The same things that do monster hunter Super popular – wild boss designs, deep loot progression, and big multiplayer brawls – can make it seem inaccessible to the uninitiated. I have no idea if Monster Hunters nowNiantic’s latest augmented reality social game can be just as successful as Monster Hunter World or raise, the latest console releases in the series. But it certainly makes the basic formula accessible and engaging for anyone who wants to see what all the fuss about wielding giant swords, customizing armor, and busting bosses is about.
Niantic’s latest post-Pokemon Go Project, I got to try the upcoming mobile game at Summer Game Festival Speaking to Executive Producer Sakae Osumi and Chief Product Officer Kei Kawai, I was amazed by the simple yet engaging combat and the clever way the chase aspect was streamlined and fitted into the stop-and-go rhythm of the day-to-day life has been integrated. Monster Hunters now
Forests, grasslands, and deserts are mapped over your current location and populated with resource nodes and monsters to fight. You can activate anything in a small radius, which encourages you to run around when a particularly useful material or enemy is just outside the periphery of your current range. Once you tap a monster to fight it, you have the option to recruit other nearby players to help you, or face it alone. When the fight begins, a 75-second timer starts counting down, so each encounter is short, win or lose. The fight itself is fairly straightforward. Swipe to avoid and maneuver around enemies, while tapping will unleash an attack. Tapping and holding on it during this will power up a shield if you have one, or charge up an attack, depending on the weapon.
Stringing together tap and hold can unlock a few more moves, while each hit charges an ultimate meter that can be unleashed for extra damage. Perfectly timed evasive maneuvers also give you a short power-up to do more damage when countering. At least for the handful of battles I’ve played, there are just enough options to keep things from becoming monotonous without messing up your head.
Winning gives you more resources to craft additional gear, but if you lose, you can just try again with a different gear. Perhaps the monster’s attack patterns are more suited to a lighter weapon than a heavier one, or perhaps it is vulnerable to certain elemental effects. Bringing other players in to assist increases the difficulty of the fight, but you still have an overall advantage, especially since additional players can draw the enemy’s attention, allowing you to be more aggressive.
But Monster Hunters nowThe most fascinating feature is there in case you don’t even play it. A Palico cat companion will gather resources for you as you walk around with your phone in your pocket, or randomly tag nearby monsters. The latter allows you to create an ongoing log of monsters to fight later, whether you’re around or not. You can even meet up with friends at a coffee shop or at someone’s house to work off all your backlogs together. It’s a great way to make progress without being on the phone all day. It’s also a perfect opportunity for Niantic to monetize and we’ll see how that plays out in the future.
At the end of the day, Monster Hunters now It’s not about reinventing the series or genre with radically new ideas, but rather translating its core DNA into a more ubiquitous and accessible format. I’m not sure if the allure of outfitting my avatar with increasingly wacky looking armor sets made from monster parts will keep my attention in the long run, but Monster Hunters now is the first time the satisfaction that so many fans feel with the series is within reach. In fact, it’s exactly what I want from a new mobile hit these days that the game doesn’t take over my life.
my city covers everything Summer Game Fest has to offer, from the main show on Thursday to other events taking place over the next week. Whether you’re into oversized triple-A games or intimate, offbeat indies, this is where you can keep up to date with all things SGF.
