Unleashing the Monster? Monster Hunter: Rise on PC

The initial release of Monster Hunter: Rise was a big deal to me. I wrote plenty about it here, hot off my massive appreciation for Monster Hunter: World. Absolutely over the moon to get on board a Monster Hunter game on release. I pre-ordered, I played, and I loved it. It was even my the game of the year over at ninjarefinery.com

In short, I love Monster Hunter, and Monster Hunter: Rise was the game I spent the most time in last year. For good cause, because it’s a good game!

The drawback of Monster Hunter: Rise, though, was that it was only on Nintendo Switch, and that hampered my enjoyment a little because all of my Monster Hunter friends are on PC and Xbox.

Capcom announced the release of Monster Hunter: Rise on Steam, and whilst I was excited, I was a little burned-out. Would I want to play the whole thing again? Actually……yeah, I do if I can play with my hunter pals.

How does it differ when not constrained by the power of the Nintendo Switch, though?

Quicker and Slicker

Monster Hunter: Rise was a game that delivered a whole host of workflow improvements. Mining, sharpening, healing……all now doable on the move with your trusty Palamute.

Climbing, exploring areas, mounting and riding monsters. All improved by wirebugs. Damn, I love how much slicker the game was compared to Monster Hunter: World.

Where Rise, the game itself became a more well-oiled machine, the PC version lays on the extra oil really quite thick!

The obvious things to look at are frame rates and graphical fidelity. Monster Hunter: Rise looks better than ever on PC. No longer constrained by the CPU and GPU of the Nintendo Switch hardware, the game has been ported with uncapped frames, and higher resolution textures and you’re able to give it more RAM and VRAM than it was ever built to anticipate!

Monster Hunter: Rise on PC is a little hampered by the fact that it was built on Capcom’s new RE Engine and tailored to get the most out of the Switch hardware. Of course, building a game to that spec, means you’re building it to meet specific needs, from storage to processor usage.

The PC version isn’t a remake, it’s more of a port with significant operational improvements. That’s not to say it’s not great, but it does mean that the environments are the same, the world hasn’t grown or expanded. It’s just a prettier, quicker and more fluid version of my beloved Switch version.

It’s all good

Truth be told, I’m happy it’s not a significant change. Monster Hunter: Rise is, to me, an exceptional game. Delivering a huge, in-depth experience to the Nintendo Switch owner. Being able to open her up a bit and run more freely on PC is just a bonus.

Added to that is the fact that my friend’s list on Steam is active with people playing it. I’m no longer isolated and reliant on random strangers (although I rarely had a bad time doing so). So yeah, I’m re-playing a game I love, with people I want to play it with. What’s not to love?

Still kinda hampered with the weird matchmaking features, it’s never easy, but hey. That’s the full Monster Hunter: Rise experience!

I’m mostly torn now, though. Which platform do I purchase the Monster Hunter: Rise Sunbreak expansion on? I’ve invested far more time on Switch and built better gear for end game content, but my friends aren’t there. Am I willing to put in the work to get the PC version where I need to be?

Capcom hasn’t and won’t be putting in cross-save or any cross-platform features. It’s ridiculous in this day and age, honestly. It’s really hampered my potential long-term fun. Having to have two isolated instances of the same thing, to meet different needs. I’ve bought multiple copies of Monster Hunter: Rise, but I won’t be buying the expansion twice without really good reason. I hope Capcom pull something out of the bag because I love playing Monster Hunter: Rise, both with friends, and on the go.

I guess we’ll see. It won’t stop me from loving this game, but it will mean one version gets left behind as I go forwards.

Keep on keeping on

For now, whilst I fret about the Sunbreak expansion, I’m carrying on my Monster Hunter: Rise PC playthrough in anticipation of going that way.

I love this game, I love the additions, the aesthetic and the world that it brings with it. Disappointed in Capcom’s backwards decisions? Yes, absolutely. Disappointed in getting to play an all-time favourite all over again? Never.

Keep an eye out here and over at ninjarefinery.com for some more Monster Hunter: Rise coverage. I’m not 100% sure how to cover it long-term, but I know I really want to, so I’ll make it work somehow!

Let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’d like to know or you’d like to see.

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