Monster Hunter: World
Capcom · RPG, Action, Open World
Overview
Welcome to a new world! In Monster Hunter: World, the latest installment in the series, you can enjoy the ultimate hunting experience, using everything at your disposal to hunt monsters in a new world teeming with surprises and excitement.
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Welcome to a new world! Take on the role of a hunter and slay ferocious monsters in a living, breathing ecosystem where you can use the landscape and its diverse inhabitants to get the upper hand. Hunt alone or in co-op with up to three other players, and use materials collected from fallen foes to craft new gear and take on even bigger, badder beasts!
Overview
Battle gigantic monsters in epic locales.
As a hunter, you'll take on quests to hunt monsters in a variety of habitats.
Take down these monsters and receive materials that you can use to create stronger weapons and armor in order to hunt even more dangerous monsters.
Setting
Once every decade, elder dragons trek across the sea to travel to the land known as the New World in a migration referred to as the Elder Crossing.
To get to the bottom of this mysterious phenomenon, the Guild has formed the Research Commission, dispatching them in large fleets to the New World.
As the Commission sends its Fifth Fleet in pursuit of the colossal elder dragon, Zorah Magdaros, one hunter is about to embark on a journey grander than anything they could have ever imagined.
A World That Breathes Life
There are various locations teeming with wildlife. Expeditions into these locales are bound to turn up interesting discoveries.
A Diverse Arsenal, and an Indispensable Partner
Your equipment will give you the power to need to carve out a place for yourself in the New World.
The Hunter's Arsenal
There are fourteen different weapons at the hunter's disposal, each with its own unique characteristics and attacks. Many hunters acquire proficiency in multiple types, while others prefer to attain mastery of one.
Scoutflies
Monster tracks, such as footprints and gashes, dot each locale. Your Scoutflies will remember the scent of a monster and guide you to other nearby tracks. And as you gather more tracks, the Scoutflies will give you even more information.
Slinger
The Slinger is an indispensable tool for a hunter, allowing you to arm yourself with stones and nuts that can be gathered from each locale.
From diversion tactics to creating shortcuts, the Slinger has a variety of uses, and allows you to hunt in new and interesting ways.
Specialized Tools
Specialized tools activate powerful effects for a limited amount of time, and up to two can be equipped at a time. Simple to use, they can be selected and activated just like any other item you take out on a hunt.
Palicoes
Palicoes are hunters' reliable comrades out in the field, specialized in a variety of offensive, defensive, and restorative support abilities.
The hunter's Palico joins the Fifth Fleet with pride, as much a bona fide member of the Commission as any other hunter.
From the game's Steam store page.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT10,000 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
1. Summary
Players treat Monster Hunter: World as the high point of the series on PC. They praise heavy, deliberate combat across what reviewers count as 14 weapon types, each with its own moveset, along with fights against big, memorable monsters and a loop of hunting, carving and crafting that some say kept them playing for hundreds of hours. Others add that the maps feel like living ecosystems and that the game still looks good and runs well years after release. Monster Hunter Wilds comes up often, and those comparisons mostly favor World. Some reviewers call Iceborne, the expansion, essential.
Story cutscenes can't be skipped, and in story co-op each player has to start a quest alone and sit through its cutscene before friends can join. The slow, tutorial-heavy opening puts off some new players within a few hours. A few players compare endgame decoration and crown farming to gambling, and some find the controls and menus stiff on PC.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Combat depth and 14 distinct weaponsHigh
Long positive reviews often center on the combat. Players describe each weapon as its own moveset to master, and some replay the game just to learn another. One wrote that "every weapon offers a distinct, rewarding playstyle". Fans like that hits feel heavy and every swing is a commitment, and that same weight is what some newcomers call clunky (see below).
Monster fights that feel like boss battlesHigh
Nergigante, Rathalos, Velkhana, Rajang and Fatalis are the monsters reviewers name as highlights, and some compare a hunt to a Souls-style boss fight. Players describe learning a monster's patterns until they can finally beat it as the payoff.
An addictive loop with huge value for the moneyHigh
"Just one more hunt" is how a few players sum up the loop: fight, carve parts, craft better gear, take on a harder monster. Players who bought it cheap on sale, some of them together with Iceborne, say they got hundreds of hours from it. One review put it plainly: "If you enjoyed the base game, Iceborne is a must-have."
A living world and beautiful mapsMedium
Reviewers point to turf wars between monsters, scoutflies for tracking, small wildlife and layered maps as what makes a hunt feel natural. One compared it with Rise: "World's maps are living ecosystems. Rise's maps are... maps." Others say the visuals hold up against newer games.
Preferred over Wilds and RiseMedium
Comparisons with the newer games come up often and mostly favor World. Players say it runs better than Wilds, has more substance, and feels more grounded than Rise. A smaller group prefers Rise's speed or Wilds' quality-of-life features.
Co-op hunts and a helpful communityMedium
Reviewers often name hunting with friends or answering SOS flares as their favorite way to play, and a few newcomers thank veteran players for carrying them and teaching them the game.
Palicos, music and charmLow
The cat companions, the Meowscular Chef and the soundtrack get warm mentions, along with layered armor for fashion.
Runs well on modest hardwareLow
Some reviewers say the game runs smoothly on older PCs, laptops and the Steam Deck.
Where players are split
The grindHigh
Reviewers who bring up the grind disagree about it. For some, farming a monster for a part is the point of the game. Others call the endgame a chore, especially leveling the Guiding Lands, Kulve Taroth and Safi'jiva sieges, and gold crown hunting.
Iceborne's endgame difficulty and the clutch clawMedium
Reviewers place Fatalis, Alatreon, Raging Brachydios and Furious Rajang in Iceborne's endgame. Some call those fights the series at its best, and others call them unfair damage checks. The clutch claw, which reviewers describe as an Iceborne mechanic for tenderizing monster parts, also divides them: some like the mobility it adds, while others resent that tenderizing became close to mandatory. One player called the game "one less clutch claw away from being a perfect game".
Learning curve and deliberate, committed combatMedium
Some players say the game only "clicked" on a second or third try and then became a favorite. Others never adjusted to committed animations, sheathing to run or heal, and tank-like movement; one wrote "i kept fighting the controls more than the monsters sometimes".
The storyMedium
Opinions on the story split. Some reviewers call it thin, forgettable or meh and say the hunts carry the game anyway. Others call it good, and a few say it gets better in Iceborne.
Defender and Guardian gearLow
What reviewers describe as free bonus gear speeds players through the early game. Some newcomers like the help, while veterans warn that it removes the challenge and the reason to craft.
What frustrates players
Story co-op locked behind solo cutscenesHigh
This is a recurring complaint in negative reviews, and some positive reviews mention it too. Before friends can join a story quest, each player has to start it alone, watch the cutscene, then leave and rejoin through SOS or the quest board. "Forcing players to watch story cutscenes before joining a quest is a baffling design choice that kills momentum." Another reviewer said "It completely kills the flow".
Unskippable cutscenes and a slow openingHigh
Story cutscenes cannot be skipped, a complaint found in both negative and positive reviews, and the opening hours are heavy on walking, tutorials and pop-ups. A few negative reviews say the long intro or the tutorial chatter is why they refunded.
Hitboxes, roars and monsters that run awayMedium
Players complain about attacks that connect when they look dodged, stun chains from roars, tremors and wind pressure, and monsters that fly off mid-fight or barge into a hunt. One negative review put it bluntly: "you will suffer from hitboxes"
RNG decorations and crownsMedium
Endgame builds depend on random decoration drops, and some players say rare jewels took them hundreds of hours. One review lists among its drawbacks: "Decorations require an insane amount of grinding for good ones." Another wrote: "300 hours playtime and no crit jewel yet. Desire sensor is real."
Menus, controls and onboarding on PCMedium
Some reviewers find the menus dense, the explanations thin, and keyboard and mouse controls awkward. A few say a controller and a wiki are close to required.
The HandlerLow
Mentions of the story companion are mostly playful jokes, though some find her chatter and hand-holding grating.
Crashes, disconnects and Windows 10 supportLow
A small group reports crashes (some name the ERR12 error), session disconnects and lost hunt progress. One player who still recommends the game wrote: "The game's great, but I can't recommend it as it constantly crashes on Windows 10." In late September and October 2025 a cluster of negative reviews followed what reviewers describe as an announcement that Windows 10 support would end, from players worried the game would stop running for them.
No pause and always-online sessionsLow
A few solo players want to pause a hunt and play without an online session.
3. The player conversation
The tone is warm and often devoted, and short reviews include lines like "peak Monster Hunter" and "better than Wilds". Wilds shapes a lot of the conversation: some players say they came back to World after trying the newer game and prefer it. Negative reviews fall into two rough groups. Newcomers quit in the opening hours over cutscenes, tutorials, co-op hoops and stiff controls, while complaints from players further in center on the Iceborne endgame, the clutch claw and decoration RNG. The week starting 2025-09-29 brought the one sharp dip in a busy week, driven by Windows 10 support concerns, and the positive share recovered the following week.
4. What the developers could do
- Let parties start story quests together. Having to watch story cutscenes alone before friends can join is a recurring complaint, from negative and positive reviewers alike.
- Make cutscenes skippable and shorten the opening. A few refund stories cite the long intro and tutorial chatter, and other reviews complain about slow walking sections and pop-ups.
- Add a fallback for rare decorations and crowns. Players describe hundreds of hours without a key jewel, and a crafting or pity option would answer that directly.
- Keep the game working on Windows 10 or give players a stable legacy branch. The end of Windows 10 support that reviewers report caused the one sharp weekly dip, and some players report crashes on Windows 10.
- Improve PC controls and in-game explanations. Reviewers ask for clearer menus, better keyboard and mouse defaults and explanations that don't send them to a wiki.
- Fix crashes and session disconnects. ERR12 crashes, dropped sessions and lost hunt progress are a small but steady source of complaints.
- Make tenderizing optional rather than expected. Clutch claw complaints come from players deep into Iceborne's endgame.
- Add a pause or offline option for solo hunts. A few solo players want to stop a hunt without leaving it.
