Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Review: "A Better Version Of An Already Amazing Game"

Basically, most video games try to answer a simple question: how to make the fight more fun with giant monsters? Shadow of the Colossus has enlarged the monsters. Dragon's Dogma allows you to climb monsters as they were giant gyms in the jungle. But Monster Hunter World: Iceborne knew the truth: you have to add a grapple or, in this case, a clutch claw. And adding the clutch shoe is just one of the many ways Iceborne enhances the Monster Hunter World. It adds and changes so much that it really looks like a second game – a game as appealing and rewarding as Monster Hunter World itself.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is for Monster Hunter World what Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was, well, Monster Hunter 4. This is an extension focused on the final game that adds new monsters and equipment, even more hunts captivating, more storytelling, another biome, and some new hunting techniques like clutch claws that I've intrigued you with in the last paragraph. This Slinger-mounted gadget allows you to attack monsters once you've shifted them by hitting the weak spots, and once you're caught, you can hurt their skins to make them more vulnerable to attack, or free them your Slinger ammo to send them stumbling into a wall for big damage and additional stun.

I never knew how much Monster Hunter needed a fight grapple up to now. The claw claw adds another level of strategy to the hunts, which accentuates Monster Hunter's fight and fits perfectly in its loop. If you try to break a body part to get the items you need to make equipment, you can hurt it and focus your attacks. If your weapon bounces constantly on a hard part, you can hurt it to soften it. And if you only do the occasional hunt, you are always encouraged to attack the weak spots of the monsters to create openings allowing the claw to go to work – these are free spells and c & rsquo; Is simply badass.

In addition to the claw claw, the 14 weapons also received one or two new tricks that flesh out their playing style. It's fun to play with them, but the weapons still have the same feeling – in the good meaning. And at the end of the day, Master Rank is the big draw here. The story of Iceborne? It's good; more or less the same thing, really, with some added character moments. The ecosystem is in chaos, there are absolutely stunning cutscene here and there, and every quest for history gives a new reason to kill Kill The Thing. The new biome, Hoarfrost Reach? It's lovely, especially if you like snow and woolly mammoths, which I do. The new hub, Seliana? Beautiful and more intuitively landscaped than Astera. Good things all around, but these are the appetizers. Master Rank is the reason to get Iceborne. It's the main course and it's delicious.

Magistrale

(Image credit: Capcom)

In Master Rank, monsters have more hit points, do more damage and – now, that's the best part – have new attacks compared to their High Rank versions. There are all-new monsters exclusive to Master Rank, as well as subspecies such as Coral Pukei-Pukei and Ebony Odogaron, which bring more dramatic twists to familiar monsters. To put the rank of the Master in perspective: I can kill a high-ranking Pukei-Pukei in one minute and change, but the average length of my work with Coral Pukei-Pukei is currently about 11 minutes. The Master Rank monsters have health on the health, and they freaking hurt. After cultivating the same monsters for so long, let them go my The ass for once is really refreshing.

The composition of Iceborne is a mix of brand new monsters and animals returning from previous games, and there is much more than what Capcom revealed in the pre-Iceborne period. I was delighted to discover monsters that we do not see in the trailers, so I do not want to mess up exactly what there is or how much. Let's just say that there are comfortably more than 20 new monsters in total, including surprising and incredibly hard deviants. A good thing about Iceborne is that it introduces many new monsters via Expeditions rather than real quests, which means you have infinite time and lives to burn while learning new fights. Of course, you will still need to master the monsters to continue the story, improve your hunting tools and make equipment.

(Image credit: Capcom)

Among the monsters publicly revealed, my favorite returnees are Tigrex, Nargacuga, Barioth, Glavenus and Zinogre. These monsters retain the flavor of their previous iterations, but Capcom also gave them just enough new attacks to shake the veterans. Among the newcomers, I prefer Coral Pukei-Pukei, Nightshade Paolumu and Acidic Glavenus. These subspecies require strategies radically different from those of their base monsters, and they really help sell the prestige of Master Rank. Banbaro, it is also exactly what I hoped for: an absolute unity that hits you with trees. And now that elemental weapons have been polished, I really benefit from the spread of elemental weaknesses among the new monsters. Iceborne has many weaknesses in the areas of water, ice and fire, which greatly stimulate the often overlooked tree.

After cultivating the same monsters for so long, it's really refreshing to see them kick my ass for once.

Even after playing in G-Rank in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, the jump in Master Rank in World was a little too difficult at first. But while I was building higher-grade equipment and upgrading my hunting tools by doing side quests, I could feel my character getting stronger and I could tell I was mastering the new monsters. This sense of progression has always been at the heart of Monster Hunter, and the added difficulty of Master Rank is really hammering it.

Monster Hunter World was very easy compared to previous versions of the series, but with Iceborne, Capcom really got it, and this benefits many parts of the game. I've completely ignored environmental pitfalls such as Rocks and traps, but now that monsters are much more difficult, I am actively looking for tools like these because they have more impact. I am more meticulous about the coats, boosters and objects that I bring back to the hunt, and I appreciate more the defense and support skills when building armor. Likewise, I constantly play for Clutch Claw openings because I want to get every possible benefit.

(Image credit: Capcom)

In the same spirit, I am more hungry than ever before. In terms of construction options, moving from low rank to higher rank does not even compare to the main rank. The new armors are not only amazing, they also offer new, stronger skills that allow for more ambitious builds. The new four-slot decoration sockets, which we also find on improved coats, make it easier than ever to acquire certain skills, and there is a wide variety of two and three-game bonuses that you can combine in a powerful way. I just wish the weapons were so attractive.

New world, old problems

When World was launched, many of Monster Hunter's longtime players – including myself – were disappointed with the similarity of their weapons. Most endgame weapons used iron and bone trees as a base and attached them to monster parts superficially. There were still extras like the Nergigante and Vaal Hazak weapons, but the weapons were generally homogeneous, with less individuality compared to the previous games. I hoped that Master Rank's weapons would solve this problem with more bespoke patterns highlighting the traits of monsters, but unfortunately this is only partially the case. There are a ton of mind-blowing weapons in Iceborne, do not get me wrong, but there are still dozens of flat, boring, bone and iron bases, even for colorful subspecies like Coral Pukei-Pukei and iconic monsters like Glavenus. Suffice to say that I am still very disappointed with the appearance of many weapons.

Iceborne does not solve some problems either. I have not had a lot of time to grow soaked monsters for Decorations and Streamstones, but in my experience, acquiring one or the other is still not a thin affair. The best decorations are obscurely scarce and the chances of getting the Streamstones you want are almost as low, even with the new Streamstone Fusion option. The RNG behind these systems can be so severe that many versions and upgrades are virtually stuck, unless you literally spend hundreds of hours writing temperate surveys. I understand that Capcom needs a certain shortage to get the players to fight after the match, but the current system is too restrictive. I really hoped that Iceborne would improve this World failure, but that 's not what I' ve seen so far.

(Image credit: Capcom)

I have some other complaints, and although it's minor trouble, in a game as cyclical as Monster Hunter, recurring minor problems can cause very big headaches. For reasons I can not understand, Iceborne – or at least the update that accompanies it – has been slapped by Flash Pods in the pavement. They are barely no matter what now. In principle, you can only use one every few minutes, and they do not paralyze flying monsters as before. This makes fighting monsters like Azure Rathalos, Shianaking Legiana and Kushala Daora an absolute nightmare, especially with weapons such as sword and shield or double blades, which are virtually unattainable.

On top of that, while I was playing at Iceborne for criticism, I had more hunts interrupted by wandering monsters than during my entire career in Monster Hunter, including the hundreds of hours that I've had. I devoted to World. Sometimes I can not stay three minutes without stopping to shoot a Dung Pod on a Rathian or Tigerx, or whatever you have, who has wandered into the area to disrupt my fight. I've seen more than five wandering monsters in the same hunt, each encounter being more frustrating than the previous one. Remember how many times Bazelgeuse was ranked high? It's like that, but worse. Being stunned by a roar or being knocked down by another off-screen monster – a monster that I did not even come here to hunt – is not interesting or challenging, it's annoying.

(Image credit: Capcom)

These problems really get on my nerves, but none of them is decisive, and some changes in the quality of life compensate for them, such as the improvement of riding and the taxi Tailrider, which allows you to drive small monsters at designated places. In addition, Iceborne is so ass-pounding that I am more than willing to ignore occasional hiccups. Between new monsters, extra challenge, exciting build and new flashy combos, Iceborne offers a strictly better version of an already awesome game. Every Monster Hunter World fan should play Iceborne, and now more than ever, everyone and his dog should play Monster Hunter World.

Commented on PS4.