The popularity of the Monster Hunter series has been spearheaded globally this year by the incredible success of Monster Hunter: World and the release of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate on Nintendo Switch. Even with competition from other franchises like Pokémon, Dragon Quest and Capcom's own Biohazard (Resident Evil) or Rockman (Mega Man), Monster Hunter has carved out a huge fan base of its own in its native Japan since its comparatively recent 2004 debut, with a notable highpoint being its migration to the 3DS, starting with Monster Hunter 3G in 2011.
Every Monster Hunter title launch in Japan is an event, and interest has never been higher with the success of World, but what makes the series so popular - and what is on offer for fans besides the games - are two questions we wanted to answer for ourselves. So, with a sense of adventure and an empty stomach, we ventured out into Tokyo's bustling streets to see just how prevalent the series is in its homeland.
Our quest for Monster Hunter goodness actually started outside of Tokyo, in neighbouring Saitama prefecture, as we visited the flagship Capcom store nestled in a typically huge shopping mall.
Despite the comparatively remote location, there was a good range of merch to buy, from stickers and key rings to lunch boxes and plushies. There were even more luxurious items on offer, like eau de toilette and a leather golf club bag. Yes, 'MonHun' merch covers everything.
Inside the store was a small cafe, and naturally Monster Hunter-themed dishes were on the menu. We couldn't come all this way and not try something, so in we went. We chose the Hunters Meal - spicy chicken kebab sticks, fried rice and soup. We also got a small memento with our drink of choice.
The real hunt started when we got closer to the centre of Tokyo. First stop was the famous Akihabara district, where a number of stores, including hobby kit paradise Kotobukiya, had a whole section dedicated to Monster Hunter gear, such as statues of all sizes, T-shirts and Japanese souvenirs like chopsticks.Ueno toy store Yamoshiroya was next on the list, which was stocked with even more knick-knacks, like stickers and pens, along with more collectable figurines.
Finally, we made our way to the main event. In downtown Shinjuku, what used to be a cafe for all things Capcom has now been completely taken over by Monster Hunter, and friendly feline buddy Palico greeted us at the door.
The interior had impressive life-sized replicas of weapons and flags, and epic orchestrated music from the series was blasting through the speakers.
There were also portable and home consoles on display to play on while we waited for our meal.
The food was suitably themed too, so among the snacks and veggies, we tried the 'Chicken Stamina Set' and a frozen yoghurt-like dessert. Yum.
There was also some exclusive merch to buy on our way out, and even a concert of music from the series at the weekend - but unfortunately, it was sold out.
However, on our travels, we were lucky enough to catch up with the expert of all things Monster Hunter in Japan and have a chat about the attraction of the series.
Nintendo Life: Please introduce yourself.
Adam: My name is Adam and I have a YouTube channel called Gaijinhunter, focused primarily on Monster Hunter and specifically game tutorials and news. The name of the channel comes from the fact that I am a foreigner in Japan who is a Monster Hunter fanatic.
How long have you been in Japan?
I have been in Japan for 16 years! I am from Lakewood, Ohio originally.
When did your relationship with Monster Hunter start?
It started with Monster Hunter 3G. I never really tried Monster Hunter before that, despite knowing it was a big thing here. The hype was really big, I was playing 3DS all the time, so I made the decision to give the franchise an honest show when 3G launched in Japan. Originally after my first eight hours or so I hated the game and was about to sell it, but then a co-worker at the time coached me over lunch and explained the game loop better, and after a few more hours, I was hooked in. I've never looked back since!
How important was it for the series to move to Nintendo consoles?
It’s hard to say. The Vita ended up doing okay in Japan but it wasn’t the successful machine PSP was, but that is likely because Monster Hunter wasn’t on it. Personally, I think the move was great. The dual screens offered new opportunities to try new things and the team has been great at having one or more new defining features in each game. I think the team would do great no matter what system they were on, but sales and reception in Japan show they made the right move going to 3DS.
Was there a point where the popularity of the series jumped since the first game?
As far as I am aware, it was once it went portable that Monster Hunter blew up in Japan. That was on the PSP. Local multiplayer is very much a thing here in Japan and that is what the series needed, I think. For the west, there was a sizable cult following that got much bigger when the Monter Hunter Freedom Unite came out, which was also monumentally huge in Japan. After that, the next big jump was probably Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. The series had a more fleshed-out world and story, and the game started picking up more action game elements like elevation and jumping attacks, which I think helped it become more appealing to players in the west.
What contributes to the popularity of Monter Hunter in Japan and in the West?
I think it’s a lot of things. First off as a game, it’s simply really well done and fun. There is something incredibly satisfying about a game that gives you all the tools to do good at the start and it’s you as a player that levels ups and gets better. Then to craft new armour and weapons out of the monsters you take down, you get a real sense of pride and accomplishment as you are wearing your trophies; a visual reminder of how far you’ve come. Then the fact that it’s co-op multiplayer makes for a really fun and positive environment that players all around the world can appreciate. Then finally I think it’s that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously; there is a cuteness factor with the felynes and stuff like that which make it light-hearted, despite how serious it might appear.
Why has Monster Hunter found it difficult to ‘crack’ the west in the past?
The game has always been rather hard to approach for new players, which is part of why it had a cult following. Also, I think handheld was not the right platform for the west, the culture of playing games on handheld is not like it is here in Japan. Also remember that it wasn’t until Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on 3DS (which sold over a million in the west, I think) that we finally had wi-fi for multiplayer; before that it was only local multiplayer, which is a huge hurdle for the west as well.
Is it fair to say that Monster Hunter is a daunting series for western audiences?
For Monster Hunter: World it isn’t, which is why I think it did so well. But in general, it is because the games have traditionally had a lot of legacy conventions and mechanics the are never really explained. I think it’s just daunting for anyone to start, not just western players. But World has changed that, which is amazing.
How important is the release of Munter Hunter Generations Ultimate on Switch in the west?
I think it’s important in that it shows commitment to Monster Hunter both to the west but on multiple platforms. However, I don’t see this being a huge launch or anything; even in Japan, the Switch version was only expected to sell around 300,000 units. I think this is more important from a business perspective, showing they haven’t abandoned Nintendo and also giving hardcore fans the game they wanted.
Lots of fans have been asking for World on Switch. With that in mind, was Generations Ultimate the right game to bring to the console?
It really is the only game. They have hinted heavily that they are making a new Monster Hunter game on the Switch but as far as we know that could take years to develop. With a commitment to a new CG animation, a movie, multi-platform for World, as well as events such as a collaboration with Universal Studios Japan in the past, I think it’s great that they are casting their net so wide and are bringing Generations Ultimate to the west on Switch. And with the sales for non-Nintendo games on 3DS not doing so well, it’s the right platform as well. With World, I consider it a “new-style” of Monster Hunter, and Generations Ultimate and previous games as “classic style”. You might like both, you may not. That doesn’t make you any less of a diehard fan. I think some - but not all players - who got into the series with World will enjoy Generations Ultimate, but the DNA that makes the series great is strong in both. With this much choice, it’s never been a better time to be a Monster Hunter.
So, Generations could be seen as a celebration of the series?
Yes, and this is what makes it a bit hard to get into if you are new to Monster Hunter. It was meant as an anniversary title so it assumes at the start that you are a fan since it’s pure fan service. There is very little in the way of tutorials or getting you immediately into the action, which again is great if you know Monster Hunter but maybe not so much if you are new. It brings together a loyal fan base. A group of core, old school gamers happy to see franchises, because it shows commitment and the audience is just happy to get it. It's a really fun title; since Capcom considers it a 'special' title and not a 'numbered' one, they did a lot of experimental things that we can see clearly influenced Monster Hunter: World. Stuff like Hunter Arts and styles we can see in some of the new stuff hunters can do in World, and a lot of the 'quality of life' changes in Prowler mode we see were implemented, as well. They did a great job of bringing back the villages, NPCs, monsters, and maps of the old games and wrapping it together with this amazing concept of Hunter styles, allowing everyone to play each weapon differently.
Capcom initially had no plans to localise it or release it in the west - what do you think changed?
The team was working on Monster Hunter: World and by the time they would have made the decision to localize it, the release would have been right on top of the announcement of World in the west. As I mentioned, the game is pure fan service for existing fans and is not the right title to reveal to the west when you are making a huge gamble to reboot the franchise with World. Looking at the success of World, that seems it was the right choice. People hear Monster Hunter and will look at it and judge it by first impression; they were correct in making sure players were looking at World to make the call if they are interested or not. Now that World is out and doing great, they can release Generations Ultimate with little risk of damaging the perceived image of the franchise. Everyone knows this is an older title and not a huge new release. Releases coming out every year has impacted sales and a bit of franchise fatigue may have set in, but they always have something going on and their eyes are now on the Switch, so the future is bright.
It could be argued that the game found its popularity on a handheld, but World was incredibly popular - what do you think about the balance between pushing the technical fidelity on ‘next gen’ and maintaining portability?
Portability was never a massive need for the western market when looking at the mass market. For gamers like me, it means a lot though. It’s to be expected that you can’t do the same things you want to do if your goal is “let’s take the best tech available to us and execute on our concept” which was the dev concept behind World and then expect a device that can fit in your pocket to handle that tech. The DNA of what makes Monster Hunter is absolutely there in World. It's a new direction for the franchise and the best selling Capcom title ever. It’s fundamentally different, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think we’ll see two lines of Monster Hunter in the future - or at least I hope we do - given how important portability is for the Japanese market.
Can the Switch cater for both audiences after the popularity of World?
Only to an extent. World is popular for a reason and just franchise visibility will not sell players on Generations Ultimate alone. I think it can certainly carve out its own audience and there will be the group that enjoys both. As for a Monster Hunter game built for the Switch, I think the possibility is there, but if talking about Generations Ultimate only, I think it’s limited in potential for the fact that this is still a 3DS game that has been ported to Switch, and it faces the same hurdles that held the franchise back from huge sales in the past.
Is the ability to transfer data between consoles important?
For Generations Ultimate it is, since Generations / Cross was a really large game and the 'Ultimate' is basically the second half of the game. Forcing players to throw away upwards of a thousand hours of gameplay would be a deterrent for many players.
What can the hybrid nature of the Switch bring to the series going forward?
It allows for local multiplayer, which is the bedrock of the franchise here in Japan. While I think it’s a great feature for the west, it’s a killer feature for Japan. If they ever release a more portable-focused light version of Switch that is easier to lug around, Monster Hunter would be the killer title for that, for sure. I don’t think the portability affects the gameplay though, it never really has. The game was never designed for bite-sized sessions like mobile games, it was a full console-like game simply released on a handheld because people want to play it all the time, and with friends.
We won’t get World on Switch, but is this a litmus test for both western audiences and Japanese audiences for a future Monster Hunter game catered to the Switch?
I think it is a fun test of sorts. It helps Nintendo to have a title with killer online right as they are about to launch their online service, I think it’ll be a good indicator to Capcom how many core fans will still buy post-World, and at the least it does show commitment from Capcom to the west on providing Monster Hunter to players on multiple platforms, which is good. I think if the title exceeds expectations, maybe when the day comes that a Monster Hunter is built for Switch they might debate a same day global release.
How do you think Monster Hunter fits in with audiences alongside the other very popular IP in Japan?
Monster Hunter is one of the biggest gaming IPs in Japan. I don’t necessarily see an overlap with it and other IP, like Pokémon. Fans are not any more likely to enjoy MonHun than any other gamer or anything like that. Maybe that is why Monster Hunter is so big, because it doesn’t really have any big competition in the co-op hunting genre space; it has been around long enough to be a cultural phenomenon and one that will last.
Do you have any advice for people who are starting with Generations Ultimate?
Be patient with it. The game wasn’t made to teach you much about it, but if you stick with it I think you might really enjoy it once it all comes together and clicks. I hope resources like my channel can help you to understand and get into the game.
We would like to thank Adam for his time. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate launches today in the west - don't forget to check out our review!
Comments 31
Fantastic feature! More of this please!
These are the kinds of things that set a site apart, and yes, I know how much work it takes, and that's why so few do it.
Again, well done!
I actually picked up World, as I figured the series deserved another shot, but really I still don't quite "get it". The whole game continues to feel incredibly clunky to me. Maybe less so than with previously entries, which were additionally hampered by the 3DS's tiny screen and single-joystick design (at least without any hardware upgrades ^^), but fundamentally, it still feels ancient in a off-putting way.
I wasn't really pleased to find that the HDR support for the game was also entirely broken, an issue that apparently will never get addressed. That's also not something that inspires much confidence frankly with such a major million-seller release.
I guess, I had just hoped the game would be modernized and streamlined alot more aggressively than I actually found it to be. The UI, the combat, the animations ... all just feels much more in line with a 'AA' game, a mediocre one at that.
Ultimately though, it's probably also just time to admit, that the fundamental gameplay mechanics as well as the structural gameplay loop of rinse and repeat grinding is just not for me personally. It's not about this being good or bad as much as it is personal preference. Games like Warframe for instance are free and play - in my view - vastly smoother and feel a helluva lot more modern in many ways, but I also can't really dig their repetitive loop, even though I find the actual mechanics rather satisfying.
In a way, that makes me even less capable of understanding the whole hype around Monster Hunter. Anyways, glad that Capcom still has the Switch and its loyal Nintendo fanbase in mind, despite the success of World on vitually every other platform. I've given up on the series for good.
Where's Godzilla the Game.
Great article. Monster Hunter has been one of my favorite game series for a long time for the reasons mentioned--it's full of depth, rewards skill, has so many ways to play, great for co-op (and I actually adore the fact there's no PvP element at all) and can keep you busy for hundreds of hours. Great thing is most don't have to choose between World and GenU...just get both and treat them like two different kinds of MonHun games.
The series deserves all the success it's getting. I'm curious about Capcom's future plans for a 'ground-up' MH game for Switch.
Dat Alphaville pun
Tom Waits reference?
God, why do I keep confusing this game with Hunter X Hunter? I barely know about both!
Great article...I’ve been a fan of the series since it jumped to 3DS & I must admit Gaijinhunters channel has helped me immensely so if anyone is struggling with the game or needs advice then check the channel out
@Ralek85 It's kind of a mix of MMO loot/grinding/questing systems, fighting/action(DMC) type combat mixed with Souls type combat, as well as a unique arena based game where the precision combat and crafting/grinding are central. I'm definitely not a super fan (nor particularly great at playing) but I can see the appeal and why anyone who likes it would never ever want it to be even slightly more streamlined than World...it would break everything they like about it. The clunkiness is deliberate, both to signify the immense weight of the gear and how it would need to be swung, and to provide animation frames to gregroup your strategy between blows...and due to the slow speed each blow, from or against you matters.
I actually like it, but I'd like it more if I was good at it. Like Fire Emblem.
Also, I'm convinced you'd like E.T. for the 2600 if it had HDR.
If only Monster Hunter Stories and MonHun Nikki got more attentions....
Those spin-off looked Kawaii enough for Casual gamers.
I'm still a little bitter about GaijinHunter speaking negatively about XX (even though he had a lot of videos about it at the time) when its western release was not certain and Capcom was busy promoting World all over the net. I have a strong suspicion that he was asked by Capcom themselves to say that (which, considering how they even wanted to recruit Serebii of Pokemon fame, is not a stretch at all) and even though he went back on his word after western release was confirmed, it's just hard to tell if his opinions are genuine.
He sure makes useful videos, but I cannot really treat him as any sort of authority on the subject of Monster Hunter. Nice article, though.
Forget Japan. Record breaking release on PC and still in the top 5 of players on Steam.
https://store.steampowered.com/stats/Steam-Game-and-Player-Statistics?l=english
Monster Hunter (after so many years) is finally Global - even in "master race" land 😎👍
@NEStalgia I dunno, I would have bought that notion if not for history. Dark Souls was in many ways more streamlined and less clunky than Demon Souls before it. Yet, by all (or at the very least, the vast majority of them) accounts including my own, it is the better Souls game. Not despite that, but because of that.
That is not to say of course that the clunkiness and the byzantine design elements, all deliberate of course, just as you say, first brought to broad popularity in Demon Souls are all gone, they are just fine-tuned to a considerable degree. You hardly notice them as such.
Of course this was all magnified with Bloodborne, who took this route to the next level by completely reversing the dynamics of combat, while still staying remarkbly true to the other design elements as well the rhythm of the gameplay itself. In other words, "Soul'ness" could be achieved without the slow, weighty, clunky of yesteryear.
Bloodborne was not for nothing a revelation to many including myself, who never got over - for instance - the death of Resident Evil, starting with RE4, which great as it was killed many elements that made Resident Evil ... Resident Evil. Mikami had a point about NOT empowering the player, he had a point about clunky controls and the benefits of a fixed camera.
Anyways, I wasn't really good in Souls games intially (then ... who was?), but I did enjoy my time with them, maybe even more then, when I was still learning them, still adapting to their mechanics and of course the constantly shifting challenges from enemies and surroundings - before they became just a sort of stereotype, motions you go through.
That is not at all true for MH. I find much about the combat and the UI confusing and counter-intuitiv. Slow and clunky without an accompanying sense of gratification once an attack works out, a hit lands, an enemy falls ... I am not saying that it is necessarily impossibe to get to a point where this is will then be different, but why would I make that investment?
In Souls games I enjoyed the journey more than the result, like I said, but with MH, it feel like all it offers is the promise of gratifaction after an arduous journey. Frankly, that sounds more like school than videogames to me
As for HDR, my point was simply that this is an advertised feature of the game, that is broken - aka not working. I bought this game, expecting this feature to work properly and it simply doesn't, not at all ... that is NOT okay. I really don't see any point in downplaying this. I might be obsessed with HDR or I might not, but to me that is entirely immaterial to the question why a big company like Capcom seems inept at fixing an advertised feature like for a game like MH that sold and still sells million of copies world-wide.
I am aware that games get shipped these days with everything from glitches to gamebreaking bugs, to missing content, to performance issues and what not, but personally, I still feel entitled to a product that works as advertised. Eventually - I have no doubt about this - the industry will wear me down, but as of yet that has not yet happened.
...Does GajinHunter go to this site? I've never seen him...
@Ralek85 Personally I loathe Bloodborne with a passion. But I've been waiting forever to get into DS with Switch (I have 2&3 on X1 but waiting for 1 on Switch.) But I've dabbled in MH since 3.
"In Souls games I enjoyed the journey more than the result, like I said, but with MH, it feel like all it offers is the promise of gratifaction after an arduous journey. Frankly, that sounds more like school than videogames to me "
And then we get to it...what part of "immensely popular in Japan" did you previously miss??
The keys to MH (or at least classic MH....I honestly was put off the World demo, largely due to platform. I want my MH portable...I'd never boot a TV console to play continuously grindy games.) are that it's all about preparation for the hunt, plus the skill to execute, and learn each monster's tells. It's a decent simulator of actual theoretical dragon hunting where the prep for the hunt matters as much as the skill to hunt. Half the game happens in town. The battlefield is your test to see if you did it right....
Like school I suppose. Which explains the Japan thing well. I'm not always into such design myself. But I can see why it's well liked.
@Agramonte I guess it speaks volumes about the "master race" if their top 3 games are still PUBG, Dota2 and CS... Not sure if that's the company MH should be hanging out with (although "lagging far behind" seems more appropriate, with nearly 200k gap to the smallest of them).
Great article!
Now interview capcom and ask them why we have no voice chat!
@Preposterous LOL!, it was the biggest Steam launch this year so far and the Biggest launch of a Japanese game on Steam in history. So yeah the fact it is there "speaks volumes"
Yep, a spot that Paladins, WarFrame, Rocket league, ARK would kill for... and this not FREE. It is actually competing and beating another 196 games on the list... try again.
@Agramonte You just made it sound like some big game taking Steam by the storm, enough to disregard all other platforms, while it appears to be just a fad with no hopes to stay relevant for longer than a month, judging by these numbers.
Wonderful article! I was in Japan for the first time this past March and I had the pleasure of visiting both the Capcom Cafe and USJ for the MH event. It was such a wonderful experience and it's nice to get to relive it a little through the photos and discussion.
Also, I love Gaijinhunter... it's so wonderful that you guys got to interview him! It's really nice to get to hear the opinion of someone so thoroughly dedicated to the series, especially since he struggled (like we all did) to understand it at first. Wonderful read
@Preposterous I made it sound like a MH that is doing better than any other Japanese product on Steam. EVER.
Yep a "fad" that has done more to make the brand go Global than any other game in the series. I'll take it.
@NintendoFan4Lyf That's literally exactly how I feel
@Agramonte There's a difference between going global and abandoning the home market MH could rely on for years - what you yourself have proposed, based on sales of a single entry in a pretty short time. The article alone proves there's more to the franchise than games. And since it's Capcom we're talking about, focusing on sales in the west is most likely going to end badly for the series.
I love these articles - keep them coming! I'm not a huge fan of Monster Hunter (I've tried a couple of demos and just "didn't get it), but I gotta admit the merch looks awesome and the food looks delicious!
Would not be able to go there, I would steal the Decimation claws so fast...
@NEStalgia Good point, I guess. To be fair though, I do not at all mind games that are all about prepartion and setup. That's a huge part of any decent tactical game, so it's not really what turns me off about it. Learing an enemies move-set and its tells is also not something I have any problem with. I mean, that is just every videogame boss ever and certainly as Dark Souls is concerned.
Why do you loathe Bloodborne if I may ask? I know people are torn about whether they prefer Dark Souls (1) or Bloodborne. Personally, overall, I might actually like Dark Souls more. The world design - despite the tired tropes of the medieval castles, knights and dragons - was superior imho (not that there were no castles in Bloodborne of course). I also vastly prefer Dark Souls openess to different playstyles, melee, ranged, magic, aggressive, passive, 2H, dualwield, shield whatever really.
Bloodborne had really only one playstyle, yes, the weapons were totally awesome, like gloriously designed and just exceedingly cool, and yeah, there was technically "magic" as well, but it was very narrow in terms of how much it changed up the dynamics. Still, Bloodborne successfully incentivized an aggressive style of play and it moved much faster than Dark Souls, where (esp. newer) players tend to cower behind shields, literally making progress only inch by inch.
I found that way of playing incredibly tedious rather quickly. So all in all I feel that both games have their strengths, but they also have their weaknesses. Bloodborne definitely got the more unique and interesting setting vis-a-vis Dark Souls.
I guess, that if you loathe Bloodborne than Nioh is most definitely not your jam either? Too bad Nioh is burdended by a traditional story and these really tiny levels, that are not connected to each other as well. Its also incredibly menu-driven for a Souls-like game. The combat is super tight though and blows all the other Souls games out of the water - no contest really.
I’ve never been able to get into Monster Hunter. Not everyone in Japan loves this game... or is it because I’m just an expatriate here?
@Preposterous
"most likely going to end badly for the series"
Right, just like people predicted the launch would end badly. Keep Waiting/wishing for the failure to come - for now - it is a massive hit any Japanese publishers would love to have.
@Agramonte Nah, it was bound to sell really well with the campaing launched for it, no other MH title had so much marketing done. You can pretend everything is going to be smooth sailing from now if you want, but only time will tell how well will the franchise fare with the new direction. You could probably educate yourself and look at Capcom's past attempts to bring their games to wider audiences and consider where those series are right now.
@Ralek85 Actualy I find I quite like Nioh. I'm not very good at it, but I find it addictive every time I pick it up (which admittedly hasn't been too long and is spread over months.) I was pretty excited when they announced a sequel!
I'm hoping I feel about Souls more like I do about Nioh than Bloodborne despite technically being more like the latter. Bloodborne just doesn't click at all...it feels aimless, pretentious, disjointed. The environment is beautifully detailed but I can't give it more than that. Navigation feels arbitrary and the opposite of exploration. While I haven't played much Souls other than the first parts of III yet, Souls feels like it has so much more "weight" to its exploration and path finding versus "walk in corridors, kill stuff" in Bloodborne, like it can't decide if it wants to be Diablo or Souls, and ends up being a hard-to-be-hard Diablo without the fun linear story to guide it. I got Bloodborne free with PS+ and I feel I paid too much for it.
@NEStalgia Yeah, can't disagree with the underlying sentiment. The level design and interconnectedness of Dark Soul's world is superior to Bloodbornes'. That not to say that Bloodborne is not interconnected or features shody level design, I can't really follow you there, but it's not quite Dark Souls. Then again, I don't think any game ever did this better than Dark Souls - like literally not a single one, at least none I ever played.
Diablo is just a bunch of procedurally generated levels thrown together to form a more or less cohesive world. That comparison is incredibly unfair, at least if we are talking about anything other than the Chalic dungeons, which obviously are very much aspiring to be something Diablo'esque (or Gauntlet'esque to be more precise yet^^).
I'm not sure what you find pretentious about Bloodborne. Maybe all the foreshadowing and indirect/environmental storytelling? Like hinting at complex stuff that is never explicitly explained? Just spitballing here of course Well, that is a hallmark of the series and once again something Dark Souls really excells like virtually no other game. I dare say that is an essential part of the experience.
As for disjointed ... in terms of mechanics or in terms of the narrative? Or are we still talking about the level design? Can't see I ever got that feeling in Bloodborne. In fact, quite the opposite. The world and the mechanics are actually tighter and more cohesive than in Souls - like I said, at the same time they are much narrower and less varied as well, two sides of a coin, so to speak.
Aimless, well, compared to Nioh, I figure that could be an impression one could get. Nioh is incredible straight forward. You get a menu screen, pick a "mission" played out in one tiny level, then you get some kind of cutscene and that feeds into the next more-or-less exact same loop, constantly propelling you forwards. It's about as traditional, retro and uninspired as a game can possibly be structured, but it certainly feels familiar and, well, I guess, full of direction and purpose.
I'm not gonna lie though, everytime I am being thrown back to the map screen, I am being taken out of the world and the experience, and all immersion possibly created previously evaporates in a single instant. It's antiquated design is what I probably should say, but really, it's really just bad in a game like that, a game that thrives on atmosphere and the thrill of being immersed in the action and the constant sense of danger. Just objectively bad.
The whole point of Souls games is to never let up so that the player can never feel comfortable about anything. That's why there tends to be barely any safe spaces in these games and even those tend to become comprised on occassion.
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