Monster Hunter has established itself as one of Capcom’s most unique franchises over the course of nearly two decades, and many of its games have each come with innovations of their own. Throughout all the experimentation its formula has seen, Monster Hunter has explored several different styles of gameplay and gimmick alike. 2018’s Monster Hunter: World reinvigorated the series with a fresh, approachable take, and rumors of its upcoming sequel have started to cause fans to reflect on what changes the next title should feature.

While Monster Hunter Rise may be the most recent release, World is often seen as a landmark moment for Monster Hunter in the modern era. Rise focuses more on pure combat than ever, bringing new mobility options that have transformed the gameplay. World has a similar main focus on taking down monsters, but there can still be more to the experience. Across its large maps dotted with items waiting to be gathered and combined for simple uses, and certain quests that emphasize obtaining specific items over defeating creatures, Monster Hunter: World has evoked a sense of the lost past that could bring a new level of immersion to its successor.

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The Legacy of Monster Hunter's Survival Mechanics

Monster Hunter games are famous for their epic battles that can see players toppling towering beasts, but the series has always been about more than simple violence. Not just about combat, the actual hunting aspect of the game has taken a backseat when compared to the classic entries. Early releases in the series starting with even the first game back in 2004 made important use of items like Hot Drinks for environmental resistance, Paintballs for tracking monsters, and even limited Whetstones for weapon sharpness. With World and Rise having totally streamlined features like these in favor of focusing more purely on monsters, some players have begun to remember the past more than ever.

One of the most controversial entries in the series, Monster Hunter Dos was the original sequel and sought to go in a direction far removed from the modern design of the games. Emphasizing the survival mechanics of being a hunter more than any other in the franchise, Dos is both praised and panned for its unwillingness to let players simply run into battle like in Rise or even World. With a changing world and its items affected by its day/night cycle and shifting seasons, Dos’ gameplay required a level of preparation and optimal usage of available materials that could bring a lot to Monster Hunter's future.

Monster Hunter World 2 Can Improve On More Than Just Combat

The benefits of streamlining several of the franchise’s classic item-gathering and crafting systems in World are more than apparent when the quality of the game’s monster encounters is taken into consideration, but that doesn’t mean that the next game of its style has to continue this trend. Many players may desire to simply get to the action in their hunts, but other action games that are more purely focused on combat and bosses already serve to fill that role. If the follow-up to World truly seeks to capture the spirit of the classic Monster Hunter franchise, the player’s decisions outside of battle need to have a bigger impact again by making gathering as important as hunting.

Rise may have already continued to shift in the franchise in the opposite direction with its high mobility combat, but there's no reason that two separate lines of games can't coexist and emphasize the different sides of the Monster Hunter franchise. If Rise eventually receives a follow-up that leans even more heavily into pure action, then it stands to reason that Monster Hunter: World’s own sequel could work to live up to its namesake in a way that honors the past like never before.

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