So I had a previous review that was a bit more negative on the game and very similar to my lame shitpost review of Xenoblade 2 where I simply said "objectively better than the first game." I feel I was a bit too harsh on Iceborne then. Now a lot of the problems I had back then are still there but 3 years away from this exclusively playing Rise and Sunbreak definitely helped in giving me a newfound outlook for Monster Hunter World and Iceborne. Especially the latter.

Post Monster Hunter 3 I haven't really disliked any Monster Hunter game. 3 has a really lackluster roster, but I understand why it was like that. I don't like it, but I get it. P3rd on though? Banger after banger full on 10 on 10 games baby. P3rd? Banger. 3U? Banger. 4U? ALL TIMER THE POPEYES CHICKEN OF MH. Gen? Banger. GU? Banger. World would be the first one to really sort of shake up this streak for me as while I never did find the game terrible I always felt it was lacking something. A sort of charm the previous games had that the 5th generation wouldn't really bring back until Rise. Iceborne only exacerbated this despite the return of some of the more vibrant and odd monsters from older games. Didn't stop me from putting over 2K hours and now another 295 into it with this replay lmfaooo.

So yeah getting it out of the way now. Iceborne is a bit of a janky load still. The clutch claw sucks. This is a lukewarm take, but man does it suck having to do this to even make WEX work. The movement of the characters also feels really off compared to the previous games and even Rise. There's a bit of that Rockstar Euphoria bullshit going on where I feel some control responses take like 3 hours at times and cool I just got one shot by Fatalis epic. I'd talk about the deco grinding (still sucks), Guiding Lands (kill me), or the FOMO events, but those are mostly a nonissue now. If you're playing MHWI in 2023 (enjoy by the way if you got it on the current sale that shit is a steal) none of these things will really matter as naturally grinding out what you want or deco events may just get you decent decos. For The Guiding Lands unless you really want to augment some gear (and there's no reason to really care about attack and health augments I didn't use any at all this playthrough) you can just avoid it besides the mandatory story quests or Raging Brachydios event (one of the best fights). FOMO events nonexistent since Fatalis dropped back in late 2020 and the game is so much better for it. This is what it should have been all along and it rules. Yeah I still have my issues with some annoying shit. Why does the game punish me for playing good by having that dumb Rajang wall grab and Fatalis falling over knock me down? But the good out weighs the bad. Also while I find Rise's art direction to be much better as I feel MH should be a very stylized (yet realistic) franchise I can definitely at least say that the environments in this game are gorgeous and the HDR is so goooood when you figure out how to make it work. Just the wonderful contrast and colors you can give it. On a technical level yeah World is genuinely impressive especially for a PS4 game, and now on PS5 with the minimized loadtimes and unbroken 60fps lordy... All that paired with the amount of content makes this at this point in time one of the most bang for your buck games. If you've ever been interested in Monster Hunter and wanted an idea of what the franchise is then yes this is the game to play. I may prefer Rise and feel in many ways it is more representative of the franchise as a whole post Tri (goofy yet earnest) World is the game Wilds will definitely build off of more than the former even if it takes some elements from it.

It's a bit of a mess (why is Nergigante turned into Monsterverse Godzilla and why are the ledges so fucking annoying and why are the maps so tight and cramped) and some things really feel like the devs at times are trying to counter the player trying to have any fun (CC tenderizing), but MHWI is in my opinion still one of the gold standards of what a AAA release should be. This doesn't just end at release content wise, but in post launch content with free additional monsters and events to keep the game alive. Yeah it may not be the best MH, but I'm thinking it's a pretty damn good game.

Now if you'll excuse me I'll be playing Monster Hunter Rise and the older ones until Wilds releases alongside any other games I want to play.

I really think Rise made me decide I wasn't going to talk or put my thoughts on any of these games online until they're fully 100% truly done with updates and while this still has a few more event quests to go that I will gladly get to as it stands this shit is done with Primeval Malzeno.

Sunbreak (from this point on occasionally referred to as Sunrise keep up) is without a shadow of a doubt probably the first one of these I've really been as addicted to as I was to 4U way back on the 3DS. While with Worldborne it eventually became a game of endless deco/KT/Safi farming Sunrise is a game that while as of this moment I have less time put into it than Worldborne unlike that game I can see myself definitely making another character to do an all new playthrough with a year or two from now.

The fantastic and frenetic combat of Rise is back in full swing and as with most G rank titles the monsters are faster and meaner than ever before, but Sunbreak goes even further implementing features and mechanics thought to have been lost with Frontier. Monsters like the Espinas duo and P Malzeno go absolutely berserk and it fucking rules. You can tell this time around the devs and especially the director who has been really open about about his love of Frontier really wanted to bring all that shit back and while I can't speak as someone who has played Frontier the consensus from those who have is enough to tell me they basically got it right. To combat this new ferocious beastiary we get the new scroll swap and switch skill mechanic and while I can definitely see the scrolls being a Sunrise exclusive gameplay element I hope to god switch skills return going forward. Being able to switch out your weapons moves for different ones is a million times more interesting to me as someone who cares more about game feel than the maps feeling alive and like a real ecosystem that Worldborne pushed.

This is also the first MH since 4U where while still having the same nonsense and simple "What could be causing this? Oh, it's monster! Actually it's this monster!" story MH always has it truly gets the feeling across of being on an adventure with a ragtag group to investigate and slay a dragon. It's funny too cause like Worldborne has a similar thing as always going on but it feels dumber in that game than here or 4U or even 3U? I don't know why, but it does. All this eventually culminating with the launch versions dragon satan finale and now the final update's P Malzeno leave me with a feeling of satisfaction that neither Xeno nor Shara really left me with despite the latter's genuinely great fight. Love the characters in this one too. I know it sounds silly considering most of them are just trope characters you see in lots of Japanese media, but Monster Hunter has always had a weird sort of like Jurassic Park 1 likeability to (most of) its characters that I can't help but enjoy interacting with them. Capcom knows this too cause the follower system (another thing kind of taken from Frontier) implemented in this game is really just a dating system lets be real and it better come back. Also if you look like Minayle hmu.

Yeah most of this review sounds like rambling, but I've got a year of shit to say and I've had plenty of time to reflect on and honestly I really really really like this game. It's a feeling like I've mentioned I haven't felt towards a Monster Hunter since 4U around 8 years ago (Jesus Christ kill me). Sure I can criticize how the roster isn't as big as GU's (stupid). Hell I could criticize the super slow grind of the Anomaly system, but I personally don't mind it. It's a much more passive grind that I could play at whatever pace I wanted and all the post launch monsters don't really require all the shit you get from it to fight them. Afflicted monsters being a genuinely fun challenge and the THE best version of endgame powered monsters (this is not arguable don't even bother) only helps. Loved the secondary combat mechanic of hitting the glowing bits like hyper monsters, but unlike them it actually feels like it does something. Love the knockdowns leading to tired state for easy hits after doing enough damage, but unlike 4U Apexes it's not annoying as fuck to get there without some shitty extra item. Love that they actually get cool slight distinct visuals aspects (Khezu full on looks like Red Khezu, Luna looks like a super Odo), as opposed to the boring violet metallic tint of World's tempered monsters. Yeah I'm shilling hard and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, this game is better than Worldborne. What it lacks in fidelity (made up for by better art direction here anyways) it more than makes up for in being actually fun to play and having creative combat scenarios that could never be done in that game's slower pacing or shitty attempts at MMO raid type battle.

Oh my lord the music of this game too. I am very vocal in my dislike of some of World's tracks (Iceborne is definitely a bit better about this), but Sunbreak like Rise before it goes all in with some of the coolest original tracks in the series alongside remaking older ones in a much closer fashion to their originals while still adding in new touches to make them feel fresh. The end result is just chefs kiss baby. Peak MH OST.

Sunbreak may not be perfect and it kind of like Generations Ultimate is hampered by a good as fuck but also kind of weaker first half (Gen portion in GU Rise portion here), but by the time you're dug in like a tick in Sunbreak that shit won't matter when Fiorayne leaps through the sky and slamshitfucks Pacific Rim back into the Earth. Yeah, I'm thinking I'll be playing this still a fuckton while waiting for MH6 and years away from now too.

God, getting Suda51 to co-write a game about spooky ghosts on some isolated Japanese island was such a good move. The entire thing and everything that happens being connected to music in the end and one of the late game twists feels so much like him.

Having to readjust myself to the slower pace of a Fatal Frame game after around 8 years (missed Maiden's re-release I'll get to it someday) was kind of annoying at the start, but after an hour of play I got used to it. Aside from some weird movement controls that feel like original RE4, but stiffer I was taking out ghosts so hard and quick they'll be talking about busting feeling good. Very similar to the recent Metroid Prime Remastered, the gyro aim is so good for a game of this type and I hope whenever 6 happens they keep going all in on it.

It's cool as fuck to finally be able to play this and that it is actually good 15 years later. So much so that all the game really got was an HD facelift with some better character models. You can still see those Wii era jank textures in the environment, but fuck it man I'll take it. Although I won't lie that makes me wish I would have just got this on the Switch. Oh well, I'll most likely order a physical version from PlayAsia just so I can have it in some way.

Let's hope for a future where HD releases of the original PS2 trilogy exist soon. Maybe even the Wii remake of 2 gets a re-release (and actual US release) in a similar vein to this, and lets really hold out hope for a Fatal Frame 6 in the even nearer future.

God they really put all their asses on board for this one. Game got me having to calm down like I just watched Fury Road.

Game is 10 hours of nonstop carnage that never ceases and if it weren't for the unskippable unbroken narrative first person cutscenes I would argue this is the best paced Doom game. Every single minute to minute is used so precisely and well that while the game is longer than I remember it it doesn't overstay its welcome. After Eternal too the more simple tech and combat of the game makes this feel like a nice walk in the park in comparison. Doom 2016 is the DMC5 Nero to Eternal basically being DMC5 Dante for a dumb and silly analogy. A game I could pick up anytime and that I'll still see myself playing by the time it's 10 years old. Also damn it still looks good. No overuse of crazy particle effects, just violently gorgeous art direction and incredible lighting.

Needs to be so said so I may as well get it out of the way now before I play Eternal again but it is so fucking annoying Bethesda and higher ups at id had to go be morons and fuck over Mick Gordon. This and Eternal have some of the most baller music in not just Doom but video games in general and to lose that cause they couldn't take him wanting to do his craft right and with actual care is beyond a damn shame.

Let me say right off the bat with nearly 2 years since it's initial launch and picking it up again only a day ago for the first time in nearly if not a whole ass year that this game is fucking terrible. It's predatory, it's full of artificial extensions to make things take longer and pressure you into spending your hard earned dollary doos (DO NOT IT IS NOT WORTH IT UNLESS YOU ARE ME NOW GIVE ME 200 DOLLARS), the community is one of the shittiest and most annoying people I've had the misfortune to sometimes come across. Characters beyond their physical attractiveness have nothing else going for them. The story is (as of now) hot garbage and presented like hot garbage with paragraphs of text for character dialogue subtitles and they are INSANE if they think I'm reading all that.

With all that said though? Yes, you should play it cause being an insane chemist mixing up different elemental properties to nuke the countryside and an actual sentient race of goblins that have their own language and culture using little girls and big booba mommies while going on huge nature walks across XI JINPINGS IDEAL EMPIRE, Isekai Germany and YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-era Japan is actually fun as fuck.

Yeah it's a shameless Breath of the Wild clone and it doesn't give a fuck and neither should you cause Breath of the Wild is already good and now you're getting Breath of the Wild with fat anime tits, cunny, and more frenetic combat for insatiable crackheads and that sounds like a win to me.

Yeah there's male characters but don't lie you and I both know we don't give a fuck about them and that what we're really in the market for is big DEEPS mommy pirate and Lisa's JP moans while she's climbing.

tl;dr don't play this game, but do play it.

Replaying this for the first time in over a decade in a post 2016 and Eternal world really is eye opening to what a dumbass shithead kid I was back then. Now while I still prefer those games and the first two Dooms to this, to call Doom 3 bad is genuinely insane. Doom 3 is just as valid to the franchise as any of the other games and Doom 2016 owes so much to it. It's genuinely wild how much it takes from this and not just obvious things like the Hellknight design, but even the design and general engineering of the UAC facility, weapons, and equipment feels so familiar across both to a degree.

id were honestly off the goop to be pulling off lighting like this in 2004 much less having the balls to go full horror with a game franchise that had in the minds of people become remembered as big demon slaughter fest or the funny comic. Really if I have any problems with Doom 3 is that unlike previous Doom games which I feel start strong and end kinda dull. Doom 3 starts strong and gets kinda dull and sluggish around the middle then picks the fuck back up towards the end with massive enemy gauntlets that keep you on your toes. Oh, and the boss battles kinda suck, they're really easy and most of the time amount to just shoot it until it dies. Yeah sure, you can make the argument this is usually the case for Doom, but if you've played Doom 3 you know exactly what I'm talking about. YOU DON'T EVEN FIGHT THE CYBERDEMON HEAD ON YOU KILL GOONS TO POWER THE MCGUFFIN THAT HURTS IT COME ON.

That aside very good game.

Basically kind of like the Eternal DLCs/expansions, picks off where the original game ended in terms of difficulty and like those if you liked Doom 3 (I do) you will like this. The problems you had with Doom 3? They're not entirely gone here. I will say though the lowered camera fuckery when soldiers shoot you is 100% id realizing they made that shit mad annoying in the base game and thank god for that. Biggest major difference now though is the Super Shotty is back and after that point I never looked back at the awful Doom 3 base shotgun ever again. Not to say the SS is perfect since it still seems to have some issues with spread, but I'll take it. The new additional weapon "The Artifact" is cool with its bullet time effect, but I'm gonna be honest the Soul Cube stealing demons health and making it your own? Much cooler. Neat to see all these things become in game power ups in the new Doom games though. Once again proving those games don't distance themselves from Doom 3, but celebrate it just as much as the others.

Brisk 2 and a half to three hour playtime is perfect for this. Will be doing The Lost Missions next.