Jolly Cooperation: Monster Hunter World

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale for another edition of Jolly Cooperation where I take time out of my busy schedule to kick back with a friend or two (or even more!) to enjoy some co-operative shenanigans in video games. Last time, we concluded our three-part playthrough of Dying Light with an end result of me both being very satisfied and excited for the sequel. This time though, we will be moving to a game from a whole other world which also happens to be one of the most talked about co-operative titles in the recent years. 

If the title of the article and screenshots had not already given it away, my latest foray into cooperative gaming comes in the form of the latest entry to the much loved Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter: World (MHW). With Iceborne just around the corner and a very competent PC version, I decided to finally give MHW a shot. The fact that the game was on sale on Steam at the time, just served to be icing on the cake. Joining me once more on this adventure was our fellow Tiro Finale writer, Lance, who has had a great deal of experience with both MHW and the Monster Hunter series of games. Safe to say, I was going to be in capable hands. 

Nevertheless, I did have some reasonable doubts and worries coming into this new game. Some tangible such as hardware woes and others, less so which we will get to in a bit. But first, there was the issue of system requirements! MHW runs off Capcom's MT Framework Engine and on all eight generation consoles, targets a 30 frames per second mark with variable resolution depending on said console. Even from the offset, MHW is a visually demanding title evident from its presentation and is easily the most demanding MT Framework title ever to be made. As such, I had genuine concerns about performance and whether or not the game would actually run on my system at all.

From the get go, aiming for native resolution at 60 frames per second was going to be a no-no. With everything setting pushed to the lowest, I was only getting a 62 fps average and that was at idle. As such, I was going to have to temper my expectations by aiming for a more realistic 30 fps goal. Fortunately, some tweaking and adjustments later, I managed to strike a good balance between visual fidelity and a steady frame rate. While I would have loved to play MHW at 60 fps, the fact that I played on a controller certainly helped mitigate the reduction in average frame rate. Every now and then, I would still see frame rate dips in more densely textured areas and a very notable one when getting KO-ed by a monster. But, these are the concessions I have come to learn to live with. 

Moving on, there was yet another major concern as this would be my first monster-hunting title of any sort let alone from the original Monster Hunter series of games. Much of that worry was alleviated by the fact that MHW is largely considered to be the most accessible in the series by a considerable amount. Yet, still retaining the complexities that fans of the series love. Well, the good news is I certainly stuck around for longer than I had expected having sunk 32 hours into the game thus far. Those numbers are certainly trivial compared to the full extent of the game's content and there is much I have to discover. 

As far as initial impressions go, there is a lot that I love about MHW and its cooperative experience. The graphics, art, character customization and varied classes are all things that I keep coming back for. While, the complex game mechanics and unique monsters are strong points in and of itself. Objectively, I have little to complain about MHW except for maybe better optimization. Subjectively though, there is one major factor holding me back that is likely the biggest reason I have not already gone deeper into the rabbit hole that is monster hunting. And that would be, the so called thrill of the hunt. Despite the numerous monsters we have captured or taken down, never have I felt that said sense of accomplishment or satisfaction from doing so. Why exactly do I feel that way? Do I pity the monsters? Is there a lack of concrete motif to hunting these monsters other than because they are there? Do I actually miss 60 fps gaming that much? The answer is one that even I have yet to figure it out. 

For the past month of so, we have been on a hiatus from MHW as yet another co-op title has seemingly taken its place. Still, I have confidence that MHW will once again be back on the active roster in the coming weeks as I try to discover the allure of monster hunting once more. Hopefully this time, my search will be more fruitful. Until then, thank you very much for reading and have yourself a fantastic day ahead!