It’s been 2 years since Monster Hunter Rise arrived on Nintendo Switch and, in the meantime, the latest Capcom title dedicated to the big hunt for monsters and the like has consolidated the brand’s strength in the collective imagination of gamers, even net of the mediocrity of a film which, released in while, it seemed to want to undermine the good done in recent years by the brand, rather than the opposite.
The reason (not why the movie sucked) is simple: enhancing, but at the same time streamlining, the Monster Hunter World formulawhich had pioneered the world of Monster Hunter for a lot of new players, Rise has undoubtedly positioned itself as one of the most accessible titles in the series for new players, while remaining very rewarding even for more seasoned players, who have had in Rise not only a challenge worthy of the series, but also and above all many attentions that have made the gameplay more modern and fresh, while remaining bound to the many typical canons of the saga.
Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak PC
Now, after a long wait, the village of Kamura, so delightfully chiseled on an exquisitely Japanese aesthetic, finally opens its thick ramparts to the hunters of every other platform, with a step that was decidedly eagerly awaited, especially after the astonishing (and deserved) of the aforementioned World. Which is why we’re here wondering: how is this “current gen” Monster Hunter Rise?
I played it on PS5 and, I’ll tell you right away: it continues to break badly… bones of monsters and not.
The glance makes the difference
First of all, let’s clarify one thing: what we are evaluating here is a port, yes valuable, but still relative to a title originally conceived for Nintendo Switch which, inevitably, inexorably loses the technical comparison with any platform. We say this only to underline that, however richly cleaned up, Monster Hunter Rise is, at birth, a title that had to deal with technical limitations which, although they can be glossed over, are in any case evident at least from the point of view of the mere polygonal count.
At the time, on Switch, however, we were surprised by the excellent general overview which, thanks to the certainly more limited levels than those of World, still had a level design on its side and, above all, an artistic caliber, the goodness of which was skilfully to mask the limitations imposed by the Nintendo console, resulting in a grand and richly immersive title.
In this sense, while clear that this port has behind it the work that Capcom had already done for the PC releasewhich preceded that current gen console by about a month, Monster Hunter Rise still inherits some limitations of the original game, with environments that, although rich and varied, certainly do not offer the visual experience of a Horizon Forbidden West, but neither a modern multiplatform title developed keeping PS5 or Xbox Series X as a reference. Having clarified this, and taken the porting with due precautions, it must be said that Monster Hunter Rise is proof of the ability matured by Capcom in developing its own conversions, also thanks to a engine, the RE Engine, which in this sense is proving to be particularly versatile and functional.
In this sense, Rise performs very well indeedpresenting us a title that on PS5 enjoys exceptional fluidity, as well as a truly commendable cleanliness, which for a title like Monster Hunter is not at all little, and indeed, like an FPS or a fighting game, Monster Hunter it is a series that suffers a lot from performance drops, clipping, or even just the occasional loss of a few frames, given that the whole battle with monsters, especially the bigger ones, is as much based on mobility as on the player’s skill and, in this sense, the game engine must always guarantee decent performance even in the most agitated situations.
The legacy of the PC version
Here, if Monster Hunter Rise succeeded in the miracle (because such it was) to do well on Switch, on PS5 the experience is nothing short of flawlessand indeed inheriting the work done by Capcom for the PC edition, this edition for modern consoles also has the pride of proposing itself as one of the very few portings (and of console titles in general) to allow the player to tinker with different settings of optimization, although the options are not – obviously – on a par with the PC version.
If we want to be really cynical, the game still inherits some “technical defects” from Switch, which are not such, but were more of a ploy evidently born from the need to keep the game under the control of the original console and its limited technical features. Tricks such as a certain pop-up effect, which does not skimp on making circumstantial elements appear and appear as needed and which, unfortunately, was also inherited from the PS5 version. In any case, facing a title that is offered, even on consoles, with a series of settings such as rendering resolution, ambient occlusion or shadow quality, puts aside any uncertainty found in the remains of the Switch edition , and makes this Rise certainly interesting, especially considering that we are talking, precisely, of a port that derives from a title for a console on which all this graphic goodness was pure science fiction.
Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak PC
Of course, most people still leave it therea possibility to choose between simplified and “accessible” settings, with the two classic options which provide for a preference towards the framerate, provided a lower resolution (1080p at 120 fps) or the resolution, in this case 4K, with a framerate permanently nailed to 60 fps, which are not bad anyway for a title like Monster Hunter; however in between, there are several options that will delight the most demanding, meticulous and attentive players who, if desired, can further refine the visual experience of the game, similar to what happens for the PC edition. An aspect that, frankly, considering what the technical characteristics of the current consoles are, one would always hope, regardless of whether we are talking about porting or not, and regardless of whether or not the title in question has a PC release but that, as they say, is another story.
In any case, during my text I was able to tinker quite a bit with the game settings, carrying out tests with various resolutions and, above all, testing the framerate, even in online game situations, in the presence of two other players. Well, beyond what is the mere personal taste, or one’s eye sensitivity, even favoring the resolution more than the fps, Monster Hunter Rise was nothing short of unsold, with gameplay always frenetic and free of slowdowns or smudges .
Online blows as much as I can’t!
The uncertainties are very rare, and mostly inherent to the online game where the connection code suffers from some slight slowdown but, mostly (or at least in our tests) strangely more inherent to the presence in Kamura’s HUB than during the exploration or combat. To be honest, the only real strangeness is perceived when it is necessary to enter the missions published by our companions or, in general, it is necessary to join missions available in multiplayer mode. Strangely here, unlike what happened on Nintendo Switch, the title hesitates for a few moments before confirming adherence to the quest, while on Switch this step was more responsive.
Attention: because we are not talking about a communication problem caused by the speed of the internet connection, but rather the speed of the game and its menus. A problem that does not affect the gaming experience in any way (especially considering that, for the rest, the speed of the PS5 SSD is not a little noticeable compared to the experience on Nintendo Switch), but which will certainly require a patch.
Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak PC
The gaming experience, in essence, is lightning-fast, satisfying and the porting as a whole does not show its side even at the time of the multiplayer test, so much so that regardless of whether your party is full or empty, the game will always run very smoothly, with lightning-fast matchmaking in the case of games around the world, and with granite framerate management when the party is assembled , you find yourself beating up the unfortunate monsters on duty. However, it must be said that, barring occasional NAT problems, typical of the Nintendo console, even on Switch Rise behaved as one of the best online experiences for the large N console, and it was at least reasonable to expect an experience up to par even for various portings which, in the case analyzed here of PlayStation 5, leave no room for any doubt: online you play well, quickly, without noticeable slowdowns, and with a good frequency, given the large number of global players who have evidently already bought the game .
Fly in the ointment? Perhaps we would have liked a cross-platform option, which had put all the consoles currently available in communication, especially given the large number of players still grappling with the game on Switch, even 1 year after the release of Sunbreak.
But Sunbreak is there?
And speaking of this: although sold at a budget price (which is pleasant for those who, like myself, already own the game in its original version), Monster Hunter Rise returns to the market still without its magnificent expansion, Sunbreak for the ‘precisely, which will arrive on the market for PC and for the new consoles only in mid-2023. The choice, however plausible from a commercial and development point of view, is still a bit unjustified in the eyes of the community, it is clear that whoever plays Monster Hunter (and knows the policies of Capcom), knows that the series has always behaved this way.
Beyond the issue relating to Sunbreak, a positive note should in any case be highlighted: coming out 2 years after the Switch, MH Rise arrives on consoles with an impressive compendium of extra and free content, already available in the game. Simply redeem them through the appropriate in-game system (there is a special Felyne postman in Kamura’s square, entrusted with this task), to really unlock a lot of extra missions, which will become available in the game as the adventure progresses. Many of them, moreover, could have escaped those who, for example, had been missing from Kamura for some time, making the return to the game world much more pleasant than a “clean” launch without extras could have done.
The PlayStation 5 experience
In closing, a few notes on what are the peculiarities of PlayStation 5 which, as one would expect, should offer some extras compared to the remaining consoles, at least as regards its Dualsense. Well, we regret to note that, as often happens for titles not developed specifically for PS5, the support for the DualSense pad and, in particular, for its adaptive triggers, is very summary, and the game limits itself to offering variable feedback depending on the weapons, with interesting results only for very few weapons (such as crossbows and bows), and little more.
In short, the DualSense does not enjoy a dignified implementation, and perhaps the most useful gimmick is that relating to the audio of the party which, if you do not have headphones, is redirected directly to the small integrated speaker of the pad, through which you can also communicate, given the presence of an internal microphone. Clearly the result is not the best.
Different story for the audio which, enjoying the Tempest three-dimensional system, makes a big difference if you have a dedicated system or, better still, you want to enjoy the gaming experience with headphones, perhaps through the Sony Puls 3D, which fully support the console’s audio technology, offering a rich and truly immersive acoustic experience.
