The Monster Hunter series is a series of games that does exactly what the title says. The current Monster Hunter World is an attempt by Capcom to gain a fanbase in the West.

In terms of the story, you are a rookie hunter going on the 5th mission to help explore the new world (think of it as discovering America). There is a story, but it is indifferent and only serves to gradually unlock the game for you. The characters don't even have names, and if the cutscenes weren't so good, you would laugh at it.

The essence of the game is hunting Monsters. You have a range of 14 types of weapons with a huge repertoire of moves to discover for each one, making it feel like playing a Fighting Game. Each hunt lasts from 10 minutes to half an hour, depending on how much experience you have with the current Monster and how well-equipped you are. Each monster has a wide range of moves and quirks to learn, and the more you learn, the more effective you become. With each victory, you collect pieces from the Monster and use them to create better armor and weapons. Armor sets need to be crafted regularly depending on the defense and skills they offer, while weapons are mainly upgraded from the previous version, choosing their evolution. When you're not playing with other players, you'll be assisted by a Palico, humanoid cats, who leave when there are more than 2 players.

World has many significant changes and innovations compared to the previous (and next) games in order to attract a wider audience. Hunts are no longer divided into Single-player and Multi-player, but automatically adjust the life and aggression depending on the players who join (up to 4) the game. The 5 hunting grounds (+2 with the expansion) are unified and full of ways and traps to exploit them in the hunt. Support/consumable items can be crafted almost instantly or even automatically, and you can collect and use them while moving. You are always equipped with a slinger that acts according to the ammo, and if you have the Expansion, you also have a grappling hook to latch onto each monster. As someone who started with World, the others seem very cumbersome to me.

The graphics are fantastic, and the biggest issue with the game is the loading, but if you play it on an SSD from a PS5, this problem disappears. The voice acting could be better, and many times it is obvious that it is dubbed.

The game resembles a Semi-MMO Grinding, but don't let it deceive you. It is fantastically addictive and very challenging. Each hunt requires strategy and preparation, and the more you learn about each monster, the more effective you become.

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Tips for beginners:
• With the release of the Expansion, Capcom added the Defender/Guardian weapons and armor available to everyone in the game. They are very powerful, very cheap, and were introduced to theoretically allow you to quickly reach the Expansion without grinding, and they are available from Character creation. The community dislikes them as they trivialize the game, and any player who wears them is considered a beginner no matter how far they are, as they will not have learned how to play. Choose them or avoid them accordingly.
• A good meal is essential for every hunt. At the beginning, the best choice is the Chef's choice, which automatically selects the freshest ingredients to increase your maximum health. Deeper into the game it is more important to choose based on buffs (although they are activated more easily with fresh ingredients) as you will be able to easily increase max life with consumables. Unlock materials and buffs by completing optional missions.
• Each weapon has a terrifying depth to learn it. The easiest for beginners are the Sword and Shield, Dual Blades, Hammer, Greatsword (slow), Lance (slow), Hunting Horn. Avoid if you don't know them Charge Blade, Gun-lance and Insect Glaive, as they have mechanisms that are not easily discovered on your own. For all, you should watch a Tutorial on Youtube to use them correctly.
• To mount a monster you need to make aerial attacks that do the so-called mounting damage, running from platforms, sliding down slopes, running towards specific walls, or using specific tricks from weapons. To mount the monster you have to press triangle to tire it out, and the trigger to hold on, but it's easier if it tries to throw you off from one place, just jump to another. Monsters gain immunity to all debuffs as you do them, even in mounting, so they will be less and less feasible/effective during the hunt.
• In every area you go, it is almost essential to make peace with the local cats. This is done by going on an expedition, finding their nest and doing a small side quest. If you go on days when the Lynian Researcher is there, he will tell you how to do it, otherwise you Google it. If you make peace in an area, they will help you in Safaris, they will become a 3rd player when you go solo, they will make local monsters a 4th player, they will give your Palico new tools to learn, you will be able to call a mount to take you straight to the monster, they will set traps on the track and in the expansion you will be able to exchange materials to tell you secrets of the map. The advantages are too many not to do it.
• Many weapons have their Element locked (grayed out). To use it you must find gear with the Skill "Free element/Ammo up". The name makes you think it concerns weapons with ammunition, but in reality it concerns all weapons with grayed out Element and simply gives a boost to Bows where Element does not matter.
• Before entering the Expansion, complete all optional quests to unlock all foods and Mantels. Especially the Rocksteady and Temporal mantels are essential for the endgame.
• The game is difficult! Do not be discouraged by some defeats.