Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Review – Exactly what I expected. And even more

Great expansion for an excellent game. More monsters, new features and the same challenging gameplay. Must buy for fans.

Producing an expansion for Monster Hunter Rise sounds like a simple task. More monsters, more gear, ok. Capcom could make it relatively easy for itself, but Sunbreak spares no effort to let you delve even deeper into the world of Rise and put your skills to the test with new challenges. The result is a more than successful expansion.

One that ultimately doesn’t offer more than “more stuff”, garnished with a few new features, but that’s enough, right? I do. Sunbreak takes you to a brand new region, with a new hamlet, new characters and of course new quests to complete. In other words, there are more monsters to hunt. Why else would you play Monster Hunter? Sure, in between you always have small respites in the village before you go hunting again. It’s the core gameplay loop of Monster Hunter, and Sunbreak is no different.

Monsters, we need more monsters!

Accordingly, said monsters are the highlight in Sunbreak. From relatively easy to “damn it, how am I supposed to do that?” there is everything your heart desires. You can try it alone or you can enlist fellow players for support. On top of that, there are special new quests where you travel with AI partners. But they are specifically designed, you can’t hire the little helpers for all quests. Too bad actually.

Defeating the new monsters requires new equipment. All available weapon types are served, you can also put on new armor and the like. There’s more of everything you’d expect in an expansion like this. The alternating art exchange provides even more flexibility, with which you can basically switch between two loadouts spontaneously at the push of a button. This may take some getting used to at first, but once you get into the flow, you use it effectively in combat and dynamically adjust your tactics. One of those features you didn’t think you needed – well, to need you don’t do it in that sense – but which ultimately enrich the fight.

Don’t get me wrong, all of the new monsters are challenging, and that’s purely on purpose. Capcom deliberately went down a specific path here and doesn’t offer a way to launch Sunbreak until you’ve reached a specifically chosen point in the main game. The devs want you to be prepared and experienced, having put in I don’t know many hours into Rise. Somewhere a pity that there is no shortcut, but also understandable. If you can master the tricks of the game, you should definitely have more fun with Sunbreak than you would if you could boost yourself to the desired point and jump in without any previous knowledge. However, this is not an ideal solution for players who want to switch platforms.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Review – Conclusion

So the crucial question is: Is Sunbreak worth it? If you loved or enjoyed playing Monster Hunter Rise, buy this expansion and you will be happy with it. Sunbreak freshens up the fights, the new monsters are great new additions and when you’re not out hunting you’re soaking up the nice, harmonious atmosphere of this game world. Ultimately, that’s exactly what you can expect from a successful expansion. It’s by no means child’s play, but Monster Hunter has never been like that. In any case, it is worth taking on these new challenges. Once the hunting fever has grabbed you, it won’t let you go so quickly.