Post #120230
February 25, 2018, 07:55:43 PM
It was essentially a day 1 buy for me on my PS4. The graphics looked amazing, the gameplay seemed pretty neat, and overall it just looked like a great game.
Thankfully, I wasn't entirely disappointed.
The character creator still tends to take away a lot of my gameplay time since I always want to create the right person, and the CC in this game doesn't disappoint.
I also like the range of different types of weapons, as well as the Palico companion. I'll admit that I'm not really versed with Monster Hunter since this is the first I've actually played, so I don't know how critical of a role they play in the past games. I am...however, a little disappointed that you didn't get to choose your race since the game clearly shows that there's multiple ones...but I imagine that's another tidbit I might have missed on past games that would explain that one.
So far the combat is pretty good. It reminds me of Dark Souls and other hack and slash titles (specifically Dark Souls because certain aspects are very similar), but minus the difficulty of games like D.S. Although admittedly I haven't gotten incredibly far in the game, so perhaps there's a difficulty spike somewhere down the road that I haven't hit yet.
I'm a bit...torn on the "open" aspect of it. From what I've seen with at least the beginning map, it's definitely open...but it's also not. Oh, how do I phrase this? Think Twilight Princess to where you can cruise the map at your leisure (though in TP's case, it's only when you've hit a certain point)...but there's still definite borders. It's not like games like Skyrim or Breath of the Wild to where you get the entire map with no questions asked except for if you really do like dying by cliff fall (say like, Assassin's Creed Origins after the prologue or throughout Discovery Mode), but you do still get free run of the map after the tutorial (or more precisely during your first expedition).
I also still get continuously annoyed with the tutorial or hand-holding part of the game. I get the story aspect of it, such as being shown everything around town since you're new there. But at the same time, I'd rather discover these things for myself rather than having to walk at a snail's pace and listen to characters talk about those places.
I did, however, like that it didn't entirely hold your hand for combat. You basically learn it on the fly and hands on rather than the game stopping and telling you how to do everything. The latter always bugs me with games, especially with sequels of games that I've already played.
Admittedly, I also would have liked it if the multiplayer aspect wasn't integrated into the solo aspect. I understand that games can be nicer with friends, but I would have rather seen the solo and multiplayer completely separated rather than having them mixed in. I don't like having to get ready to start a quest, waiting for it to load rather than it being a completely fluid thing, and likewise having to wait and tell the system each time that you don't want people to take part with you.
In a sense, that breaks the immersion I'm trying to have with the game when you have to wait for a quest to load because it's trying to make it a multiplayer experience. If you want that, then have it as a separate MMO type of deal that you can access in the main menu as opposed to mixing it into the solo aspect.
Other than those bits though, it's still a pretty solid game. If I get through some of my other games I'm trying to beat quicker, then I'll devote some more time to it.
