Performance aside, let's talk about the game itself.

I have no problem with turn-off-your-brain hack and slash games. I play those too. But when I boot up Monster Hunter, I expect to play a slower and more methodical action game. Sad to see it going away from that niche.

There is no satisfaction or good sense of progression you got from previous titles...

• No more slow commited attacks and the importance of positioning. Now it's all about fast hack and slash action. No positioning needed as you can turn 360 degrees anytime you want with Focus Mode, even mid animation.
  
• Stunlock any monster with any weapon by spamming attack wound with zero thought and zero sense of timing.
  
• Null berries? What's that? Stun resist? Nice joke! You'll never need them to the point of seriously wonder why they even still exist in the game.
  
• Remember you had to find secrets/fun side quests to unlock palico gadgets, then choose what your palico can use and not use? Now your palico can use every gadget under the sun at all times with now 300% efficiency from the very beginning of the game. And no, you can't customize it aside from completely benching your palico.
  
• Absolutely zero incentive to know the map. No need to track any monster. 24/7 unrestricted access to an ubermensch taxi service that beelines straight to any objective and any monster.

For reference, I replayed World's base game from scratch just before Wilds released. It was nothing like this.
Hell, I even had fun in Rise because while it was more fast paced, it was still engaging.
But wait! There's more..

• Literal hours of boring as ♥♥♥♥ cutscenes and dialogue nobody asked for.
  
• NPCs won't shut the ♥♥♥♥ up reminding you at every opportunity a very basic game mechanic.
  
• Cluttered and invasive UI straight out of the "If Ubisoft made Elden Ring" satirical mockup
  
• Motion sickness from constant zoom in and out slinger/focus mode.
  
• An abomination against humanity: Palico audibly speaking human speech (in cringe otaku voice in EN) (you can thankfully switch it back to meows, even though it's clearly scuffed)

Look, Capcom. Nobody cared when you stripped requiring to carrying multiple pickaxes and bugnets. That's QoL, sure. But THIS..stripping away the franchise's core identity and mechanics, is not "QoL". It's "QoL" if your goal is to play Monster Hunter while scrolling through TikTok on your second monitor. and it's "QoL" for the tourists who bounced off even 5th gen MH because they thought the game was "too slow and clunky".

I really wanted to love this game. I'll still continue to play it as hopium. I'm just sad.

[h1] Overly Streamlined and Unengaging [/h1] Performance aside, let's talk about the game itself. I have no problem with turn-off-your-brain hack and slash games. I play those too. But when I boot up Monster Hunter, I expect to play a slower and more methodical action game. Sad to see it going away from that niche. There is no satisfaction or good sense of progression you got from previous titles...[h3] Because this game does everything for you. [/h3] [list] [*]No more slow commited attacks and the importance of positioning. Now it's all about fast hack and slash action. No positioning needed as you can turn 360 degrees anytime you want with Focus Mode, even mid animation. [*]Stunlock any monster with any weapon by spamming attack wound with zero thought and zero sense of timing. [*]Null berries? What's that? Stun resist? Nice joke! You'll never need them to the point of seriously wonder why they even still exist in the game. [*]Remember you had to find secrets/fun side quests to unlock palico gadgets, then choose what your palico can use and not use? Now your palico can use every gadget under the sun at all times with now 300% efficiency from the very beginning of the game. And no, you can't customize it aside from completely benching your palico. [*]Absolutely zero incentive to know the map. No need to track any monster. 24/7 unrestricted access to an ubermensch taxi service that beelines straight to any objective and any monster.[/list] For reference, I replayed World's base game from scratch just before Wilds released. It was nothing like this. Hell, I even had fun in Rise because while it was more fast paced, it was still engaging. [h3] Wilds plays like if you played the base games with Defender Armor and Weapons. [/h3] But wait! There's more.. [list] [*]Literal hours of boring as shit cutscenes and dialogue nobody asked for. [*]NPCs won't shut the fuck up reminding you at every opportunity a very basic game mechanic. [*] Cluttered and invasive UI straight out of the "If Ubisoft made Elden Ring" satirical mockup [*]Motion sickness from constant zoom in and out slinger/focus mode. [*]An abomination against humanity: Palico audibly speaking human speech (in cringe otaku voice in EN) (you can thankfully switch it back to meows, even though it's clearly scuffed)[/list] Look, Capcom. Nobody cared when you stripped requiring to carrying multiple pickaxes and bugnets. That's QoL, sure. But THIS..stripping away the franchise's core identity and mechanics, is not "QoL". It's "QoL" if your goal is to play Monster Hunter while scrolling through TikTok on your second monitor. and it's "QoL" for the tourists who bounced off even 5th gen MH because they thought the game was "too slow and clunky". I really wanted to love this game. I'll still continue to play it as hopium. I'm just sad.