In case you missed it, Monster Hunter: World comes out tomorrow, but reviews for the game went live earlier today, including the official GameZone review. As it stands, Monster Hunter: World sits at an average Metascore of 91, which given its prominence, and the number of reviews that have come out, makes it the first must-have game of the new year.
Just for comparison’s sake, here’s how the Metascores broke down for 2017’s Game of the Year contenders.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 97
- Super Mario Odyssey – 97
- Persona 5 – 93
- Horizon: Zero Dawn – 89
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – 85
Suffice it to say; Monster Hunter: World’s critical reception falls right in line with last year’s best. And although it’s still early, we could very well have one of 2018’s contenders on our hands beginning tomorrow, which is an exciting prospect.
Here’s what others are saying about Monster Hunter: World:
GamesRadar – 5/5
“It’s World’s brilliant world-building distilled down into a powerful, singular (even romantic) moment. The creatures in World aren’t just static boss fights waiting for you to appear and trigger them. They move around the world, interacting with smaller insects and animals, battling one another for territory and domination, hunting for prey or sleeping.”
Game Informer – 9.5 (Gold)
“Monster Hunter: World is the most accessible game in the series, and funnels new players into the core systems and mechanics over the first 20 hours of the game…By the time I hit credits after around 60, I was eager to get right back into the mix for more post-game fun.”
DualShockers – 9.5
“The story is the first significant difference among previous Monster Hunter games…Not only does it makes the title more enjoyable than its predecessors, but it helps players become more immersed in the world and invested in the hunting.”
IGN – 9.5
“Each of 14 weapon types makes combat feel like an entirely different game, from the grace and familiarity of a sword and shield to the explosive pummel of an ammo-switching Bowgun, to the downright oddity of the Hunting Horn, a massive hammer that plays stat-buffing tunes.”
Destructoid – 9
“The shift to more open maps makes everything feel like less of a corridor simulator without moving directly into the rote “map full of icons” open-world setup that’s commonly found in a lot of western games. There’s still going to be repetition in the sense that you’re revisiting the same areas, but World generally does a good job of mixing up the enemy layouts or times of day to freshen up repeat excursions.”
Monster Hunter: World releases tomorrow, January 26th, 2017.
