2021 is bringing a couple of new additions to the Monster Hunter series and both of them are going to be on the Nintendo Switch: Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, both of which were unveiled during this week’s Nintendo Direct mini showcase.
Monster Hunter Stories is a single-player RPG that follows the protag who has the ability to befriend monsters through the use of a Kinship Stone, with promise of “a rich storyline featuring charming characters, challenging quests and friendly encounters with familiar monsters from the Monster Hunter series.”
What’s most relevant to us here at MOP, though, is Rise, which takes players to the Japanese-styled Kamura Village where a monster rampage threatens the area. This new game takes a couple of queues from the wildly successful Monster Hunter World, including turf wars where monsters fight one another and a single open map that has no loading screens between areas. The game’s first previewed map, Temple Ruins, features a number of opportunities for vertical movement by use of running up sheer surfaces and using a Wirebug to jump up and swing at will. Players can also bring their usual Palico companion that offers support during hunts and a new Palamute dog friend that can be ridden like a mount and can join in the attack; players can select from combinations of these companions solo and can select only one of each companion when in four-person multiplayer
Naturally, it’s not a Monster Hunter game without monsters to hunt, and the announcement previewed several, including the marquee beast Magnamalo, the shape-shifting Aknosom, the amphibious Tetranadon, and promise of more new and returning monsters from the series. In combat, the Wirebug opens up a variety of new attacks for every weapon in the game, making combat in Rise look to be some of the fastest in the series yet.
Stories is due to release in the summer of 2021, while Rise will launch on March 26th 2021 and can be pre-ordered now. More details for both games are due to be revealed during this year’s Tokyo Game Show during presentations on September 25th and 26th. For now, trailers for both games and a Monster Hunter Direct that offers more information can be seen after the cut.
