Back to the New World.

When Monster Hunter World was released back in 2018, I claimed it as the true evolution of the franchise and the best iteration of the long running series to date. In fact, in a year filled with phenomenal releases, it clinched the spot as my game of the year.

Despite constant new updates featuring new monsters and events, I eagerly anticipated the next big entry to the series in the form of an expansion or a sequel and with the reveal of Iceborne, I was positively giddy thinking of what might be in store.

What new locales will be there to explore?

What new moves and weapons will be there to master?

And of course, most importantly, what new monsters will be there to hunt?

Now that I’m 60+ hours deep into this massive expansion, I can answer all of those questions and so much more.

Welcome to Hoarfrost Reach, I hope you’re wearing enough layers.

MSRP: $39.99(DLC only) or $59.99(fMHW + Iceborne)
Platform: PS4, XB1, (PC later in 2020)
Played on: PS4 Pro (Frame rate prioritized)
Length: 20~ hours
Played: 60~ hours

The story picks up at the end of the main campaign of World, after the defeat of the otherworldly monster that was the root cause of all the commotion in the New World.

Following a group of migrating Legianas, an enigmatic song echoes throughout the land and the Hunter fleet mobilizes once more in order to get to the bottom of this mystery. Along the way, they discover a new continent which is aptly named, “The Hoarfrost Reach” due to its icy planes and mountains as well as its unforgiving climate. Here, the Hunters once again gather together to build a new base and strike out to explore the newly discovered continent and all its majestic inhabitants.

While for all intents and purposes, there is only one new area featured in the story for this expansion, it is enormous and bursting with life. From its various endemic life like the Macaque who like to laze about in the various natural hot springs to the beautiful vistas that remind me of some pictures taken at Everest, it’s a joy to explore- just don’t forget to pack a hot drink.

The new base hub named, “Seliana” (not to be confused with the place in Greece) was a cozy home away from home which featured all the necessities only a few steps away from each other and housed a glorious new gathering hub and a room of my own, which was more customizable than ever. In fact, I am a little ashamed to admit that I spent hours decorating my room to my own tastes but even that felt fun in its own way.

Given that the story and characters has never been the series’ selling point (bring back Guildmarm though), the driving force of wanting to progress came in the form of encountering new monsters. New monsters like the mammoth Banbaro that stampeded across the field picking up debris on its massive horns to use as battering rams to the Ice Elder Dragon, Velkhana which was as majestic as it was deadly, it was thrilling just to see what I would encounter next.

There were also various subspecies of existing monsters like the Coral Pukei-Pukei which would drink in copious amounts of water and shoot it out through its tail like a focused laser and the Fulgur Anjanath, which I can only describe as a lightning T-Rex, and many more which all differentiated from their regular counterparts enough to feel like brand new encounters. .

Old and new monsters alike all had new moves in their arsenal and were tuned for the new Master Rank, which turned up their aggression to another level. Fights in MR were often hectic, with very little room to breathe, and due to the bump in difficulty I could certainly see that there was a good reason why the content in Iceborne is only accessible after completing the main campaign first. As I am an accomplished hunter that has conquered every main MH game to date, I never felt overwhelmed or even failed a story mission, but I admit that I carted a fair few times during the journey.

As for the quality of the story missions themselves, I thought the cinematics were well directed and there wasn’t a single quest that bored me. Each step closer to Velkhana and the greater mystery at hand felt genuinely interesting, and the various set piece moments felt appropriately epic. There are a few points in the story that I was left to my own devices to gather some monster tracks before progressing to the next mission, but I felt these momentary pauses in the action gave me the opportunity to gear up a bit more by farming some equipment upgrades for the battle ahead.

The new armor and weapon sets look terrific for the most part.

Hunting new monsters means new weapons and armor to craft, and even though there were a few duds in the mix in terms of design, I thought they were largely excellent and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some of the new gear. My trusty Palico was in line for some upgrades as well, and as usual he was always more stylish than I was.

The new MR equipment also came with 4-slot decorations which could accommodate new +4 decorations. These decorations had two skills in one slot, which allowed for new builds that were impossible before and despite the endless farming in store for me ahead, I am happy to have the options.

Surprisingly, what has changed most in the transition to Iceborne is the combat, with the addition of two key mechanics, the first of which is the clutch claw.

Watch out, this kitten’s got claws!

Along with the trusty sling, every hunter is now equipped with the clutch claw, which allows the hunter to grab onto a monster without having to mount them. By grabbing onto a monster, I could trigger an attack that could wound that part of the monster, making it more susceptible to damage, and with weapons being categorized as light or heavy having different effects, it was important to know which of the two categories my weapon of choice belonged to. I could also grab onto the face of the monster and smack them to face a different direction, and by unloading all of my slinger ammo at once, make them run face first into a wall or better yet, another monster to deal massive damage and knock them both down.

In its concept, it seemed grossly overpowered as slinger ammo is commonplace, but when I first attempted to use it, it felt weak and inconsistent. I kept getting knocked down as the monster attacked while I was still grabbing onto it, and even though I used all my ammo, it wouldn’t run into the wall giving me a free KO. It wasn’t until a half dozen more hunts later that I began testing various aspects of the clutch claw that I learned the mechanics to its fine details. Familiarizing myself with the telltale sign of a monster’s enrage state and using tools like Temporal/Rocksteady mantle allowed me to make the best out of any situation. In no time, I was planting flying monsters into the ground and knocking two monsters into each other with expert precision.

It’s a system that awards skill and monster knowledge in equal parts, and I am thrilled to welcome it as a permanent staple of the series if they’ll keep it.

Other than the clutch claw, Tailraiders were introduced in Iceborne, and despite looking like nothing more than a gimmick, changed the flow of combat encounters significantly.

They see me rollin’

Previously, starting a hunt for a monster with no scout fly knowledge meant wandering around the map looking for enough tracks to hopefully have it eventually pop up on the map, but with the Tailrider I could simply step out of the camp and hop on a local Tailrider and have it sniff out the nearest tracks for me.

After finding the scent of the monster, it will then begin to automatically chase the objective with swift efficiency. Jumping down ledges, climbing vines and never running out of stamina, these Tailriders were better trackers than I ever was.

Once the monster was found, I would fight it normally until it moved to another area.

Ordinarily, this would be my cue to sharpen my weapon and heal up to full health but now, I would simply whistle of the Tailrider and instantly it would appear. While giving chase against the fleeing monster, I could drink a potion and sharpen my weapon all while riding. If that wasn’t enough, as I was chasing down a limping monster trying to get back to its lair 4 zones away, I caught up on my Tailrider and spring boarded off its back, mounting the weakened monster, knocking it down and finishing it off.

This was the moment that I decided that I would always be using the Tailrider whenever possible.

To me, the Tailriders serve the function equal to that of a golf cart. Everyone likes the part where they hit the ball but most people don’t enjoy walking towards the ball they just hit for 18 holes, and just as the golf cart quickly lets them get back to the part they enjoy the most, the Tailriders lets hunters get back to what they love doing best.

Hunting.

It seems this monster brought a sword to a sword fight. How appropriate.

With those two additions to an already deeply satisfying system, it has never felt better to play Monster Hunter than it does now.

That is not to say that the game is perfect, as the two notable flaws of the original have been ignored entirely and are present in Iceborne in the exact same way. The cumbersome nature of joining another’s story campaign as they sit through cutscenes is an unnecessary hassle, as is the lack of a pause button during single player mode, which led to my most embarrassing death in the series yet.

Death by a bunch of mosquitoes.

These are obviously not deal breakers, and the developers seem to be aware of these common complaints but their inaction has me scratching my head. Better luck in MHW 2, I suppose.

As always, hunting with friends and strangers alike is where the Hunt truly feels complete.

As the follow up to the best selling game that Capcom has ever made and my personal pick for game of the year, it’s an understatement to say that there was a lot to live up to. Luckily, the masters at Capcom were more than up for the challenge and delivered on an expansion that highlights the unforgettable moments of triumph the series is synonymous for while moving forward with clever new mechanics that enhance the Monster Hunter experience to its finest iteration.

It’s a damn good day for a hunt.

Fun Tidbit – Even though there are no new weapon types in Iceborne, all the weapons have gained new moves and/or tools to make them more fun to wield than ever. I personally switch between Longsword, Hammer, LBG, HBG and Sword and Shield. There’s also a big endgame area that unlocks when you finish the story but you can see that for yourself.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.