Monster Hunting...Now?

     Back in September, Niantic released Monster Hunter Now, the latest in its fitness oriented phone based revamps of older games along the same lines as Pokemon Go and Pikmin Bloom. 

     I can't compare Monster Hunter Now to previous Monster Hunter games as I haven't played any except for this one, but it's the same for me with Pokemon Go which I've been playing since 2016.

     In the couple of weeks that I've been playing Monster Hunter Now, I've managed to rise to level 35, had a lot of fun, and found some of issues. 

     The first big difference from Pokemon Go and PikminBloom is that there's no incentive for distance. In Pokemon Go, an incubating egg hatches after you walk a certain distance. Something similar happened in Pikmin Bloom, but in Monster Hunter, the number of kilometers you trek seems to have no meaning whatsoever.

     Second, it's not a really good walking game overall. They warn you several times during the game to not engage with big monsters while on foot, suggesting that you get to a safe place, which i'm taking to mean slow down and do not enter a crosswalk. This is because you're going to need to focus on the gameplay at that point. 

     When a monster of a decent size is fighting you, it will flash red right before it attacks. If you're not paying attention, you can get wiped out pretty easily especially early on when your armor isn't great yet. Even with healing potions, getting knocked out costs time and that can eliminate your chance to beat the creature. 

    The bits and pieces you get from defeating monsters go into making or upgrading weapons and armor so you can stand against bigger monsters more easily. You only get experience to level up from the monsters with star level, which is another issue I have.

     If you want to level up by catching only dinky Pokemon in Pokemon Go, you can. It'll take ages, but it'll happen. Not so in Monster Hunter Now. Fighting the easy guys just gets you more windrake pelts.

     At level 35, I'm stuck at level 9 of the storyline because I don't have a powerful enough electrical weapon to fight the end monster for that chapter. I didn't know I needed one and now have to seek out more electrical monsters that might give me the bits I need to upgrade my weapon. I find this more tedious than fun.

     Group battles are also a bit different, too. In Pokemon Go, if you're in an area like mine and want to do big raid battles, you have to have a distant raid pass pr be right at the place when the first raid starts or you won't have enough people to take down the raid boss. In Monster Hunter Now, you can start a group battle with any big monster you happen across who has a star value but that doesn't mean anyone will respond. You might also see a button inviting you to a battle pop across your screen if you're in the right place at the right time and level.

     Overall, it's fun but the need to walk long distances is gone and replaced with seeking specific monsters for upgrading weapons and armor.

     Also, playing when you are perceived to have moved at superhuman speeds, whether by vehicle or satellite positioning issues, is impossible. It flattens out the opportunities around you until you stop moving, so playing on the train or long car trips is not advisable.