Monster Hunter Rise Demo (V2) -- Malice Aforethought
3Who hired this horrendous bass player?!
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If you thought I was some combination of too lazy to put out some more original content and even a little too slow to publicize the old archives of my rash of excessive streaming as of late... you'd be right! All my energy was spent either feeding this beast or running away from the responsibility of doing so.
I'm keen to point it out, and I even milked some of my older Monster Hunter demo encounters well past their prime to re-reiterate the agitating psychological intent behind said demos: you're not meant to win.
I mean, you CAN... it's a rare and jerk-faced story beat that gives you a literally unbeatable monster, but stacking the deck against you to the point that the distinction probably doesn't provide much comfort to most players is definitely a trick Capcom's evil scenario designers keep tucked away in their back pocket for occasions such as these, after all.
However, it's been a growing trend in demos to make it such that an ever-dwindling portion of the Monster Hunter-playing population can manage enough of an effort to beat the top dog on offer within a demo... and I'd wager to say that it's hit a new record high in terms of ridiculousness. Much more dedicated, skilled, and organized players than I have tried much harder, struggled all the more, and come up empty-handed for longer than I'd imagined possible given their greater exploits. Beating Magnamalo requires some serious damage-per-second and remarkably few mistakes without letting up on your assault... a successful quest run looks more like a speedrun than a dance of man and beast...
Suffice to say, THIS quest... looks nothing like that. This quest is... the culmination of more bashing my head into a wall than I'd care to admit... and I've unloaded an indecent chunk of trying to take it down and called it a "stream" already. I sincerely doubt that there's enough enjoyment to be derived from watching me repeat that loop entirely too much, so I took to making it my personal "entertainment" time investment since then...
And the results are predictably AND unpredictably messy. There's a lot of randomization and wiggle room in terms of big details like monster movements... and, given how the normal games function, monster health, too. Small differences in input and action will have big consequences leading to huge ripple effects, and it's difficult to say exactly what defines a properly "competent" quest versus the unknown moving target that is the end of this majestic creature's life.
Naturally, this is BAD news for a raw DPS check with a strict time limit, the one cold and unflinching certainty of the quest as presented, and it will definitely sneak up and give you a wedgie if Magnamalo doesn't take your lunch money first.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a sliding scale of difficulty and throwing a bunch of new ideas at your players and all, but making the crux of success or failure into a complete slugfest to try to outpace time itself as the ultimate stressor even BEFORE we consider the fact that this creature is designed to be unfairly hazardous AND resilient, to the point that his appearance in the REAL game will be dramatically more reasonable... this is quickly slipping well outside my idea of a good time anymore.
However... through this tangled forest, I see the strong roots if some impressive trees indeed. The battlefield is littered with prizes and critters, both large and small, that you can spontaneously utilize to aid you in your quest!
Besides no shortage of endemic life designed to be used to game-changing effect... the other big game is ready to be tamed, by FORCE, for a temporary assault of even greater influence!
And unlike many other games in the series, the large monsters will be going about their own business, moseying as they please, putting themselves in different spots and varying proximity to one another. They fight, they flee, they feed... patterns emerge, but few hunts are especially identical as time goes on and each looks out for number one... at least until either man or beast suddenly upsets their sovereignty.
It creates a sizable sandbox in which to play... to act and react. Large enough to lose yourself in, but intimately interconnected. Monsters feel vexingly alive, rather than following a strict script you can set a watch to as in World.
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Therefore... long story short, I invite you to marvel at this veritable comedy of errors, because this is about as much energy as I'm willing to feed this guy... I'm not bothering with trying this sadistic, over-tuned quest again.
I will say that, despite the fact that it started on shaky footing quickly slipping far out of my control... this IS probably about as entertaining as I personally can make the fight under the circumstances.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my salt intake and heart rate and the punishment upon the seat of my pants all demand I lie down.