Back in the PSP days of Monster Hunter, I was quite annoyed by the need to grind and farm the farms to really maximize progression between one hunt and the next. More than 15 years later, I want them back… elsewhere.
The idea of entirely different town areas which you had to micromanage and were cozy first and foremost survived until the 3DS entries of the series, but it’s something that’s been gradually pushed aside in favor of more streamlined hunting experiences with little to no fat. As Monster Hunter Wilds prepares to pounce on us in late February with more tools of killing and ways to navigate the wilds seamlessly, one has to wonder how long it’ll be before the concept of a permanent town/village is dropped altogether or reduced to a really short downtime.
Disclaimer: I don’t mind Monster Hunter’s massive recent steps towards becoming more accessible. The developers have actually excelled at making the series more palatable during the first 20 hours or so with World and Rise, and the new entry is doubling down on such additions and QoL changes. It’s a good thing as long as it doesn’t dilute what makes the core games so unique.
This approach, however, directly collides with the aforementioned ‘farming’ side elements of older games. Monster Hunter has always been about mankind’s relationship with nature and the frictions born out of it even if it takes place in an entirely different world that’s not impacted by rampant industrialization (yet). Even if the actual farming elements were a bit of a slog, especially after dozens of hours of playtime, they had a place within the series’ voice and very soul. While my ‘gamer brain’ appreciates having less busywork so I can spend more time smacking wyverns on the head with massive weapons, my more thoughtful side is sorta bummed out by the lack of farmsteads in the more recent installments.
A potential solution? Putting a small town sim spinoff in development. It’s a genre that’s been booming for quite a while but very often lacks an identity beyond ‘look at the cute art style’ and riffing on Stardew Valley with small twists. Monster Hunter, on the other hand, seems like the perfect fit for the basic premise of cozy life sims. The worldbuilding and philosophy are already there, and we’ve played a basic version of that potential game before. Several times, actually. Let my Felyne work more jobs than administration, hunting, and cooking again!
The Monster Hunter IP is no stranger to off-beat spinoffs either. Monster Hunter Now appears to be thriving on mobile; Monster Hunter Puzzles is a nice little experiment; and Monster Hunter Stories has already become a respectable RPG subseries of its own. At this point, a town sim doesn’t sound like a distant possibility. Instead, it’s the sort of project that should be imminent if Capcom is paying attention to the right trends.
This is when the Monkey’s Paw curls and we do get a MH town sim… just for mobile. Nah, I want a fully featured, premium game. Give it a distinct art style, work hard on the visual presentation, come up with an enticing loop that makes the most of the universe’s uniqueness and wackier side. Hunting doesn’t even need to be left out of the formula. What about hiring some veteran hunters to protect the town from wyverns and other monsters? Let us improve and customize gathering halls! There are so many possibilities beyond farming, mining, fishing, bug gathering, beekeeping, and whatnot as presented in the classic titles.
Rejection of mobile phones as target platforms and gacha-like elements aside, it’s the sort of pitch that would be killer for portable hardware, yes. With the mainline Monster Hunter entries now focusing on the ‘strong hardware’ Xbox-PS-PC trio, could such a game be a fantastic third-party Nintendo exclusive? Animal Crossing’s popularity is at an all-time high after New Horizons, and I’ve no doubt we’ll see another entry for the Switch 2 sooner rather than later, but that doesn’t mean there’s no space for another winner.
I might be wading into ‘armchair developer’ territory here, sure, but hear me out: I’m just an excited fan who’s not just thinking about what’s in front of them, but also about the possible futures of a franchise that’s given them nothing but happiness. I love Monster Hunter and would love to see it grow not just as an action-RPG series. It’s certainly in the right path to becoming bigger and more appetizing for all, and the preceding spinoffs mentioned here prove that as well as my main point.
Or perhaps I’m just completely misreading the franchise’s current status and the actual impact its spinoffs have had on the general sentiment. Maybe folks would rather stick to killing mighty beasts and oversized pests. But it’s a bit of a depressing thought. I believe Monster Hunter is much more than that, and I’ll be first in line and ready to bat for more peaceful attempts to expand its world and lore.