There is a video from 2016 of Central Park in New York being completely filled with Pokémon Go players. I still remember one summer day that year, my landlady stopped me and asked me about the game because she had seen people playing it on the streets of Oslo. It’s no exaggeration to say that the Pokémon Go phenomenon is unprecedented. The real-life Gotta Catch ‘Em took the world by storm and still has nearly 80 million active players today.
So it’s no surprise that others want to follow suit, with Capcom’s critically acclaimed Monster Hunter series now a mobile game roughly equivalent to Pokémon Go. In fact, the same developer Niantic is behind it, so even if all of their attempts haven’t been very lasting, they have an impressive track record in the genre. The question is whether they can repeat the success they’ve had with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s hugely popular game series.
Although the battle is simple, you can also attack special parts of the monster to obtain special monster parts if you succeed.
The game starts with a clear, consistent, and slightly long tutorial. I learned everything I needed to know, and the game held my hand tightly, so I gained all the knowledge I needed to further my adventures. There are missions like “kill X monsters” and “collect X items”, and the goal in the beginning is to level up and collect stuff so I can upgrade my gear. The first few encounters with the monsters were easy, I killed them in a few hits, and the gameplay requires you to simply tap repeatedly on the screen to have your character reduce their health to zero. However, it’s the game’s bigger monsters that provide the real challenge – though I didn’t encounter any at all during my playtime. The same principle applies; tap the screen to assassinate, but now you also need to swipe aside to avoid the monster’s attacks. The only thing you really need is a good enough weapon that you can handle the game’s combat with ease. These are timed. 75 seconds is how long you have to kill a monster, so all combat is quick and perfect for the mobile format.
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The sample dictionary displays information about the game’s different monsters.
Graphics are functional and stylish for a phone. But that’s it – pretty neat for a phone. Things like sometimes needing to load maps, issues connecting to the network, and other things are all areas that impact the gameplay experience, but it doesn’t ruin it, you accept it. After all, you’re not playing games on a PC or console.
In addition to killing monsters at a steady pace, there’s a lot of focus on your gear. You can use the materials you collect to upgrade and even forge new ones, ensuring your weapons are the best they can be and making combat easier. Because, as you level up, the really difficult monsters start to appear, keeping track of your weapons and armor is crucial. And even with some special attacks thrown in, the actual combat with the monsters is still as simple as the game is designed to get; tap the screen to stab, swipe to dodge. You always have a simple button press for first aid, and here I can feel they could have created a deeper, more refined system. I know they’re approaching this in a simple way that should work smoothly and quickly, but it also becomes very repetitive when all encounters are the same, no matter how big and scary your opponent is.
The AR feature of the game is interesting.
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The biggest monsters in the game can also be viewed in your environment, as in real life. AR mode is accessible via buttons, and you can see them interact where you are. The AR mode is cool, although far from perfect. The monsters tend to hover above the ground, but it’s still fun to see them rolling around or performing other actions in a realistic environment. Definitely something to try every time you come to a new environment and a new monster to discover. Even if it doesn’t look completely perfect visually.
The game’s map is divided into different areas such as forests, swamps, and deserts, with some monsters found in one area and some in others. The areas themselves are small, so walking between them doesn’t require a lot of steps. I think the map itself is pretty boring visually, but I like the idea of traveling between different areas and I think it’s clear with good illustrations when you’re out looking for things. The game also has a really nice dictionary for all monsters that has facts, and you can see how many times you’ve killed a certain type.
It’s just moving around in the real world that Monster Hunter Now takes advantage of everything the game does well. Go for a walk, no matter what environment you’re in, seeing an icon on the game map and trekking there to get some materials or fight a specific monster is what makes it unique. I started walking in the forest, found where I wanted to hike, and went there. Labeling the rings you can interact with is also very generous, making it easier to actually access the illustrations you want.
The map is a bit dull and doesn’t always load very well, but the ability to interact with everything within the ring is clever.
Since Monster Hunter Now is a free-to-download game, it’s certainly possible to buy things in-game with real money. However, I never felt the need to play games. Things come to you at a steady pace, with no hurdles or wait times you need to spend money to get through or shorten.
I’m someone who usually gets tired of mobile games pretty quickly. I’m a gamer and enjoy playing games on PC or console and using my phone for other things. But Monster Hunter Now not only manages to capture the essence of this type of mobile game, but it also makes it stylish and fun. Monster Hunter Now definitely succeeds in being the perfect companion that you can easily take with you wherever you go. This can turn taking a walk or any other occasion with your phone into a lot of fun.
