron out some of these flaws for me personally. It's not the best MH experience by any stretch, and whomever states otherwise is really looking past the issues. Yet Rise has the potential to be if cleaned up and gives real end-game content worth investment.
As such MH Rise for me is a 7.5/10. However, considering GS doesn't believe in half scores anymore, it rounds up to an 8/10
Hunt, the good hunt
