Capcom and Niantic have introduced their first collaboration: Monster Hunter Now. Described as a real-world looking ARPG, Monster Hunter Now’s a recreation for cellular units that blends an accessible model of the AR smash hit title from Niantic—Pokemon Go—and good ol’ traditional Monster Hunter gameplay. The collaboration is actually set to convey Rathalos, Kirin, Zinogre, and lots of different iconic monsters to your neighborhood by way of augmented actuality.
The Monster Hunter franchise has bought greater than 90 million copies. By teaming up with Niantic—the creators of Pikmin Bloom, Pokemon Go, and NBA All-World—Capcom could make the sequence obtainable to cellular avid gamers.
4 Years Within the Making
If you happen to’ve ever dreamt of looking monsters in the true world, Monster Hunter Now turns that dream into actuality. In a press briefing, John Hanke, the CEO of Niantic, said that the upcoming AR recreation was 4 years within the making. The corporate believes that Monster Hunter Now will go farther than every other recreation they’ve labored on concerning real-time fight. Hanke stated it’d have quick motion fight and a seamless multiplayer expertise. In fact, we are able to’t make sure if that’s the case when Monster Hunter Now absolutely releases. For now, I’m crossing my fingers that, on the very least, the sport gained’t be a buggy mess when it’s out.
The Chief Product Officer of Niantic, Kei Kawai, commented that having majestic monsters working across the avenue was a compelling concept as a real-world recreation. Having an augmented actuality Monster Hunter recreation was such a no brainer that they accepted Capcom’s pitch instantly after their first pitch.
What You Can Anticipate
In Monster Hunter Now, you’ll be a hunter and enterprise forth to take down the fiercest monsters on the planet. You can even staff up with different gamers in the event you want additional assist, including a social component to the already-thrilling expertise. Niantic and Capcom touted Monster Hunter Now as a simplified however genuine model of the MH sequence’ fight, albeit you’ll be utilizing swipes and tabs in your cellphone’s touchscreen.
The sport is performed in panorama mode, which emulates the expertise of enjoying the PC and console Monster Hunter video games, however additionally it is playable in portrait mode. Battle instances take a most of 75 seconds, making it appropriate for outside play the place you’re all the time on the go. Sakae Osumi—Niantic’s senior producer—said their objective was to seize all of the challenges and enjoyable of Monster Hunter battles on this restricted time window. With that in thoughts, the sequence’ well-known weapon courses stay, letting you alter your gameplay.
There can be native factors of curiosity in Monster Hunter Now, that are resource-gathering areas. In the meantime, the real-world atmosphere is split into totally different ecological zones, making it attainable or gamers to come across totally different supplies and monsters. You’ll want to make use of a “paintball” to tag the monsters you see in the true world. By doing so, you possibly can hunt them at dwelling—alone or with mates. Alternatively, the sport presents Palico companions, who can robotically tag monsters utilizing the paintballs even when the app is closed. That approach, you possibly can collect a plethora of monsters you possibly can hunt at a later time.
As for Monster Hunter Now’s potential integration with mainline Monster Hunter titles and aggressive multiplayer, Niantic couldn’t touch upon these for now, however they’ve inspired followers of the franchise and AR video games to remain tuned.
Will Monster Hunter’s Legacy Translate to Success for MH Now?
Monster Hunter is Capcom’s hottest franchise to this point. It’s additionally one of the vital well-known ARPG recreation sequence ever. The video games gained a gentle improve over the past 20 years. It has all the time been carefully related to handheld gaming in Japan regardless of being on PC and consoles such because the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Sequence X/S. However that doesn’t imply Monster Hunter Now will robotically change into successful.
Niantic has made a number of makes an attempt to duplicate the Pokemon Go method with different properties, and to date, they’ve solely obtained restricted success. Pikmin Bloom, one other Nintendo IP, was a modest hit. In the meantime, their high-profile recreation, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, closed up store after lower than three years its launch.
Niantic’s staff argues that Monster Hunter is the proper franchise to obtain the augmented actuality therapy because the iteration of Pokemon Go. Kawai said that they imagine they’re a success on their fingers this time, and so they’re working to make Monster Hunter Now final for years.
Launch Date
Monster Hunter Now’s slated to launch absolutely in September 2023 for iOS and Android. If you happen to’re eager about enjoying the sport earlier, join the closed beta take a look at on the official web site. The beta is scheduled to begin on April 25.