Stop Waiting for Monster Hunter World, Play Evolve!

So Monster Hunter World was released on console recently, with PC gamers having to wait until October. However, it turns out there’s been monster hunting on PC for three years. Evolve, from Turtle Rock Studios, features teaming up with your friends to kill giant monsters - basically the same, right?

Evolve began life as a full game with season passes and DLC, but it turned out that due to people not really understanding the DLC options, gamers thought it was a more expensive proposition than it actually was. Well, they made it free to play to encourage players - which helped in the short term, but unfortunately not forever. So where did it go wrong, while Monster Hunter World is knocking PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds off of charts?

Well, the main problem was the aforementioned DLC for this full-price £40 title. It was poorly marketed, and just seemed to be cash-grabbing after people’s initial excitement for the game, especially since there were a dozen packs and individual hunters available upon release. Another monster and three extra hunters followed a month later, only serving to further anger the fanbase. Turtle Rock tried to get across the fact that players didn’t have to own the hunters or monsters to play against and alongside them, but it was too little too late.

Evolve Stage 2 (as it’s now known) has been free since July 2016 and still retains a playerbase. That’s because it’s a fun game which has you - again, as mentioned - fighting a huge monster with your mates. The hunters have high tech weapons and explosives, sure, but there are so many similarities, if you ignore the fact that the monster is player-controlled.

You enter a map with three other players, and begin having to look for signs of the monster. Once you locate it, it will fight back but might wind up running away. You have to use teamwork to beat it to death and claim your rewards.

It’s a lot more immediate than Monster Hunter World, because you don’t have to worry about crafting new weapons, or upgrading your current ones. There’s no camp, no quarters and only huge monsters. Which is, I think, the main difference in gameplay. Every “quest” is to kill a big monster before it gets too big. That’s not to say there are no smaller threats, but it certainly alters gameplay.

While it’s not the same thing, Evolve sure beats having to wait until October to hunt big monsters. Plus, since it’s free (on PC) and runs fine on 5-6 year old hardware, you can find some people to play with no problem.