I’ve been playing as much of Monster Hunter Rise as I possibly can. Although, that’s not much. Because of the nature of my work, I get to play it for maybe 5 hours over a week, up to 10 if I’m lucky. However, that hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for it whatsoever. If anything, I love it more because I have to play it in short bursts. It’s become my new favorite cozy game to play in the evening. I can just sit there and relax for an hour because I know that I’ve got an achievable challenge to complete before I head to bed.
I don’t think Monster Hunter as a franchise is cozy. If you do, I wonder what you count as frantic. I think that this game in particular is because it’s on the Switch. I don’t need to set up a TV or play in a certain room, I can literally pick this game up wherever I am and play. I could even be outside of the weather is warm enough. That is one big part of why it’s my new cozy game. Being able to curl up and play anywhere is a big bonus for me.
The second part of why this is my cozy game is that each hunt and objective is a single mission. You can pick a mission that sees you hunt down a big monster, or maybe one that’s about gathering or killing smaller monsters. I can pick and choose how intense I want my experience to be. If I’m feeling tired, a nice romp through the wilderness to gather mushrooms is exactly what I need. If I’ve got some more energy though, I can take on a big beast and utterly destroy them.
If you’ve yet to dive into this Monster Hunter entry, I thoroughly suggest that you do. It’s got everything that makes the franchise great, but there’s also an ethereal element to it that makes it so much more. I love playing this game, whether that’s for hours at a time or less than one hour. It’s got enough going on that anyone can keep going with it for months, and I think that most of us will be playing it for years to come.