• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Monster Hunter Rise PC demo impressions, launching tomorrow on Steam

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
monster-hunter-rise-pc-08.jpg






there's no denying that the action in Monster Hunter Rise has never looked better. Despite being limited to playing at 1920x1080 on a 15.6in laptop screen (the early access version of the demo always crashed instantly to desktop whenever I tried to load it on my proper PC), the increase in texture detail and uncapped frame rate offers an immediate improvement over its Switch counterpart, making it well worth a second visit for curious Nintendo veterans. It now looks and feels every bit as sharp as the edge of my beloved dual blades, and I'm looking forward to seeing what its 4K support brings to the table once the demo launches properly tomorrow.



Playing the PC version with unlimited frame rates though? The difference is eye-openingly clear. It’s so smooth my fingers are sliding off the keyboard just thinking about it as I type. And for a game where your positioning, timing and animation frames are vital things to consider, it completely transforms the hunt into an elite tier experience.



Playing Monster Hunter Rise at its maximum settings feels like an entirely different game. The character models and lighting look fantastic, but the frame rate is where it really shines. The Switch version would sometimes dip during the more intense moments, such as when there were lots of monsters and hunters on the screen at once. The smoothness of the PC version never stuttered in the demo. While the character models do look incredible, they're still working from the base Switch models, so they don't look quite as impressive as the ones from Monster Hunter World, but they're still a marked improvement over the originals.


I cannot stress enough how much of a boost PC hardware is to the flow of Monster Hunter Rise's gameplay. Going from 30FPS to 60FPS or higher (max 144FPS) feels like I'm playing a whole new game. In the original version, the 30FPS made the controls feel stiff, and the input window for attacks was so small that I found myself mashing buttons just to ensure my attacks were actually executed. I didn't have to worry about that at all here thanks to the more responsive play. All my attacks came out precisely when I actuated them.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
Hmmm the graphics look a bit dialed down from Monster Hunter World. Is there any chance the enhancements have also improved there?

144 FPS is fantastic, obviously, but one thing that drew me into MHW was just how good it looks. Double Dipped on Steam for that reason alone.

Rise just doesn't hold up, and I'm not really expecting it to, but I would like to see at least some improvement.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Reading that stupid shit you'd think the game's literally unplayable on a Switch (so is every other < 60fps if not < 30fps iteration of the series on portables/consoles that folks still mastered with no hit G rank runs in starting gear, but no, these idiots just couldn't perform basic combos in the Switch version because of its frame rate, riiight, I guess every PC gamer who didn't have a PC that got 60fps in World regardless of settings so maxed out the graphics but locked it to 30fps also couldn't play it or any other game they handle similarly properly, lol). Ah well, I still can't wait for the full game to launch so I can play it, I think I will like it much more than World, it seems to have a bit more classical MonHun feel to it, despite its own twists and adaptations of newer features. Edit: as for their graphics, World is a vaseline smeared mess with muddy textures straight out of the PS3 and all the dithering some somehow only notice on Switch. Sure, polycounts\clutter\shaders took a hit but there's way more freedom in navigating each map, you don't get those vistas in World except in the spots meant for it, one might as well dock RDR2 for not looking like The Order: 1886🤦‍♂️
ss_a262c53b8629de7c6547933dc0b49d31f4e1b1f1.jpg

ss_ce69dc57e6e442c73d874f1b701f2e4af405fb19.jpg
ss_cce232403dd4bb003d812153715196bc1429d269.jpg
 
Last edited:

Kaachan

Member
While World might look better aesthetically and is more established for new players, I feel like Rise is the better game in terms of balance after GU

But that's just splitting hairs I guess, they’re both great in their respective ways. It all comes down to personal preference
 

STARSBarry

Gold Member
Its really interesting that they have a working demo out but the title does not release until January next year.

What I mean is its not like the content is not there and ready to go, so what are they waiting on?

Its a shame the hubs where dialed back on switch (although the fact you can see other hunters outside the hall is good) so if your used to playing 16 player hubs in world with other players and picking up there board hunts, your sadly going to be disappointed.

I will be playing this on PC, I enjoyed switch but those low framerates really take a good chunk of the enjoyment away. The locales however are much more basic in terms of geometry than world, it will be interesting to see how those translate over to the PC.
 
Last edited:

Haggard

Banned
so they just ported the handheld version and upscaled it....
Nope, I just can`t handle these kind of graphics anymore 4 years after MHW.

/skip
 

GametimeUK

Member
I love how there's people in here complaining how it looks, then will later criticise games as "no gameplay, just graphics".

MH Rise is a fantastic game. Couldn't get into world, but I loved Rise.

I'll double dip if my friend gets it. Otherwise I'll wait for a sale under $20.
It's a Switch game firstly. If there wasn't a PC release then I would have essentially spent the same amount of money for the Switch version and ended up with a much worse looking game as a result.

It is what it is. I'm just glad it got a release on PC and I'm really looking forward to playing it. Of course with it being a Switch game the performance and resolution best be too notch and ultrawide support along with other PC features would be greatly appreciated, but the graphics are fine considering it's a switch game.
 

Dream-Knife

Banned
It's a Switch game firstly. If there wasn't a PC release then I would have essentially spent the same amount of money for the Switch version and ended up with a much worse looking game as a result.

It is what it is. I'm just glad it got a release on PC and I'm really looking forward to playing it. Of course with it being a Switch game the performance and resolution best be too notch and ultrawide support along with other PC features would be greatly appreciated, but the graphics are fine considering it's a switch game.
I think they said they had to remake it for PC.

The graphics on switch were essentially fake, using a ps1 style dithering. Almost every other pixel was checkerboarded on switch. PC won't have that.
 

GametimeUK

Member
I think they said they had to remake it for PC.

The graphics on switch were essentially fake, using a ps1 style dithering. Almost every other pixel was checkerboarded on switch. PC won't have that.
Was you under the impression they were going to go full Bluepoint and remake it in a similar style to how Demons Souls or SOTC were remade? I just literally expected something that looked like Switch version.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
Controversial opinion: i prefer the visuals i'm seeing in Rise than what i saw in World.

Its true World looks more beautiful, but the 'flatter' look in Rise allows for much better situational awareness, which really helps gameplay focused games like MH.
 

Draugoth

Gold Member
The lines look weird. Seems that this game was made with Switch in mind only, which would explain why they cant have a cross save feature
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Small plug for the OT that's over on the community section:
 

YukiOnna

Member
Controversial opinion: i prefer the visuals i'm seeing in Rise than what i saw in World.

Its true World looks more beautiful, but the 'flatter' look in Rise allows for much better situational awareness, which really helps gameplay focused games like MH.
World is honestly hard to look at. It might just be my general distaste for that kind of setting, but more detail doesn't mean better and it comes with more clutter.

With Rise it looked good and you had a better experience in hunts thanks to the clean look.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
World is honestly hard to look at. It might just be my general distaste for that kind of setting, but more detail doesn't mean better and it comes with more clutter.

With Rise it looked good and you had a better experience in hunts thanks to the clean look.
I really really wish more developers understood this point.

You take a single look at a scene from an old shooter for example, and you already understand everything that needs to be understood, like points of interests, whether there are items or not and possible paths to take
blood2.jpg

On the other hand,
maxresdefault.jpg
Its an assault on the senses that leave you utterly confused about where you're supposed to be looking at or going, let alone if there are any items or such around the area.
Sure it looks prettier on the promo photos and for sharing screenshots online, but it truly feels worse to be playing something like that.

Not that the graphics need to be bad to achieve that, they just need to be cleaner.
 
Last edited:

GymWolf

Member
I can understand the clutter critique on world, but rise is the exact opposite, it's fucking dull and empty as fuck, the maps looks super basic, world was atmospheric as fuck, even the fucking desert had a personality, you feel like a real hunter in a real environment, and don't even let me start on the minor fauna and ecosystem, world was fucking excellent in that aspect, while rise look completely dead in comparison.
Locations in rise look like ps2 levels.

And i never loss sight of a monster for a bit of clutter in the locations, that's onestly on you guys, buy a new pair of glasses or do the laser operation like i did :lollipop_grinning_sweat:

P.s. the blood splat effect on rise must be the single worse blood effect i ever saw in a game, i know that old mh have the same type of splat, but it doesn't make it less fugly.
 
Last edited:

manfestival

Member
I find World more aesthetically pleasing and just better looking but the gameplay features of rise seem ... better. Will check out the demo for sure.
 
Maybe I just had too high expectations for my 3060ti but I'm a little disappointed in performance. With all settings maxed out I'm only getting between like 120 and 140fps at 1440p. Was really hoping for a locked 165 without having to tinker with settings since it is only a Switch game at it's core.
 

GymWolf

Member
Maybe I just had too high expectations for my 3060ti but I'm a little disappointed in performance. With all settings maxed out I'm only getting between like 120 and 140fps at 1440p. Was really hoping for a locked 165 without having to tinker with settings since it is only a Switch game at it's core.
Do you think it's possible to do 4k60 with a 2070super?! Even with some setting on high/med?!
 

Guilty_AI

Member
Was only able to play it for a little while, but so far i think i can like this better than World. Thought M&K felt surprisingly decent, though there is room for improvements in terms of bindings. I liked the visuals, with my only complaint being some weird rendering that makes certain textures look checkboarded.
Theres also a multiplayer option in the main menu, i haven't tested to see if its functional in this version.
 

Skifi28

Member
The framerate bump is nice, but didn't feel as big a deal as with other games. I played on the switch right after and it felt just fine. I don't like the visuals of the game at higher resolution, it just makes it obvious how basic everything looks. After they confirmed no save transfers, I think I'm sticking with the switch version.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
The demo crashed twice for me already, I'm glad they have time to polish the release. First launch right after choosing monhun language/icons etc., then after trying to take a screenshot in the first mission's start. Tech seems clumsy overall with that shader compiling crap. Sad it has the same muddy look as World in the shadows and stuff (but at least most weird shader effects are optional, I bet if you max motion blur and other shit the noob nay sayers won't even distinguish an action shot from World) but textures seem sharper and world design so good even at that first spot there.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom