Monster Hunter Outlanders Review

If there's a singular idea that defines Monster Hunter, it's the grind. Capcom's mega-hit franchise, ever since its inception on the PSP, has flourished because of how it embraces the very idea of grinding and transforms it into an infectiously fun gameplay loop. Repetition and habit are vital parts of the series, so it makes sense, then, that the mobile game gacha format would eventually come to Monster Hunter, fitting currencies and timed gauges into that collecting and grinding experience. But my biggest surprise with Monster Hunter Outlanders has been how it's a comprehensive, full-fledged Monster Hunter packed onto phones and tablets. While it does eventually get buried under an avalanche of currencies to keep track of and some gacha roadblocks, there's enough meat on the bone here to sustain those hungry for more Monster Hunter or a solid action RPG on mobile.

Like most Monster Hunter games, Outlanders follows a group of intrepid explorers from the Adventurer's Guild, this time sent to the uncharted island of Aesolan to investigate a mineral called Radiantate, and how it's influencing various breeds of monsters. After a brief action-packed intro, you're essentially let loose onto the island, free to explore the first environment or tackle the story as you see fit. But also, like most Monster Hunter games, the initial 20 or so hours of Outlanders are extremely guided and layered with seemingly endless tutorials. That's compounded by the nature of being a mobile game, meaning it has to introduce a half-dozen modes, various pull systems, currencies for powering up your Adventurer, and much more.

The most succinct way to describe Outlanders is if you took Monster Hunter World, streamlined its combat, and crammed the entire thing into a mobile game. I almost cannot overstate how closely Outlanders resembles World in every way, even right down to the general structure and story. It takes a bit of an interesting approach, filling the story with a cast of characters that doubles as the big gacha pulls, even though you also have your "main" player-created character. While the overall story feels a bit rote and generic, the world of Outlanders itself is still brimming with things to do. While not a traditional open world game, it's in the exact same framework as Monster Hunter World and Wilds, giving you massive zones to explore. In these zones, you can naturally hunt monsters (without kicking off missions), gather resources, engage in little minigames like a rhythmic one where you steal a flying monster's treasure, and undertake any number of sidequests.

Pocket Hunting

My biggest surprise with Outlanders is how uncompromising the scope of its world feels, right in line with a big mainline Monster Hunter, supported by the fact that this game looks absolutely stunning, and runs like a dream. On an iPhone 14 Plus I was able to run the game on High settings with a stable 45fps, and almost zero slowdown, even during intense battles.

The actual act of exploring the world feels just as entrancing as in major Monster Hunters. Various options for constructing camps and equipment as you explore the world make both traversal and item gathering easier. Camps unlock fast travel points and places to rest, catapults send your adventurer flying on their glider at high speed, and resource collectors constantly soak up those valuable items you need.

Combat is still largely about that push-and-pull of timing, knowing when to pivot between offense and defense, and winding up your attacks at just the right time. That timing and weight of battle has always set Monster Hunter apart from other action games, and it's still present here. But where you can see the mobile limitations is in the particulars of combat control and the various, and many systems, used to improve your Adventurer's stats.

Essentially, Outlanders is a squad-based Monster Hunter, where you build a party consisting of your main character and characters you pull (multiplayer with other actual players is available, too). But you can also play as each of the gacha characters, who have their own movesets, Ultimates, and abilities. For example, Keres uses dual blades that are actually a set of claws, giving her a completely separate set of skills, including one Wolverine-like drill attack. Meanwhile, Luxheart has a two-handed sword that he can rev up to shoot out fireworks, making each of his attacks like a miniature show. These various characters are actually one of my favorite parts of Outlanders, as their designs dig into a bit of tokusatsu pizazz, leaning into the overall goofiness of Monster Hunter as well.

Having distinct movests also goes a long way to breaking up the monotony of repeat hunts and grinding. However, Outlanders overall has fewer weapon types than the last few games as a result, clocking in at eight total weapon types – some notable exclusions being the Hunting Horn and Insect Glaive. And overall, Outlanders plays a bit like a slightly simplified version of World in that it streamlines the more dynamic gameplay. For example, a lot of the emergent world elements, like using a Flashfly to stun a monster, are simple icons that pops up on-screen if you're near.

The bigger change, however, is Outlander's two different control schemes: Adventure and Classic. Adventure boils everything down to three buttons – Attack, React, and Burst – automatically and intuitively altering each of these buttons based on the situation. As examples, the Bowgun will swap ammo based on what's most effective in the moment, or the react button might turn into a guard instead of a dodge.

Classic control mode gives you more fine-tuned control with more dedicated buttons in the vein of a typical Monster Hunter experience. It works fine on a touchscreen, perhaps even a bit better than I was expecting. But if you opt to use touch controls, I'd heavily recommend the Adventure control scheme, simply because Classic is a lot to juggle without a gamepad-style attachment or accessory. I did find the best way to play Outlanders is on Classic with a controller, but of course, that may not be an option for everyone all the time.

Another piece of good news is that Outlanders still shines in terms of monster designs and variety, and that's essential to get right. There's a good array of creatures from across the series, and each monster gets a second souped-up "Radiant" form that adds new attacks and behaviors you need to contend with. Outlanders also still has that wonderful emergent element of World and Wilds where an even bigger predator might stumble into the middle of your battle, forcing you to adapt on the fly.

The simplified control scheme and combat does mean some big changes in how you approach fighting monsters. While you can still climb walls by running up to them, there is no dedicated jump action so you're largely relegated to the ground in fights. Ultimates and skills from your partner characters, like cannons that shoot nets, help add more to the ground game – but sometimes I just wish I could jump on a Rathalos' tail for those thrilling moments I enjoy from the series. By and large, that more streamlined combat experience works for what Outlanders is going for: little snippets and bursts of satisfying gameplay, maybe one quest on the train, or while you're waiting in line somewhere.

Off The Menu

A lot of the core systems of Outlanders click together well, but obviously, the bigger question is how the monetization and gacha systems work. As I said earlier, Monster Hunter has always been about grinding, but finding unique ways to make that grind enjoyable. Unfortunately, Outlanders doesn't always succeed at that second part. When I say the currency and overarching systems of this game can be confusing, I really mean it. I'm no stranger to gacha games, I've seen their evolution over the two decades I've been playing them, but even I had a hard time keeping track of everything I had to juggle in Outlanders.

On top of equipment and partners (like Palicos) for each adventurer, you also have to upgrade their charms, and then ascend said charms once you've reached max level. But in order to boost the max level, you need to raise your Ecological Rank, which also has a number of different requirements. Not to mention that partners have their own leveling system. Then there's the Insight system that adds skills to each adventurer based on skill points they've accrued with weapons. Then there's the Visage system, where you need to "paint" cards of the monsters you take down in the world, as you defeat them. Multiple Visages can be equipped on each character, and every Visage can be ranked up individually.

Oh yeah, and there's Adventurer Rank, Proof of Mastery level, and Investigation Notes – all of which are sort of independent levelling and knowledge systems. Then there are rewards for the specific season the game is on, and different launch initiatives that also have their own currency to gain (and many have optional passes you can purchase for real money to get more rewards). There are a few different gameplay modes on top of all this. You can, of course, follow the main story and simply explore the world. But outside of that, you can take on Free Hunts for specific monsters, use rechargeable Stamina for Hunt Requests to gain levelling items, a lengthy Trial Expedition mode where you take on 150 battles of ascending difficulty, and Guild Clash and Guild Carnival modes where different guilds play together.

Needless to say, there's a metric ton of things to do in Outlanders, and even across 30 hours of playing this game you'll be unlocking new modes, tutorials, and options. If these systems were complementary to that core hunting experience it'd be one thing, but so often Outlanders' deluge of systems simply gets in the way of the action, grinding things down to a halt as you trudge through menus.

To Outlander's credit, I never felt pressured to spend any money in those first 30 hours, and had more materials than I needed. However, at a certain point, the roadblocks do start to pop up, especially as you unlock more gacha characters, and subsequently need to power them up. While you can continue playing Outlanders when those roadblocks hit, it's readily apparent that real money can "optimize" the experience. That becomes doubly true when you see the grind needed for unlocking special costumes or characters in events.

While I think Outlanders is overall one of the more generous gacha games I've played, there are nonetheless points where you will need to grind out activities to continue the story, or even wait a day until you can get more daily rewards. You consistently need to improve your Adventurer Rank, Ecological Level, and more to continue to the next main story quest. Whereas many Monster Hunter games start to open up after a few dozen hours, Outlanders feels like the opposite – a strong start that inevitably gets slowed down in monotony. I can also say I don't love spending nearly 20 percent of my time sifting through menus, and constantly tapping past screens to collect currencies. Again, that's an unfortunate nature of many gacha games, but Monster Hunter also inherently has a lot of its own menu surfing, meaning you're getting a double dose here.