Monster Hunter Rise Sunset is an expansion that we have been looking forward to trying out in the review phase. This is because, following the lines of Iceborne with Monster Hunter World, the amount of new and additional content that we expected was truly mammoth. In fact, of course Capcom hasn't disappointed us at all in those terms, presenting a DLC that makes the amount a great merit, without ever limiting itself to adding new features but to improving and enhancing many other playful elements that have made Monster Hunter Rise an unmissable title for fans of the series.
When we tried the expansion demo, we discovered the jungle map, the ability to change trading skills, and the fearsome Malzeno, who had clearly annihilated us. Having had the opportunity to play the full version for a fairly important amount of hours, we are now ready to talk to you in review about all the interesting news and improvements that Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak reserves.
The narrative sector takes on the task of expanding what has been done by the base game, starting directly with the defeat of the Thunder Narwa. A new threat from a distant Kingdom could radically change the ecosystem of the Monster Hunter universe, an event that brings Kamura Fioryane, a key character of the Sunbreak plot, to the gates of the village. With her we will reach the maritime outpost of Elgado, created near a huge crater generated by the creature that threatens to destroy the ecosystem, in order to be able to fight it when it would awaken.
It goes without saying that this same creature, after 50 years of sleep, has returned to create havoc and destabilize the fauna of the region. Our task will be to shed light on the events that are leading the various monsters to have anomalous behavior and eliminate the cause. This is the narrative incipit that opens the events of Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, thus continuing what has already been done in the past but still representing some excellent foundation on which to build the entire progression system.
What left us most perplexed, as we had also said during our tried, is the need to complete the original campaign and a good part of the endgame to then access the entire expansion of Sunbreak. However, after trying it we found that the choice is very apt, since the missions we will take part in will be none other than the Grand Master ones, which herald a higher difficulty level, in exchange for better rewards.
The decision fits perfectly with the choice to limit Sunbreak to all those who have completed Monster Hunter Rise and why everyone will find a very interesting challenge in their hands, and because by doing so they will be able to obtain more money and higher quality materials. Although the first missions in history have presented themselves much simpler than expected - especially because, remember, they are of the rank of Grand Master - requiring us to take down rather basic monsters, as we advance in the story we will unlock increasingly difficult hunting challenges, as proof of a decidedly well-balanced progression system.
A surprising amount of content
It is useless then to reiterate that the amount of secondary missions is extremely high, with the inhabitants of the Elgado outpost always ready to entrust us with quests of all kinds, with almost always very interesting rewards, which constantly entice the player to take part in them. If we add to these the possibility of take part in challenges together with some of the key characters of Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, we understand how much there really is to tell in this review, in terms of content.
In fact, a game mode has been added that allows you to go hunting an NPC together, making the fights much easier, especially if we can only play offline. The only real flaw of this novelty is the inability to play multiplayer, although we recognize that it would have devastated the difficulty level of the missions. In any case, it is a small, great addition that has fully convinced us.
Obviously Capcom did not limit itself to enhancing the narrative structure and the quest system of Monster Hunter Rise, choosing to introduce a very long series of improvements to all the weapons present in-game. Each of them now has many new attacks, as well as new moves with the insects, resulting in a radical change to the combo system and the consequent choice of weapons by the user. As we said earlier, we really spent an exaggerated amount of hours making this Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak review, but the novelties of the weapons were so many and so fun, that we almost didn't want to leave the pad, demonstrating how this expansion can really make all fans of the series happy.
Sunbreak evolves the combat system
Another very important news, which we had already talked about during our demo trial, and which we had already appreciated, is the possibility of interchange trading skills with a command input. In the full version we thus had the opportunity to further experiment with the many customization possibilities of the system, first of all finding the combinations we preferred and then moving on to the clashes. Now that we have been able to create the sets that best suit our combat system we can say that the mechanics adapt perfectly to any type of hunting, and we reiterate how easy and useful it is in all possible situations.
We would have preferred a little more dynamism in the animation of the exchange, perhaps integrating it better in the combos of the weapons and therefore without risking having to slow down - albeit momentarily - the pace of the clashes. In any case, if you had not already understood it, we promote with flying colors the possibility of changing the exchange skills, urging you to discover all the customization possibilities that it allows and inviting you, of course, to complete as many quests as possible to unlock new attacks as well. base and with the insects, so as to further enhance the combat system.
We have finally been able to discover the new game maps, including the outpost of Elgado. The new hub vibrates with uniqueness and makes characterization its pride, although we have already seen similar artistic directions in the past. What is interesting is how the whole area is fairly centralized, and the points of interest are well interconnected. However, let's admit that Elgado's activities aren't exactly crazy for quantity, and some specific locations are still limited to the Kamura village, thus often requiring annoying uploads.
The jungle is instead an interesting addition which, as we said during our first test, is decidedly smaller than the other maps but which still manages to offer a modest strategic advantage, thanks to its size. Moving from one part of the jungle to the other is less difficult than in other hunting and fighting areas, especially those with smaller monsters, can therefore enjoy relatively short lead times. After spending many hours in the biome, we can confirm that we were more than satisfied with how the development team managed to rework one of the most iconic maps of the second generation Monster Hunter games.
A level design always at its fullest potential
The citadel is instead an absolute novelty for the franchise, mixing purely chivalrous environments with other more hostile, almost marshy, and many others. The scenic variety and the extension are undoubtedly i greater merits of the new map, which not only offers the player the opportunity to explore a particularly large but also very varied area for a long time.
Moreover, this same diversification gave the development team the opportunity to create always different clashes, one of a kind and undoubtedly never boring.
Let's open a small parenthesis on an interesting addition of the jungle and the citadel, the two new maps of Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak and that we believe it is right to underline in the review phase. These areas in some places they have a very particular endemic fauna, positioned in a circle on specific walls: if during the mounts we launch the monsters on them we will see a great explosion and consequent massive damage to the creatures. So let's talk about a new gameplay dynamic that we really enjoyed, but that unfortunately it is never really explained in a tutorial and which we discovered relatively late in our test. Moreover, he made us a little 'turn up your nose la their absence in the maps already present in the title, unfortunately limited to the jungle and the citadel.
It goes without saying that improvements have also been made to the management and usefulness of hunting companions. Now be it Canyne that Felyne possess entirely new abilities, while canines have the opportunity to pick up some items especially if your bag is full. The Felynes, on the contrary, were upgraded with some special moves who can learn and perform completely new actions, such as creating real cannons to use during clashes.
As proof of Capcom's desire to literally take care of every detail, there is a small but interesting news regarding the kitchen system. Selecting dango, the modular food that allows you to obtain special skills active for the next mission, has been completely revolutionized: players can now decide to use a different cooking method that can increase the effects of dango at the expense of a lower percentage of ability to trigger. A double-edged sword, therefore, which contrasts with the more traditional mechanics but which, if used with a voucher, can guarantee much more interesting bonuses.
But these are just some of the most important innovations of Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, as the improvements made are so many that we could not list them all in one review. Capcom has therefore proved more than proactive in creating a thick expansion, and in our opinion it has succeeded more than well in the task. In this way, Sunbreak is a DLC that no true Monster Hunter player should miss, not so much for the new missions and monsters, but for the exorbitant amount of additions made to the entire play system.
Clearly it still needs time to be fully understood by all players, especially since many of the novelties must be unlocked by continuing in the story and also completing the secondary quests. The only real flaw may be the current shortage of new monsters, but that will undoubtedly be remedied with the arrival of future updates, which Capcom is already working on. In short, the publisher makes us understand that we will really have a lot to play, even in the coming months, and as long-time lovers of Monster Hunter we could only be enthusiastic about it.
Review- Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak (Tested on Switch) 9 Final Vote
Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak is an Expansion with a capital "E", the concretization of research of great quality and profound quantity. If the base game offered an exorbitant amount of content, Sunbreak breaks all limits and imposes itself without difficulty in the Olympus of the Monster Hunter saga. Capcom thus demonstrates its belief in the title and once again guarantees long-term support that can only dwarf the competition. In short, if you loved Rise you can't miss Sunbreak.
