What Monster Hunter Rise Is
Monster Hunter Rise drops you into Kamura Village, a calm-looking place whose people have lived under fear of the Rampage, a disaster where enormous numbers of monsters pour in and attack at once. Fifty years after the last one, you step in to help the villagers face it, while exploring fresh maps built around hunting creatures with their own behaviors and tendencies. Some are returning series staples; others take cues from Japanese folklore, including the flagship wyvern Magnamalo. You hunt them, carve materials from them, and turn those materials into new weapons, armor, and upgrades, then head back out for bigger targets.
Playing It With Friends
The Hunter Hub is where you take multiplayer quests, and up to four hunters can hunt the same target together. Difficulty scales with the group, so a four-person squad and a solo player both get a fair fight. It works well as a rotating team: pick different weapon types, watch what the monster is doing, and cover each other's openings. Palico Felyne and Palamute Canyne companions come along as well, supporting you on the hunt. One hunter can even take control of a raging monster through Wyvern Riding and hammer it for massive damage, which adds a nice team moment when it lands.
Choosing a Weapon
There are 14 weapon types, and each plays distinctly, from the heavy, committed hits of the Great Sword to the speed of the Dual Blades, the reach of the Lance, and the ranged pressure of the Bow and Bowguns. You can swap your weapon at any Equipment Box, so nothing locks you into a single style. Wirebugs are part of every loadout: their silk zips you up walls and across maps, and triggers special attacks tied to whichever weapon you have equipped. That mobility also matters in The Rampage, a quest type where you defend Kamura from swarms rather than chasing one monster around.
Before You Start
Expect the loop: hunt, gather, craft better gear, hunt fiercer monsters. The PC release includes visual and performance improvements, with up to 4K, HDR, ultrawide monitor support, and an unlocked frame rate, so you can tune it to your hardware. Note that the DLC lineup for this title has been adjusted on an ongoing basis since December 2024, so bundle contents can change, move, or temporarily leave sale, and some bundles overlap, so check what you already own before buying.