Monster Hunter Rise was arguably one of the most successful titles of 2021. It became Capcom’s best selling single platform title to date. The Monster Hunter Rise PC port has the potential to keep the title successful and strong among a new player base. With the title surprisingly well optimized for average or even lower-end machines, those who were waiting for the it will be more than satisfied with what it has.
Editor’s Note: All Monster Hunter Rise screenshots below were taken while playing on a high-end PC rig.
What honestly surprised me most about the PC release of Monster Hunter Rise is the sheer amount of customization available for players’ graphics settings. Similar to the PC version of Monster Hunter: World, players can tailor it to best suit their PC or laptop. There are, of course, standard settings you can use to quickly set yourself up and immediately jump into the hunt. However, those that want to make sure the game can run optimally on lower-end machines can access the Advanced Graphics Settings to adjust things as necessary. I found this essential to enjoying the game on my laptop, which has definitely been showing signs of slowing down.
Configuring certain settings allowed for Monster Hunter Rise to run smoothly on the machine. It’s also great that Monster Hunter Rise actually displays how much graphics memory usage it is taking up. It was genuinely nice to be able to tailor my experience through these systems knowing that I’ll be able to play with friends, despite my older rig. However, there were some issues with slowdown and lag when I would fight monsters in the lava entrenched recesses of the Lava Caverns. So while it isn’t a perfect solution, the game is still playable and these issues don’t impact performance.
On the other hand, my new PC rig was able to handle everything spectacularly. I did not encounter any kind of lag or screen tearing when loads of effects would appear on screen. It was also neat seeing all of the things that I was now able to adjust to my liking. These included dynamic shadows or even equipment shadows that made the experience feel more immersive than it did on the Nintendo Switch. Additionally, the 4K textures exemplify how much detail was actually put into the monster and armor models. Kamura Village also looks absolutely incredible. While areas don’t have the same level of detail as Monster Hunter: World, they still manage to look organic and exciting.
The filters available in the PC version of the game also give the visuals a certain kind of texture that really highlights just how gorgeous it can be. There are several available options. The Black and White Cinema filter not only adds grain and other visual effects, but it goes so far as to change the sound quality of the game. The Warring Lands style filter had to be my favorite option. It created a very distinct visual look as it sucked out most of the cooler colors to replace them with muted grays, which enhanced the reds and brown color palettes. There really isn’t a contest between which version of the game offers a greater sense of accessibility regarding its graphics options and what looks more visually stimulating.
Monster Hunter Rise for PC is more than worth the while for those that were hesitant on purchasing it for the Nintendo Switch. It features several incredible visual updates that really allow for the environments and monsters to shine. And it’s great that there are avenues for players with less than stellar rigs to still gear up and join their friends in one of the most robust Monster Hunter titles to date.
PC Specs
Laptop
- Processor: Intel Core i5-9500 cpu @ 2.4 GHZ
- RAM: 8.00
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
Desktop
- Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core Processor 3.70 GHz
- Installed RAM 32.0 GB
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Monster Hunter Rise is available for the Nintendo Switch and PC.
