I’ve only just started putting some serious time into Monster Hunter World but already it’s left me wondering: just who are the real monsters?
In the game players become hunters, sent to the “New World” to join the Research Commission which studies it. Essentially then, you’re an invader. An outsider. Someone who doesn’t belong there. But in you go and before you know it you’re slaughtering the indigenous lifeforms without a care in the world.
Sometimes you’ll kill a giant beast because you want to set up a camp. Other times you’ll do it because you want to want to craft some new boots. Very rarely is it because it poses a serious threat. In fact, many monsters that roam Monster Hunter World‘s lands are very docile unless you start prodding them with the sharp end of your sword, or whichever other weapon you’re carrying.
In contrast to Sony’s Shadow of the Colossus, in which you’re made to feel guilty after downing one of its gargantuan beasts, in Monster Hunter World you’re expected to revel in slaughter. Sure, you can capture a monster if you’d like, but the game doesn’t really want to you do that. What Monster Hunter World really wants you to do is kill some harmless monsters just so that you can put some steaks on the spit roast and boost your stamina.
You and I are the real monsters of Monster Hunter World, but that’s okay because it’s only a video game. And what a video game it is. Sometimes it’s great to simply have fun without over-analysing the process, and that’s what Monster Hunter World asks you to do.
In Monster Hunter World you’re not saving the world, you’re destroying it one monster at a time. But how else are you going to get that fancy weapon you’ve had your eyes on for 30 hours or so, eh?
