In a surprise announcement, CAPCOM and TiMi Studio Group unveiled Monster Hunter: Outlanders—a free-to-play Monster Hunter game for mobile devices.
There is much mystery surrounding this new title, but the reveal was enough to generate hype, resulting in over 7,000 shares from fans across Twitter.
So what’s Monster Hunter: Outlanders all about? Here’s what we know about this new Monster Hunting title:
It’s Open World
This must be the biggest sell to a Monster Hunter fan. An expansive open world is the perfect feature for a game like Monster Hunter.
The trailer alone gave us a few glimpses of its unique biomes. We see the usual swamp, desert, and lush forests—typical Monster Hunter areas.
However, we don’t know where this new world will be. Does it occur alongside Monster Hunter: World or before the new-gen titles? There’s no confirmation of how big the world is, but we got a brief tease of its map during the last few seconds of the trailer.
New Exploration Tools
Monster Hunter: Outlanders has a new way of traversing, and that’s through paragliding. We can see our Hunter soaring through the skies using its makeshift glider. This is oddly similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Genshin Impact’s gliding system. While this has advantages for quick exploration, we all know we will use the glider to marvel at the game’s glorious vistas.
In another part of the trailer, we see what looks like a climbing mechanic– not seen in a Monster Hunter title. This could work similarly to other open-world games where climbing walls deplete stamina.
Oh, and a special ballista can shoot our Hunter to great distances. We don’t know how it works or how OSHA-compliant it is, but it does look cool, blazing through the skies.
We also see normal traversal, such as swimming, sliding, and running away from monsters.
MORE MONSTERS
It’s not a Monster Hunter without its roster of iconic Monsters. CAPCOM was kind enough to tease us about the returning favorites. From the Iguana-like Great Jagras to the notorious T-Rex Anjanath, Outlanders has a ton of familiar faces that we’re excited to hunt again.
What got us wondering is who their flagship monster could be. Rise had Magnamalo, Iceborne had Velkhana, and Sunbreak had Malzeno. Outlanders could save its reveal for later, but we saw a mysterious volcanic monster in the first few seconds of the trailer. Who knows? Maybe this could be Outlanders’ flagship.
Gacha-Based Elements?
Since Monster Hunter: Outlanders is a free-to-play mobile game, it’s normal to be skeptical about its business model. However, the game's microtransactions are guaranteed to overload our screens.
This is just speculation, but from what we gathered in the trailer and its promotional character teasers, it might have Gacha mechanics.
Farming monster materials and collecting resources to craft armor and weapons have shaped Monster Hunter’s identity. The potential of Gacha to bleed into this grind could be a double-edged sword. We could see a drop-rate booster for a specific Monster material or an in-game shop that lets us buy mats with real money.
Here’s hoping it maintains the original series’ crafting and farming loop.
Switchable Characters
Monster Hunter: Outlanders will have multiple playable characters. This isn’t just limited to your custom-made Hunter; you can also switch between a roster of original characters. If we’re still leaning on the Gacha speculation, this could mean we will be using in-game resources to pull these characters.
These special characters have a select weapon from Monster Hunter’s main arsenal of hunting weapons. There’s no information on whether they have unique perks or abilities, but being able to switch between characters makes the gameplay more interesting.
Good news: Monster Hunter: Outlanders is gearing up for its play tests soon. The release date is still a complete mystery, but players interested in trying the game early can sign up on their official website.