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Play Monster Hunter on mobile in this Pokémon Go clone - Monster Hunter Now Quick First Impressions

23K View2023-08-18

Monster Hunter Now

7.8

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SHOULD I PLAY MONSTER HUNTER NOW?

Skip it unless you’re really itching for a Pokémon Go alternative. Monster Hunter Now is the latest Pokémon Go clone from Niantic, and while it’s entertaining enough, it doesn’t capture the qualities that make Monster Hunter great. There are plenty of familiar monsters to fight, like Pukei-Pukei and Barroth, but the battles aren’t much more than a series of button taps. I love the idea of Monster Hunter on the go, and it’s a natural fit—the series first exploded on the PSP after all! But this doesn’t hold a candle to the real deal. I’d rather play Pokémon Go than a lackluster game with a Monster Hunter skin.

TIME PLAYED

I played around four hours of Monster Hunter Now. During the prologue, I was able to fight monsters without leaving my home, but after a while, I had to venture outdoors and start hunting in my neighborhood. My usual Pokémon Go stops were transformed into gathering sites, and I found monsters of all sizes lurking around my city streets. Since the game hasn’t officially launched in my region, I wasn’t able to team up with other players for group hunts, but thankfully, I was able to take down every monster I saw solo.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT MONSTER HUNTER NOW?

• Fantastic crafting system. In Monster Hunter Now, I could use the materials I collected from gathering points and battles to forge new weapons and armors. Monsters have elemental weaknesses, so switching out my equipment before a fight gave me a strategic advantage. I was constantly unlocking new crafting recipes, and materials were easy to come by, so I managed to build a huge collection of equipment in no time.ﾠ

• Guilt-free monster hunting. Monster Hunter Now’s battles are streamlined and fast-paced. It’s missing the intensity of the original, but sometimes, that makes fights easier to bear. I love Monster Hunter, but it frequently makes me feel terrible. I know they’re just pixels, but I still feel awful when I chase down a creature that’s whimpering in pain. It’s a quick and easy way to fight cool-looking monsters without stressing yourself out.

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVING IN MONSTER HUNTER NOW?

• It doesn’t feel like Monster Hunter. I wasn’t expecting Monster Hunter Now to play exactly like Monster Hunter does on PC and console, but it didn’t even make an attempt to replicate the gameplay of the mainline series. What makes Monster Hunter special is the way it makes its creatures feel like living, breathing animals. Every monster has unique behaviors and weak points, and battles can be incredibly challenging. A fight might require me to track a monster to its den, craft traps, lure it out, and then string together combos while I desperately try to avoid taking damage.ﾠ

In Monster Hunter Now, fights mostly involve spotting a monster on screen, initiating a battle, and tapping the screen until its health is depleted. During battles with large monsters, I could pinch the screen to dodge or hold my finger in place for a heavy attack, but those mechanics didn’t really feel necessary, and they didn’t add much to fights when I used them. The simple battles are fine, and they probably won’t bug you if you haven’t played Monster Hunter before, but I still wish the fights were a little more complex.

• Uneven visuals. There were moments when I thought Monster Hunter Now looked pretty good, like when I battled a creature on a lush, grassy field, but there were moments when the game was distractingly ugly. The human character models are pretty hideous, and seeing monsters spawn in on blank streets made the game feel unfinished. I don’t normally play Monster Hunter for its visuals, but since this game doesn’t have Monster Hunter’s exceptional gameplay, it’s hard not to be picky about graphics.

[Review written by TapTap editor Ndi]

💬 Will you hunt down neighborhood monsters in Monster Hunter Now, or do you prefer to spend your time catching Pokémon? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Comments

SwordUser

This review is a bit biased. It's based on your experience with the PC and Console version. Not the previous mobile version such as Monster Hunter: Dynamic Hunting. And the most successful game with that mechanic had won 3 awards before it officially shut down is Dragon Project by COLOPL The swipe-and-tap mechanic is exactly what mobile gamers wanted. I'll check out this game tomorrow and share my opinion as a veteran mobile gamer