Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak was a surprise opening reveal for the September 2021 Nintendo Direct, but developer Capcom clearly intends to make a major event of its release. After sparse showings at venues like Tokyo Game Show last year, the upcoming "massive expansion" for Japan's most-downloaded Switch game in 2021 received a Digital Event showcase all its own this morning.
While Sunbreak is a big deal for fans, it's roughly equivalent to prior ventures like Monster Hunter World's Iceborne expansion; adding a new hub and the higher-level "Master Rank" (akin to G-Rank quests). Also included are new and returning Monsters, Astalos from Monster Hunter Generations being the latest veteran reveal, as well as expanded mechanics and "new locales" according to producer Ryoza Tsujimoto. Only one of these locales named The Citadel was discussed today, but its diversity offers hope that Sunbreak will be chock-full of monsters from all walks of life.
How Monster Hunter Map Design Has Evolved
Monster Hunter has been a key Capcom property since its first game released for PlayStation 2 in 2004. That progenitor firmly established the series' cooperative formula, in which players take the role of hunters to battle deadly creatures in a series of increasingly difficult "boss battles," but it also set the groundwork for level design that would persist almost 20 years. Like real animals, Monsters inhabit various ecosystems, and in the original those larger locales were segmented into areas that required loading screen transitions.
More shortcuts between areas and new environmental designs like Monster Hunter Tri's underwater sections and Monster Hunter 4's verticality helped to expand each title, but for the most part it was Capcom's Monsters that stole the show. Many locales could be compartmentalized into generic "ice," "forest," or "volcano" monikers, even though they were often smartly designed with unique areas like caves that offer biodiversity.
Monster Hunter World revolutionized the framework in 2018, using PS4 and Xbox One hardware to offer seamlessly connected locales that made it easier for hunters to do things like track their foes manually. Luckily Capcom was able to translate that philosophy into Rise, and the Switch title takes things a step further using grappling hook-esque Wirebugs and rideable Palamute companions.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak May Be the Series' Next Evolution
Despite the more open nature of each locale, Monster Hunter Rise's hunting grounds are mostly boxes on a checklist: Shine Ruins is the starting grasslands, Frost Islands is the ice level, Sandy Plains is the desert level, and so on. Biodiversity does exist, for example the volcano area Lava Caverns has a sizable aquatic portion where creatures like Somnacanth can appear. However, they're archetypes in spite of unique characteristics and themes.
The Citadel, a major locale that Sunbreak players can access near the new Elgado Outpost, is much harder to put into a box. The base game is more overtly Japanese-themed than typical Monster Hunter games, with just about all its Monster designs based on yokai and myths such as the gods Raijin and Fujin. Sunbreak takes this idea and runs with it for European mythos and literature, promoting the "Three Lords" players will be tasked with hunting: a sort of Frankenstein ape named Garangolm with access to Fire and Water elements, the werewolf Lunagaron that can stand on its hind legs, and headlining Elder Dragon Malzeno with vampire influences.
Each of these monsters lives in defined parts of The Citadel: deep in the woods, snowcapped mountains, and the castle ruins of an ancient civilization, respectively. The March 2022 Digital Event trailer shows hunters running about an area that seems larger than any Monster Hunter locale to-date, and its environments leave room for a bigger swath of returning enemies. On top of Garangolm, Lunagaron, and Malzeno, Capcom has confirmed Shogun Ceanataur, Astalos, and a new variant of Bishaten will appear in Sunbreak.
The size and diverse environments of The Citadel is promising thanks to how many new Monsters and Endemic Life it can hold, but Tsujimoto's promise of "locales" suggests it won't be all fans receive in the Sunbreak expansion. For a franchise that thrives on creative monster designs which lend themselves to unique equipment sets across a variety of weapon specialties, bigger is often better. Hopefully Monster Hunter Rise's new content lives up to the hype.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for PC and Switch. Its Sunbreak expansion launches on June 30, 2022.
