Capcom is aiming to change the way that players confront monsters in Monster Hunter Rise. The latest iteration in the long-running franchise is coming to the Nintendo Switch in a few weeks and thanks to the new Wirebug mechanic in play, things are a little bit different compared to 2018's Monster Hunter: World. Instead of being locked down to the ground with there being just a few ways to get set up for aerial attacks, Rise allows hunters, regardless of weapon choice, to fly (somewhat freely) through the air to not only avoid enemy attacks quickly but also traverse the environments faster and use special combos that have never been seen before in the franchise.
Capcom provided Game ZXC an early access code to try out the second Monster Hunter Rise demo. The first demo released about a month ago on the eShop, letting hunters battle against a Great Izuchi and Mizutsune. These two quests gave players ample time to complete them, and also allowed players to try out whatever weapon they want. It may seem like that's not a ton of content for a demo, but these two quests alone provide fans with multiple hours of gameplay to try out the new mechanics, explore the new locales, and see what the new monsters are up to. However, the second demo is slightly different from the first one, as it allows players to face off against the flagship monster of Monster Hunter Rise, Magnamalo.
Magnamalo is a fearsome beast that resembles a tiger, among other things. It has the ability to shoot purple flames out of its body towards players that can cause a new status ailment that's unique to Monster Hunter Rise. The status effect called Hellfireblight can cause damage to players if they're hit with one of the glowing purple balls, causing a substance to be stuck to the player. If enough time passes, the player will get hurt due to an explosion, but they can remove the blight by using specific items like deodorant or by simply dashing away with a Wirebug.
The included Magnamalo quest is far more difficult when compared to the first two quests that the demo provides. Not only is Magnamlo just a beast of a monster that deals high damage, but its quest gives players only 15 minutes to complete it and that's definitely not enough time for any Monster Hunter novice. It can take a few minutes just to get to the monster, and if a player loses a life while fighting it, they have to travel back to the location of the monster from the camp. Luckily, the Wirebugs let hunters zip around the map at high speeds and if players use their doggie companion, a Palamute, they can ride it by holding down the A button, which saves lots of time.
Facing off against Magnamalo in this quest just goes to show how powerful this new beast is. Even if players attempt to slay the monster with 3-4 different types of weapons, actually dealing damage and knocking it out is troublesome. Magnamalo, with one quick swipe, can kill hunters that aren't fully healed, and even then, the monster has attacks that can kill someone even if they have a full health bar. One of the things in the demo that also makes this fight difficult is the lack of customization options, such as skills. The armor sets with each weapon type are fixed in the demo, meaning that Monster Hunter Rise players will be using equipment with no special abilities or skills to help defeat Magnamalo.
This demo seems more like a test for the most hardcore of Monster Hunter players to see who can get the fastest times or to see who can even beat it in the first place. For anyone who's never played a Monster Hunter game before, and is interested in checking out the latest demo, they should know that doing the beginner quests first and finding an appropriate weapon that suits them should be a priority before trying to tussle with Magnamalo.
Magnamalo seems to have certainly earned the title of "flagship" monster for this upcoming entry in the series. It's an extremely tough monster to take down in this demo, but once players actually reach Magnamalo in the main game, it'll most likely be one of the final fights to end the story missions, so players will no doubt be more prepared by then.
Considering that Monster Hunter Rise is shaping up to be one of the biggest video game releases for March, it'll be interesting to see the critics' response to the difficulty of the game, if it's anything like this new demo quest.
Monster Hunter Rise will launch for the Nintendo Switch on March 26. A PC port of the game will come sometime in early 2022. Game ZXC was provided early access to the second demo for this preview.
