Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless / Online)

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Review:

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is a re-release of an Action-RPG that was previously released on the 3DS, improving the graphics to better suit a TV screen. As the title implies, the game is about hunting down various largely dinosaur-like monsters and using their carcasses to craft better components for future hunts.

And you can’t talk about this game without mentioning the elephant in the room: Monster Hunter World, the game that hit the non-Switch consoles and, frankly, is better than this game in just about every way. I’m not gonna’ sugarcoat it, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate isn’t just a lesser title than World, it is laughably poor by comparison.

So first, the graphics. I mean, you knew they weren’t going to compare to the PS4 and Xbox One title, but even by Switch standards this game is somewhat lacking. This looks like a game that could have been released in the middle of the Xbox 360’s life and no one would have seen it as impressive then. That’s not to say this game looks bad, it works, but the fact that this game was originally released on the 3DS is very apparent, even with the graphics upgrade.

However, the gameplay also suffers here, largely thanks to numerous game design issues. The controls are awkward and clunky, completing a mission kicks you out of it after a required 30-second wait, meaning that not only can players not stick around to carve up monsters they just finished slaying, but players that do want to go are forced to wait for no good reason.

However, what I absolutely hate hate hate about this game is the tutorial. It is, in a word, terrible. If you want to play through all of the tutorial content so you can get a feel for everything the game has to offer, you are looking at hours upon hours upon hours of repetitive text, going in and out of carbon copy tutorial missions, and just in general being force-fed the game’s basics at such a slow pace by a teacher character who babbles on and on… by the time you actually get to the game proper, you may well be fed up with the entire thing.

In the end, it’s still a Monster Hunter game, which means that there’s some good gameplay here, but the game’s design is so clunky and unintuitive overall that it makes what should be a fun experience into a chore. As much as there’s good stuff to be found in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone but the most diehard series fans.

tl;dr – Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is an Action-RPG where you hunt down monsters to build better monster hunting equipment. Unfortunately, the interface is awkward, there are numerous frustrating elements built into the game’s design, and the game’s tutorial is a master-class in how not to design a tutorial. If at all possible, play this game’s big brother Monster Hunter World and stay away from this one.

Grade: C-

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