Monster Hunter: World or basically any Monster Hunter game can be quite intimidating to start playing due to their grindy nature and complex gameplay. They might be awesome games, but maybe you’re just not sure if it’s for you or perhaps you don't feel like you are ready for it. If that's the case and you're looking to get into the series, we selected 5 games for you that will prepare you for Monster Hunter World.
Dauntless
price: $39.99 for closed beta access, will be free-to-play on release.
Buy it on: Their official website
Available on: PC
Dauntless is a co-op, action RPG where you battle fierce monsters called "Behemoths." Craft your own weapons and go on awesome adventures with your friends. As of now, Dauntless is still in closed-beta, but can be accessed through a founders pack. However, Dauntless will be free-to-play on its release later this year.
This will be the most straight forwarded entry on this list because Dauntless shares a lot of similarities with Monster Hunter, some might even call it a free-to-play Monster Hunter rip-off. But I can tell you right now that’s not the case. The games are definitely pretty similar, but as similar as Call of Duty and Battlefield are similar. They share a genre, a similar atmosphere and some core concepts, but Dauntless is definitely a fantastic game in its own right.
Dauntless has the same overall vibe as Monster Hunter; where you go to an area and kill a massive enemy with different combat styles for specific weapons.
If you want to try Monster Hunter, but you’re not sure you'll enjoy it than try Dauntless as there’s a high chance that if you like one you’ll like the other.
Dark Souls
Price: From $19.99-$39.99
Available on: PC, PS4 and Xbox ONE
Dark Souls is an Action RPG set in a dark fantasy world. Dark Souls is a punishing game that doesn't hold your hand with any way-points or mini-maps. You'll have to find your way by collecting clues from the various NPCs - that are in incredibly short supply - the game has, all while fighting through a multitude of tough and dangerous enemies.
You might not have seen this comparison before as Dark Souls and Monster Hunter from afar seems like an odd match. However, when we dive a little deeper into the games you'll be able to notice a ton of similarities running throughout each game; from their punishing nature to their deep lore and combat mechanics that aren't for the faint-hearted.
Both games heavily rely on having patience in combat and learning enemy patterns, this is especially true for Dark Souls’ bosses. In both games you’ll have to fight your enemies with a strategy as simply running in will get you killed in seconds. After you’ve put your strategy together you’ll have to find the right moment to attack your prey by learning the enemy's attack patterns. If you want to be ready for the Hunt you want to play Dark Souls and learn about difficult combat mechanics the hard way.
The Witcher Series
Price: From $19.99-$44.99
Available on: PC, PS4 and Xbox ONE
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an RPG set in a beautiful large open-world with tons of great content. The Witcher is a very story-driven experience that will keep you busy for hundreds of hours.
Monster Hunter might not have a vast open world like The Witcher, but Gerald sure has to hunt a ton of monsters. So, any fan of The Witcher series should already have experience with and enjoy taking down big, breathtaking monsters with ease, therefore the games somewhat revolve around the same concept.
The biggest similarity in the games is by far the emphasis on preparing for every fight. Sometimes the preparation for a fight can be just as if not more important than the fight itself in both The Witcher and Monster Hunter.
When you want to prepare yourself for Monster Hunter, you need to learn how to prepare for every fight and that is exactly what The Witcher series teaches you to do.
PayDay 2
Price: From $19.99-$49.99
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox ONE, Nintendo Switch, PS3 and Xbox 360
In PayDay 2 - a co-op FPS where you and up to 3 friends play as a group of professional criminals - you select a mission and make up a plan to complete your heist. In many of the heists it's up to you whether you want to pull it off via stealth or want to go in guns blazing.
Nothing is better than pulling off a successful Hunt in Monster Hunter: World; the feeling you get when your plans work out is incredibly satisfying. This feeling also occurs in PayDay 2 as you're pulling off a momentous heist with a plan you came up with on the fly.
Monster Hunter and PayDay 2 look nothing alike, but at their core they're quite similar. You're thrown into a scenario with your gear and you’ll have to locate your prey - that could be either a big stash of gold or a giant dinosaur. From there you will have to use your wit to make sure everything goes swimmingly to help pull off the heist or the hunt. Additionally, when things don’t go according to plan you’ll need to improvise to complete your mission.
Both games also share similarities in their co-op - whether you are a group of hunters or a group of criminals - you’ll need clear communication and swift navigation to succeed as a team in both games.
If you want to experience the intense feeling from Monster Hunter, see if you're a mastermind or want to improve your teamwork with your gaming friends you'll want to try PayDay 2.
Warframe
Price: Free-to-play
Get it on: Their official website & Steam
Available on: PC, PS4 and Xbox ONE
Warframe is an action co-op game that has "space ninjas with guns," and yes it's just as cool as it sounds. With a wide variety of both guns and melee weapons there is always an option that suits your playstyle. Warframe's awesome gameplay is supported by amazingly fun combat, very nice looking graphics and hours upon hours of fun.
While Warframe and Monster Hunter seem to have little to no similarities, however they both feature one major component that is essential to both games; grinding. Grinding resources for your gear and upgrades is critical to both Warframe and Monster Hunter while the success you feel after acquiring your gear - and thus the materials for it - all by yourself is awesome and keeps players coming back to each respective game. These mechanics will have you pouring hundreds if not thousands of hours into either one of the two games.
Some Warframe veterans have even stated that the real fun of the game starts after +1000 hours into the game. Whether that is true or not can be discussed at another time, but the fact is that both games have a really grindy nature and rely heavily on their crafting system. If you want to be able to handle the grind of Monster Hunter, check out Warframe to find your inner grinding guru.
That wraps up our 5 picks for games that will get you ready for Monster Hunter World. All picks in this list are great games and 100% worth checking out; whether you want to prepare yourself for Monster Hunter or stay far away from it.
Let us know in the comments what you thought of our picks, or let us know if you've got another game that can get player ready for Monster Hunter: World. For more Content on Monster Hunter: World and other games be sure to stay tuned to Gameskinny.
Published: Feb 24, 2018 08:36 am