The Switch hasn't been a great platform to own for Monster Hunter fans. Though Capcom did release Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate for Nintendo's hybrid, that's a decidedly last-gen Monster Hunter experience, and being stuck on the side-lines playing that while PS4, Xbox One, and PC players have a blast in Monster Hunter World and Ice borne has been, well, not fun. Thankfully, Monster Hunter Rise is almost here, as a Switch exclusive, no less, and it's looking like it's going to be another excellent entry in Capcom's beloved action RPG franchise. As we get closer to its launch, here, we're going to talk about the key details you should know about it.
Since debuting the RE Engine in 2017 with Resident Evil 7, Capcom have slowly been turning it into their primary engine for nearly all of their biggest games and franchises. Though Monster Hunter World used the MT Framework engine, the series will be making its RE Engine debut with Rise. In fact, the engine itself is making its Switch engine (although technically Ghost ‘n Goblins Resurrection, which also uses the RE Engine, is releasing first). Monster Hunter Rise is going to be running on a modified version of the RE Engine, which has been tweaked specifically for Switch-focused development.
Kamura Village will serve as your central hub and base of operations in Monster Hunter Rise. One look at the village is enough to tell you that this time Capcom are going for a very Japanese vibe with the architecture. It looks really good, and as you’d expect, the village is also going to have several facilities for players to make use of. For instance, there’s the Gathering Hub, where you can visit facilities such as the market and the the canteen, and can take on Arena Quests and Hub Quests.
Unsurprisingly, Monster Hunter Rise is promising to have a pretty large and varied world, with plenty of locations to visit and explore outside of Kamura Village. The Shrine Ruins will be one of the game’s earlier locations, and is dotted with ruins and abandoned buildings from a bygone era. There are also areas with specific themes, from the volcanic kind to the sandy desert kind to the frosty icy kind. Maps are also going to be seamless, like Monster Hunter World.
Monster Hunter Rise will be introducing several new mechanics, with Palamutes being among the biggest of the lot. Palicos are, of course, still going to be by your side, but now, you’ll also have a canine companion. Palamutes can deal damage, draw aggro, and can even be ridden, while their ability to scale walls will give the game an added layer of verticality that hasn’t been seen in Monster Hunter before.
