For all of the innovative features it introduces to the series, Monster Hunter Rise is still very much a traditional Monster Hunter game at its core. Your overarching goal is to embark on quests, then use the various materials you've gathered from those missions to forge better pieces of equipment for your hunter. It's a familiar and compelling gameplay loop, but Rise also fine-tunes the experience in some helpful ways, which Capcom recently demonstrated to us in a video presentation.
Our look at the game took us on a guided tour of Kamura Village, Monster Hunter Rise's primary hub area. Like many other aspects of the game, Kamura has a distinctly Japanese flair. The village is lined with cherry blossom trees, merchant stalls, and thatched buildings, while cat-like Felynes scurry about carrying oversized bundles on their backs.
You'll spend much of your downtime between hunts in Kamura, making use of the village's various vendors and other amenities to prepare for quests, purchase supplies, craft new gear, manage your items, and advance the story. Monster Hunter veterans will be immediately familiar with this routine, but Rise makes things a bit more manageable by introducing some welcome refinements.
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