Monster Hunter: World

With Monster Hunter: World, Capcom departed for the first time from the series' traditional division into small mission-based areas and created a truly seamless open world, the New World, where the Hunters' Guild sets out to investigate the migration of giant monsters and their ecosystem.

The heart of the game remains the hunt itself - the player chooses from fourteen distinct weapon types, from heavy hammers to complex hunting horns, each with its own set of combos, speed, and rhythm, so switching weapons is almost like playing a new game. The hunter tracks the trails and behavior of monsters such as the flagship, T-Rex-like Anjanath or the majestic dragon Nergigante, tags them with the flying Scoutfly insect, and forges ever stronger gear from the materials gathered. Fights last dozens of minutes, monsters limp, flee to their lairs, and can have their tail severed or specific body parts damaged, changing not only their behavior but also their loot. The new seamless environment also lets monsters interact with each other and their surroundings, creating emergent situations where two beasts clash right in front of the player.

The base of Astera serves as a social hub between expeditions, where players can cook meals granting temporary bonuses, trade with other hunters, and plan joint expeditions for up to four players. More accessible controls, a clearer interface, and modern graphics compared to earlier, exclusively handheld installments opened the series to a massive Western audience that had previously overlooked it. The subsequent major expansion Iceborne added the snowy region of Hoarfrost Reach and a new, even tougher monster named Velkhana, extending the game's lifespan by years of additional content. Critics praised the depth of its systems while remaining accessible to newcomers, and the game became the best-selling title in Capcom's history, definitively catapulting Monster Hunter into the global mainstream.