Whenever a new installment of a series likeMonster Huntercomes out, an age-old fan question usually rears its head: Which one is better? One way to determine this could be to look at the Metacritic ratings of the games in question.Monster Hunter Worldboats an impressive 90 average, whereasMonster Hunter Risehas only 88. That’s far from a decisive victory, however, and only a small part of a much bigger picture.
There are certain things that mere numbers simply can’t convey, not to mention the fact that patches and updates likely mean that both games are now pretty different from the ones that were originally reviewed by critics. The truth of the matter is that each one excels in certain areas, though that’s not to say that one of them doesn’t excel just a little more than the other.
Updated September 1st, 2024, by Blaise Santi: The next generation ofMonster Hunteris about to arrive with Monster Hunter Wilds, set for release in 2025. However, some players might be interested in experiencing what the franchise has to offer before deciding whether to pre-order the upcoming game. Fortunately, there are a lot of pros and cons to both Monster Hunter World, which initially released in 2018, and Monster Hunter Rise, which came out in 2021. Take a look at what each game has to offer over the other, and decide for yourself which would be the best to try out in anticipation of the franchise’s next steps!
Armor: World
The Series Long-Needed An Armor Upgrade
With the addition of DLC expansions, there are plenty more Armor sets available in bothMonster Hunter WorldandMonster Hunter Risethan in their base games. However,Monster Hunter Worldnot only reinvented the series' armor mechanics but includes an additional feature missing fromRisethat improves the overall experience.
Monster Hunter Worldfeatures Alpha and Beta armor sets, which have slightly different skill distributions among the five armor pieces. Compared toRise, it’s much easier to accrue levels of the specific skill players want with only one piece of each respective Armor set rather than needing to mix and match.
Portability: Rise
The Steam Deck Is Less Convenient Than The Switch
Monster Hunter Risewas notably only available on the Nintendo Switch for several months before being ported to PC, whileMonster Hunter Worldhas only been available for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 since its release. GivenRisebeing made for the Switch, it makes a pretty easy candidate for the entry that will satisfy portably gamers the most.
However, the competition is surprisingly fierce, as video game fans can now accessMonster Hunter Worldon Steam Deck. Nevertheless, the versatility and smaller size of the Nintendo Switch makeMonster Hunter Risea much easier choice for which one is best to play while on the go.
Expansions: World
Iceborne’s Theme Bests Sunbreak’s
AlthoughMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakhas the benefit of recency, meaning Capcom can continue to improve its content,Monster Hunter World: Icebornewas definitely the better expansion when it comes to satisfying longtime fans of the series. The DLC added many iconic monsters to the game’s roster, including Brachydios, Nargacuga, and Tigrex.
Meanwhile,Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak’s additional monsters are much more lackluster in comparison, despite some great returning picks like Seregios, Amatsu, and Gore Magala. However,Icebornemade the already-greatMonster Hunter Worldmore filled with iconic monsters, whileSunbreakisn’t much of an improvement over the base game.
The load times were the worst part about the launch of the PS4 version ofMonster Hunter World. To the game’s credit, they were greatly improved on the PS4 Pro and PS5, but they’re still nowhere near as fast as the load times ofRiseon the Switch.
In this respect,Riseis perhapsthe best in the seriesso far. It’s actually kind of astounding, given the hardware’s tendency to struggle with some multiplatform games.Monster Hunter Riseis like proof that the Switch still has plenty of life in it, even without a Pro version of its own.
Graphics: World
Nintendo Has Never Impressed With Graphics
Monster Hunter Riselooks great on the Switch for what it is. If one squints enough, they might even be able to trick themselves into thinking that they are playingMonster Hunter World. They both share a lot of the same aesthetics, after all.
However, if one compares the two titles side by side, even with a base PS4, it’s clear thatMonster Hunter Worldis still the graphically superior game. The difference is a lot less noticeable when comparing the PC ports of the two titles, but on console, at least,Worldis the clear winner.
Hub Town: Rise
Kamura And Elgado Top The Series' Best Villages
To their credit, both games featurehub areasthat are incredibly lively. However,Monster Hunter Rise’shub village has just a bit more vibrancy and life to it. That’s especially true of theSunbreakexpansion’s Elgado, whose simplistic layout and beautiful scenery make for a standout hub town in the entire franchise.
Both games have fast travel to warp around town, butMonster Hunter Worldalways takes longer due to the aforementioned poor loading times while playing on PlayStation. This issue becomes even more apparent when comparing it toMonster Hunter Rise, which loads noticeably faster on both Switch and PC.
Environments: World
Monster Hunter Has Never Been So Lush
Monster Hunter Worldisn’t exactly an open-world game, but it’s not too far off. The game broke new ground in the way that it finally opened up zones so that they were no longer contained within their own separate loading areas. That’s only a small part of what makes them great, though.
The areas found inMonster Hunter Worldare absolutely huge and brimming with monsters and secrets for players to find and experience.Monster Hunter Riseplays off of that idea as best it can with fairly big environments but struggles to compare toMonster Hunter Worldwhen all’s said and done.
Pets: Rise
Palamutes Are A Hint At The Series' Future
Palicos are the mainstaymascots of this franchise. However,Monster Hunter Worldintroduces not one but two new pet species. The first is the mighty Palamute, which not only accompanies players into battle like the Palicos but can also be ridden around like a horse.
Not only that, but players also have eyes in the sky too, thanks to the introduction of Cohoots. Granted, one can’t literally control them as they survey the area, but having a birds-eye view of things offers a whole new dimension to proceedings; even if they weren’t great, though, the more pets, the better.
Content: World
It’s Hard To Even Scratch The Surface Of World
Even withSunbreaklooming large on the horizon, it’s difficult to imagine that the upcoming expansion will come close to providing parity betweenRiseandWorldwhen it comes to the volume of content that each game has to offer. HowLongToBeat estimates that a main story run of the former clocks in at less than half a typicalMonster Hunter: Worldplaythrough, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
OnceIcebornis taken into account,Monster Hunter: Worldplayers can expect at least 80 hours of main story content, with completionists looking at closer to 650 hours. By comparison, the main story ofRiseonly lasts about 20 hours, with the completionist time averaging out to 135.Sunbreakwould therefore have to provide more than twice as much content as the base version of the game to compete, which seems pretty unlikely based on what’s been revealed thus far.
Bugs: Rise
Wirebugs Improved Combat Tenfold
Monster Hunter Worldmade the series more accessible in several ways. One of these was the guide bugs that helped track down monsters.Monster Hunter Riseeliminated that idea, always showing monsters on the map instead, thus doing away with the need for them entirely. They were replaced with another insect, though: The Wirebug.
The introduction of Wirebugs completely changes movement inMonster Hunter. As well as allowing each weapon type to access additional unique attacks, they also allow players to launch themselves in any direction. This can be done outside of combat to reach new heights, during combat to dodge attacks or land an aerial attack, or even after sustaining damage to move to safety.
