Gotta Catch’em All
I’m going to say this flat out. If you’ve any interest in smashing down giant monsters with oversized weapons in a beautifully crafted open world, Monster Hunter World is a must-buy. What has historically (for almost 20 years in its legacy) been a fairly provincial fan-favorite in Japan and a bit too convoluted for Western audiences, MHW has seemingly created a perfect package for newcomers.
Source: Game Crate
I won’t go into a technical review, which you can find plenty of on mainstream Youtube sites (of which I highly recommend ACG), but instead, I’ll focus on one aspect that is a bit lost in today’s games and could really benefit from some innovative revival.
The Beauty of the Grind
Grinding. No, not the hormonal dance that teenagers were obsessed with in the early 2000s. I’m talking about turning tedium into personal growth. Grinding is when you spiral your way upwards in a game, performing basically the same task again and again. The setting, enemies, weapons, and skillsets will change but all along the same formula. During this type of gameplay, you become more adept at the limited bracket of techniques you do have and incrementally improve on the nuanced spaces of improvement like timing, preparation, and so forth.
The classic example of grinding in modern game history is the Diablo series, of which the famed developer Blizzard brought to worldwide attention. The formula was fairly simple but quite addictive - you choose a role, fight your way level-by-level, defeat a boss before the next phase, and eventually do it all again after full completion. The grind was rewarded with better gear, better stats, and better skills, all of which you put the ultimate test against other players. This chemistry soaked up countless hours of my childhood, as I’m sure it did for millions of people around the world.
The appeal of grinding has somewhat waned in recent years with that formula being replaced by the ‘open-world’ qualities offered by franchises like the Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and The Witcher, which all pulled apart the repetitive formula with more chunks of story and exploration. I would argue that all of these successes are built upon the structure of The Grind, simply embellished with added functionality and engagement.
Monster Hunter World brings back the spirit of its previous iterations and Diablo in full vengeance. It even strips away some fundamental components of these types of games like the “class” attribute that usually funnels you down a narrower path. Instead, you’re free to switch between one of a dozen weapon choices that determine your skill set. You go off into the world, destroy and poach monsters, and continue to improve the armor and weaponry you have with those acquired materials. The beauty of the grind.
Source: Monster Hunter World
This game has been met with universal applause but I’m honestly a bit skeptical in the long-term adoption of this franchise in the Western world. Gamers, and societal members in general, are short-circuiting their patience meters for quite some time now and as a result, we see more and more games with flashy sequences and less and less with slower pacing. Case in point, the poor reception of Kingdom Come Deliverance (which I’m personally picking up in the next week or two to try out once patches are released). I certainly hope MWH isn’t a flash in the pan type of reception.
Anyway, I see a lot of Steemians actually diving into this game so I’m interested to see your responses. Does this type of game have what it takes to keep up with an environment that’s all about E-Sports, insane narrative jumps, and layers upon layers of functionality?
