Nintendo’s Direct Mini kicked off with a brand-new reveal: Monster Hunter Rise, a brand-new experience created exclusively for the Switch. In terms of gameplay, the core objective seems to remain the same; Go out into the world and beat up a giant lizard with your stick until it falls over.
However, with Rise, Capcom is looking to mix up the familiar formula a bit, introducing new mechanics and gameplay elements to the beloved series.
Taking cues from the wildly popular Monster Hunter World, Rise is introducing seamless locales, with the boundaries and loading screens persistent in the older entries to the franchise now seemingly gone for good. Movement options have also been altered, allowing players to climb and scale surfaces with ease, like a monster-hunting ninja. The newly introduced Wirebug will enable hunters to zip around in any direction they want, anywhere they want, adding a whole new level of freedom for hunters.
Four new monsters have been confirmed for the game: the bird wyvern Aknosom with its stupid plumed-head, the scythe-tailed Great Izuchi, the powerful amphibian Tetranadon, and the new Flagship Monster Magnamalo. All look like great hunts and will look even better turned into armour.
Finally, the biggest and most important addition is the new companion type, Palamutes. Not only will you be joined on hunts by your faithful Palicos (the cat companions which remain cuter than any talking cat has a right to be), players will now be joined by a Palamute, our new dog-esque buddy. They can even be ridden directly into battle! Palamutes seem to function similarly to the Raider Ride mechanic introduced in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, meaning you can drink potions, eat food, and not consume any stamina while riding them. Man’s best friend, indeed.
More Monster Hunter Rise details will be shared during the Tokyo Game Show 2020 on the 25th of September, with a further breakdown planned for the following day during Capcom’s presentation. The game itself drops for Nintendo Switch March 26, 2021.