Monster Hunter Rise maybe one of my favorite games of 2021. It’s hard to believe that more than a year has passed since its release on Nintendo Switch. My initial playtime for it totaled about 120 hours. So, as you can imagine, I’m excited about the announcement of Sunshine expansion. Nothing gets me more excited than getting back into the game and after more than 50 hours with Monster Hunter Rise SunbreakLooks like the expansion is worth the wait.
Sunshine build on a solid foundation, extrapolate what has already been created Monster Hunter Rise well done. That’s the range of motion that players can make with the help of Wirebug. It’s a mechanic that I can’t really see myself living without at this point, and Sunbreak has added to this through the implementation of “Morphed Wirebugs”. This makes an already essential mechanic more useful.
There are a total of two Morphed Wirebugs available, Gold and Ruby, with distinct effects. Ruby Wirebug increases the amount of damage dealt by Mounted Punishes, while Gold Wirebug affects the amount of items a monster will drop when it is hit while riding a wyvern. Since I love the max, Gold Wirebug has become my evolution choice, as it helps me farm items for crafting and get better armor and weapons.
Thankfully, players can swap between Gold and Ruby Wirebugs. But only when the time spent on having one of these “evolved” wire beetles has run out. The player can equip one or the other for about 3 minutes before needing to scour the map and potentially find a replacement. While this addition seems incremental, it would be nice to have it there for species that really take advantage of a lot of endemic life.
There are also some new Silkbind skills, which add to the rather extensive list of already existing skills. Used Dual Blades in Monster Hunter RiseI like the additional Silkbind Skills in Sunshine. The Spiral Slash skill is my favorite, mainly because I’m the type of player that rushes into combat. This facilitates my playstyle and allows me to be more aggressive at the start of teamfights. And the ability to switch skills on the fly is especially useful when using the Hunting Horn. This really made the fighting way more attractive than before. It dives deeper and deeper into the faster-paced action-oriented elements of Monster hunter the sequence continues to be included in the formula since Monster Hunter: World.
However, what I’m most excited about is Follower Quest, that did not disappoint you. These new quests are a great attraction for single-player Hunters, as you can take NPCs with you on these excursions. This specific mission style is unlocked through the progression of the story, with each completed mission allowing the player to participate in the Survey Quest. While Track Quests are less liberal and tie the player to specific NPCs, Survey Quests allow for a bit more flexibility.
Players can choose which NPCs they want to accompany them on Survey Quests, and get even more weapons that specific NPCs can carry in battle. But in addition to being a great way to expand the way solo players want to interact with Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, there is a side benefit to doing these tasks. That is unlocking new armor and weapons.
While the progress of the Village and the Central Quest disappeared in Sunshine, with the two being merged for a more concise experience, it feels like the Watcher Quest has taken that spot taken by the Village quest. These feel significantly easier, especially with specific NPCs. And each NPC feels completely unique, as they have their own behaviors that really shine in the hunt. My favorite NPCs show up at the end of the Follower Quest, but that doesn’t stop me from taking them through the Survey Quest just to get a feel for what it’s like to fight alongside them.
Unfortunately, one thing is holding Sunshine back is the list of available monsters. I burned through Monster Hunter Rise, crush hours of hunting with new additions that feel meaningful and unique. But Sunshine There’s not much to offer in that regard. A good portion of the list includes variations of monsters encountered in Rise.
While there’s certainly a more mechanically complex feel going up against Malzeno, for example, it can’t make up for the small squad. Still, it’s great to see certain monsters return, and I love going up against Astalos and fighting Gore Magala for the first time. The ending of the game is also quite enjoyable and incorporates a new type of suffering (especially related to monsters, not players) in an interesting way.
But Capcom has promised plans for post-game content. As it includes the addition of more variations through future updates, the future of Monster hunter looks bright. Especially Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakas it has sold over 2 million copies since its release on June 30, 2022. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak really can only get better from here. Alike Riseit provides a solid foundation for any future content updates or series sequels.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak available for Nintendo Switch and computer.
