PREVIEW Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, the simple but effective extension

The Calamity may have disappeared, but your thirst for hunts and adventures will not go away like that. Capcom keep an eye out, like for its big brother Monster Hunter: World in its time, the time has come for the publisher to push the limits of monster hunter rise. The title released on Switch in March 2021 (then on Steam in January 2022) seduced us in more ways than one. We then discovered an episode which continued the evolution of the series started by Monster Hunter: World. His thing was also to make the experience made in Capcom more accessible for those uninitiated in monster hunting, and incidentally to make the whole thing more fluid. A box full in substance for an ever wider audience. These players, they are seasoned today and they rightly demand content end game more adapted. New hunts in the same style as the main adventure and that’s exactly what gives them Sunbreakeven if it seems basic at first glance.

Sunbreak is full of these ideas that don’t transform the experience, but greatly enrich it.

The extension of monster hunter rise is not, however, stingy with novelties. The tone is set from the start when you arrive in the new and distant Elgado. It is from his outpost that you will be able to browse for the first time The Citadel. As its name suggests, this new biome has the particularity of sheltering the fortress of an ancient kingdom which today serves as a refuge for large critters. Explorers will also appreciate the expanses of ice that sometimes mingle with the lush forests in the area. In short, it’s a whole new playground for you, and that goes with a whole battery of improvements and additions that are more or less life-changing. Climbing walls, for example, no longer requires propelling oneself. A simple run, dodge or fall is enough to make you run vertically.

We can only appreciate the efforts made for a smoother handling. Compromises that confirm the idea that Capcom continues its accessibility work. This is just one example, however Sunbreak is full of these ideas that do not transform the experience, but enrich it considerably. The fauna and flora include new arrivals such as the Ruby Filoptera and Gold which among other things improve your ability to ride wyverns. It is also necessary to rely on the techniques silk bond provided for each weapon in the game or the ability to quickly switch from one customizable set to another. Sunbreak perfectly fulfills its role of extension as the list is still long. However, it must be recognized that he does so without any panache. We expect no less disruption from gameplay from a DLCs sold at full price. Moreover, this is what we were able to observe quite quickly by attending two hunts in hands off.


Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak obviously introduces an untold story in which a trio of creatures dubbed The Three Lords threatens Elgado. This oligarchy is made up of Elder Dragon Malzenogolem Garangolm as well as Lunagaron which interests us here since it is to his killing that we have been invited. It is clear that we have witnessed a very standard confrontation despite the novelties on all floors. Four hunters who pound a creature for long minutes to then skin it and make armor, it’s finally quite agreed for the series monster hunter. And although the game is usually enjoyed in groups, Sunbreak has the originality of focusing on a solo experience. With the new biome and the new monsters, the Paragon Missions are the other big feature that comes with Sunbreak. These are solo quests where an NPC fromElgado or of Kamura assists you during a hunt. Everyone has their own style, it’s up to you to associate yourself with the bot having the style that best suits yours. The initiative is good, that is in any case what we were able to observe during a mission that led to the Sergios, a dragon as dangerous as it is popular with fans. To note that Sunbreak also introduces the new difficulty Master Ranka challenge greater than anything you’ve known before and which offers new skills as a bonus to the monsters already present in monster hunter rise.

Our first impressions: Good!

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Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak does exactly what we expect of it. The content is solid and the improvements are numerous enough to revive the interest of the end game with veterans of this opus and the series in general. Nevertheless, all the images we have seen constantly remind us that we are dealing with a “simple” extension which at no time transcends the experience we already know, contenting itself instead with making it even more pleasant.

The Switch version of Monster Hunter Rise is available for €39.94 on Amazon.

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