Monster Hunter Rise Single Player Review - Is Single Player Fun?

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Quest Mode

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Published on January 12, 2022 12:45:01 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTl-PpgM0Pk

Game:

Monster Hunter Rise (2021)

Category:

Review

Duration: 21:38

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4,491

I played Monster Hunter Rise almost entirely solo and offline. Did I have fun? Is Monster Hunter Rise worth buying if you don't want to play in co-op or in a group with others? Watch my single player review to find out!

#MonsterHunterRise #MonsterHunter #MHRise

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:37 Solo Vs Multiplayer
8:12 Exploration
11:15 The Hunts
14:31 Combat, Weapons & Upgrades
19:04 Rampage Quests & Endgame Content
20:24 Verdict & Outro

MONSTER HUNTER RISE
If you’re like me, you enjoy playing games completely solo. But if you’re like me, you might also look at some multiplayer or co-op focused games and wonder, what if I played that game by myself? Would it be fun? One series that’s consistently prompted me to ask that very question is Monster Hunter. And with the recent PC release of Monster Hunter Rise, plus a new DLC on the way, I decided to take the plunge. Having never played a Monster Hunter game before, I deliberately played the vast majority of Monster Hunter Rise completely offline and by myself. So, did I have fun? Would I recommend this game to other single player junkies? If you want to find out, then I hope you’ll join me for my single player review of Monster Hunter Rise.

Before we begin, I have a few disclaimers. First, if you’ve never played a Monster Hunter game, you’re in the right place. I was also new to the series before making this review and I hope my experience can shed some light on what you can expect if you give this game a shot as a single player experience. Second, while the first part of this review is dedicated to comparing the single and multiplayer experiences, the rest is a general purpose review to give you an idea of what the entire game is like if you do play mostly solo. Now, let’s begin.

SOLO VS. CO-OP
Before getting into the details, what is Monster Hunter Rise? Well, it’s a deep, and I mean deep action RPG with engaging combat, nuanced character customization, and compelling environments. As for story, well, don’t expect much. Your village is seeing an uptick in monsters thanks to a phenomenon called The Rampage and it’s up to you to fight them off. That’s literally it, but again, what Monster Hunter Rise lacks in narrative, it more than makes up for with deep and rewarding gameplay.

Each mission, of which there are dozens, has you traveling to one of the game’s 5 themed maps where you’ll explore, and typically hunt one of the game’s titular monsters. Take one down and you’ll harvest its parts - bones, shells, pelts, and the like - which you can then use to upgrade your weapons and armor. This, in turn, will make you more powerful and better prepared for your next hunt. While the gameplay systems of monster hunter are relatively complex, such as the upgrading and combat mechanics, the overall gameplay loop is actually pretty simple. It really is just hunt, loot, upgrade, repeat.

Now, if you’re like me, you may have the conception that this loop is inherently better with friends. Or even that it might just plain suck if you go it alone. Well, as someone who loves single player games, and who typically shies away from experiences that require or encourage multiplayer, I’m here to tell you that’s flat out not the case.

Instead, Monster Hunter Rise caters to both multiplayer and single player purists, but as for the base content, it actually offers more to players who want to hunt solo. That’s because the game has two main quest types. Village Quests and Hub Quests. Village Quests follow the story and make up what is more or less a traditional, single player campaign. These quests can only be played solo. Then there are Hub Quests, which feature very similar if not identical objectives to Village Quests, but these can be played either solo or in co-op. To put it more simply, if you want to play in co-op, you can only play Hub Quests. But if you want to play solo, the entire game is open for you to play. You can play either Hub Quests or Village Quests.

Now, as you would expect, village quests are great solo. It’s how they’re meant to be played and, well, it’s the only way you can play them. However, if you take on any of the Hub Missions by yourself, they can be a bit of a slog. That’s because the monsters you’ll face, while identical in appearance to those you’ll face in Village Missions, are over-leveled. This is just so they last longer against two, three, or four hunters. Take them on solo and yes, they can be more challenging, but doing so is mostly just tedious. It’s for this reason that if you do play by yourself, I’d actually recommend just sticking to the story campaign, at least before you sufficiently upgrade your equipment. The missions are fun and much better paced for one single hunter.

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