13 August 2023 , 12:00
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Monster Hunter 6 looks like it could be announced very soon, and with that in mind I want to delve into some fundamental mistakes Capcom has made with previous entries, and missed opportunities that will only make the game better if we see them implemented in the legendary series.
Capcom is set to release a title by March 2024 that it expects to "sell millions" and the smart money is on Monster Hunter 6. Considering Street Fighter 6 and Resident Evil 4 both released this year, that really only leaves one candidate that's almost guaranteed to sell millions, and it's another Monster Hunter. Let's not forget that Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter Rise are the two best-selling Capcom games of all time, it's not a stretch to expect to sell millions of units with a new entry.
I've been playing the series since Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and the latest entry – Monster Hunter Rise –is my favourite in the franchise so far. So whatever the next instalment is called Monster Hunter 6 or something else – it has some big shoes to fill.
On that note, here's a list of six things I want to see from Monster Hunter 6, based on the game being a PS5 and Xbox Series X|S follow up to Monster Hunter: World.
PC version at launch
Monster Hunter has skipped PC at launch three times in the last five years. Monster Hunter: World arrived on PS4 and Xbox One in January 2018, with the PC version not arriving until August of that year. The same thing happened with the Iceborne expansion which came to consoles in September 2019, before arriving on PC in January 2020. The wait for Monster Hunter Rise was even worse; that launched on Nintendo Switch in March 2021, with the PC release taking almost a year – finally arriving in January 2022.
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Thankfully Monster Hunter Rise's Sunbreak expansion launched simultaneously on Switch and PC, so hopefully that's a good omen for the future.
Crossplay and cross-progression
When Monster Hunter Rise arrived on the PC, PlayStation, and Xbox I was keen to jump back in. There was one problem though: I had 100+ hours on my save, and I wasn't going to start over again. Not only that, but I couldn't play multiplayer with any friends on other platforms. I would've gladly double dipped if these features were available in Monster Hunter Rise, but sadly it wasn't meant to be.
Capcom's other major multiplayer titles like Street Fighter 6 and Exoprimal sadly don't support cross-progression either. But both have crossplay available so hopefully this trend continues at the very least.
Smoother multiplayer
The single biggest issue with Monster Hunter: World is how awkward the multiplayer experience is for story mode, with a bunch of hoops to jump through if you don't want to solo the campaign. For example, story missions don't open up for co-op play until everyone involved has played through the intro and watched the cutscene in their own campaigns. Essentially, you're not playing the campaign together – you're running through on your own story until you and your buddies are at the same point and can finally hop into each other's game.
It's not a requisite for every story mission, but it is for the vast majority and it can be very annoying and a time sink. This was changed in Monster Hunter Rise to be more like the classic titles where solo and multiplayer missions were split into different hubs, but it shouldn't need to be that way. Let people get spoiled if it means you'll get to play Multiplayer with your pals in a simple way.
New weapons / classes
I feel like this is a more obvious one, but the last time a new weapon was introduced to the Monster Hunter series was way back in Monster Hunter 4 with the Insect Glaive and Charge Blade. That was 10 years ago and while changes like the special moves found in Monster Hunter Generations and Monster Hunter Rise did keep things fresh, it would be nice to see a new class.
Weapons and classes are synonymous in the series, so Capcom could introduce Pauldrons for a fast paced boxer archetype, or even a gunslinger archetype who can dual wield handheld Bowguns. Or you could even adapt the Monster Hunter Frontier / Explore exclusive weapons like the Tonfa, Magnet Spike and Accel Axe and bring them to the main series.
Ditch Rampage
The biggest issue with Monster Hunter Rise are the Rampage missions. Rampage is a tower defence mode in which you set up traps and weapons to attack a horde of monsters to stop them from getting into your base. The Rampage missions feel like an extension of the mission in Monster Hunter: World where you fight the Zorah Magdaros – except you have to do it several times over the course of the story.
They aren't inherently bad, but it never feels like something that is anywhere near as interesting as the core gameplay. They're a bit better in multiplayer, but you have to play a number of Rampage missions solo throughout the campaign. Obviously a lot of work has been put into Rampage but in my opinion, it's time that could've been better spent on more monsters or areas being brought into the game; it just felt like a bit of a letdown.
Difficulty changes
Another issue present in Monster Hunter Rise – despite being my favourite game in the series – is that it's far too easy at points. Taking down monsters in 10 minutes is far more underwhelming than the longer hunts found in prior entries. That being said, this may be due to the big changes made in Rise like Wirebugs and switch skills.
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While I adore the Wirebugs and the movement options they brought to the game, they were too overpowered for their own good. Being able to recover from an attack in mid-air trivialised some of the fights in the game.
Ideally Capcom will find a way to keep the movement options available from Wirebugs – and the verticality they bring – while balancing them appropriately to bring back the tension found in even the earliest fights of the prior entries.