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MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD: THE HUNT THAT OPENED THE DOOR

Monster Hunter: World Steam header
Steam store header for Monster Hunter: World (app 582010). Used as review art. Amazon button is the PS4 disc listing.

9.0 of 10 bananas. The entry that brought the series to the whole troop.

By the Alpha. Base game, PS4 disc listing, plays on PS5. Updated Oct 2026.

Platforms: The PS4 disc is the Amazon button, and a PS5 with a disc drive plays it through backward compatibility. PC on Steam and Xbox One also exist. The Iceborne expansion is sold separately. This page sells the PS4 base game disc only.

ActionRPGMultiplayer
Get Monster Hunter: World on Amazon

Sit with me a moment. I spent twenty minutes tracking a Rathalos across the Ancient Forest, following footprints and scratch marks. When I finally carved its scale and built my first real armor, I understood the loop. Hunt, carve, craft, hunt bigger. It has not let go of me since.

What It Wants To Be

Capcom's big action hunting game, released on PS4 and Xbox One in January 2018 and on PC that August. You are a hunter on a research expedition to a new continent. Fourteen weapon types, living ecosystems, and up to four players hunting together online. The Iceborne expansion arrived in 2019. Monster Hunter Wilds is the newer sequel.

What Works

Each weapon type is a full fighting style, from the heavy Great Sword to the tricky Insect Glaive. Monsters fight each other, flee, and nest, so a hunt feels like a story. Gear crafted from what you carve gives every win a purpose. Co-op is where it shines. An SOS flare brings strangers to help in minutes, and four hunters on one monster is chaos in the best way.

What Breaks

Listen well. The opening hours explain too much and too little at the same time. Joining friends in story missions is clunky, since each player must watch cutscenes before others can join. The grind for rare materials is real. Menus are dense, and new players can feel lost for a while.

Who Should Play

Play if you want a game you can sink hundreds of hours into with friends. Skip if repeating fights for drops sounds like work. Already a fan? Read my Monster Hunter Wilds verdict for the newer hunt.

STRENGTHS

  • Fourteen distinct weapon styles
  • Living ecosystems
  • Crafting that makes every hunt matter
  • Great online co-op for four

HONEST COSTS

  • Confusing early hours
  • Clunky story co-op
  • Rare material grind
  • Button is PS4 base game, not Iceborne
ALPHA VERDICT: 9.0 of 10. A modern classic of co-op hunting. Learn one weapon, call a friend, and lose the month. Get Monster Hunter: World on Amazon, then meet the troop on Twitch.
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Related: Monster Hunter Wilds, Helldivers 2.

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