Monster Hunter Rise is out now on PC, and it's bringing a wealth of enormous creatures to defeat, wide open spaces to explore, and cute Palicos and Palamutes to befriend and fight alongside. You might never have played a Monster Hunter game before, but you can easily jump in here – Monster Hunter Rise requires no prior experience with the series to fully enjoy every aspect of it, and even introduces new mechanics like the Wirebug which veterans of the series will be learning right alongside newcomers.
Monster Hunter Rise has something for every action game fan, whether you love exploring every nook and cranny of an open world by yourself, or teaming up to take down epic bosses with your friends online. And with 14 upgradeable, wildly different weapons to choose from, providing plenty of choices for melee fighters and ranged warriors alike, you can hunt monsters in whichever way you feel most comfortable.
There's plenty to dig into when it comes to Monster Hunter Rise, so let's dig into what you can expect to enjoy no matter your taste – and if any of this piques your interest, don't forget that you can buy it on Steam from today.
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RPG delights
Monster Hunter Rise is first and foremost an RPG – you'll need to use crafting materials earned from defeating monsters to upgrade your gear, equip the skills to match your preferred playstyle, and buff your stats if you want to survive the challenges that lie ahead.
A lot of your character management will take place in Kamura Village, the hub town that you'll set off from each time you go on a hunt. Here you can grab a bunny dango at the Tea Shop to give your stats a temporary boost, craft and upgrade weapons and armour at the Smithy, and stock up on essentials at the Market. But there's plenty to deal with in the field too, from keeping an eye on your weapon's Sharpness to ensure your blows land, to managing your stamina gauge by roasting monster meat in the field so you don't run out of energy when fighting a ferocious beast.
Adrenaline-pumping action
You can't have a Monster Hunter game without monsters, and Rise has them in droves. From the enormous, terrifying flying wyvern Rathalos to the heavily-armoured Volvidon, you'll need to use all your skill and a healthy dose of planning to cut down some of the bigger beasts in the game.
But there are plenty of tools at your disposal. The Wirebug can help launch you into the air, keeping you out of harm's way before you lunge down to deliver a devastating attack from above – or just traverse around the open world looking for hidden areas. You can even use the Wirebug to unleash Silkbind Attacks, powerful skills that can do so much more than just deal damage – use them effectively and you might even be able to ride one of the bigger monsters around and make them fight on your behalf.
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Multiplayer monster hunting
You're never truly alone in Monster Hunter Rise – your Palico and Palamute buddies will be by your side on hunts, providing you with combat and speedier travel – but you can also invite up to three of your real-life friends into the game to help strategize and make short work of some of the game's truly terrifying beasts.
You can even bring a Palico or Palamute along with you to assist, though you can't take both in multiplayer, so choose wisely. And while adding more friends to your party can scale up the difficulty of a hunt, should one of your buddies need to drop out, the difficulty will automatically scale back down, so encounters remain fair and balanced regardless even if a friend's gaming session gets cut short.
Hunting for everyone
Got a friend whose PC rig is a little lacking? Don't worry, they can still get in on the fun. The PC specs for Monster Hunter Rise are pretty forgiving, and it looks magnificent no matter what you're running it on, so every action game fan can jump in no matter what.
We've already posted the minimum PC specs elsewhere, and you can always check if your rig is capable of running the game on PCGameBenchmark. But it's much easier to visualise with, well, some visuals. Take a look at the screenshots below and see if you can tell which one was taken on Average settings with a machine just barely nudging the recommended specs, and which one was taken on High settings with a PC well beyond what's actually needed to run the game. It's harder than you think!
So whether you want to dig deep into your stats or just beat the snot out of some enormous, incredibly dangerous beasts with your friends, you can count on Monster Hunter Rise to provide the goods. Ready to start your own monster hunting adventure? Grab your friends and buy Monster Hunter Rise on Steam today.