MON STE R HUNTE WORLD
these are some of the best enemies you’ll fight
Tom: Monster Hunter: World is an odd game if you’ve never played it before. The controls feel dumb, the crafting is complicated, and you have to pay cats to make food for you before every hunt.
Once it clicks, it’s incredible. The controls are unusual because they have to support 14 different weapon types. It can take a while to wind up big hits, which means you have to learn how monsters fight. It helps that these are some of the best enemies you’ll fight in any game. From the muchvictimized jagras to total bastards like odogaron, they all have their own quirks. To master Monster Hunter you have to learn their habits. The electric flying squirrel tobi-kadachi leaps up into the trees in forest areas. Rathalos can shatter the rocky dam near its nest if you goad it correctly. Every fight feels dynamic and important. Phil: I love the pace of each hunt. The determined purpose as you set off to find your quarry. The quiet contemplation as you check your equipment and apply your powders. The frenzied panic as you dodge an enraged beast’s attack. The hurried retreat as other, more powerful monsters wade into the fray. The somber celebration as your target collapses, letting you carve off a pelt that will finally let you craft a new set of trousers. Wes: It’s staggering how much variety there is in Monster Hunter, and how deep it goes in so many areas. You repeating hunts over and over again could be called a grind, but it never feels that way—I’m always getting parts I can use to build some new armor, or craft a lance that does lightning damage, or crits like crazy. Then if I swap weapons, my role in the hunt changes. With a pair of dual blades I’m a tail-severing machine, but with a hammer I’m better at stunning dinos by clobbering them in the face. Pip: I thought I was enjoying Monster Hunter: World, and then it wanted me to kill a pukei-pukei. NEVER! Pukei-pukei manages to be both the most extra and the most derpy of the monsters. It’s all rainbow feathers and tongue and eyes, and why can’t I be its friend instead?