Monster Hunter Outlanders first impression: An ambitious RPG with blockbuster visuals

Monster Hunter Outlanders has officially made its second closed beta live. The excitement for the co-op open-world action survival experience set in Capcom’s Monster Hunter universe was always high; however, it became even more promising once the initial reviews started coming in.

I was excited to try it myself, and while I was occupied with a few other games, I finally got my hands on the latest CBT and played the game for a good number of hours. I wouldn’t break down the game in detail since it is yet to blossom into a full-fledged release, so here’s my first impression of Monster Hunter Outlanders and discuss what aspects of the game I liked without spoiling your future experience.

Monster Hunter Outlanders takes place in the region of Aesoland, where we step into the role of Adventurers exploring a mysterious island with our guild. Things quickly go wrong after a violent storm forces the group into an emergency landing.

This unveils the secrets surrounding this island and a fire-like mineral known as Radiantite. As the expedition continues through violent storms and dangerous skies, the situation escalates quickly after an enraged Rathian appears near a burning village.

The opening cinematic instantly sets the tone

Going into the test, I expected good visuals because the trailers already looked impressive. But what surprised me more was how cinematic the entire opening experience felt right from the first few minutes.

I would go ahead and say this is probably one of the best opening sequences I’ve seen in a mobile game in quite a while. I started playing without headphones, casually going through the beginning, but within seconds, I plugged them in and continued.

I’m a sucker for good sound design, and when mobile titles pull it off, it feels great. Audio and voice acting were on point, and they topped it off with that monster chase sequence that came out so well. Liked how committed the game is to storytelling during the opening.

The gameplay is fantastic, roaring with high potential

The visual strengths carry over to the gameplay side as well. The environments also do a great job of making the world feel alive. I believe translating Monster Hunter gameplay to mobile controls is not easy. But so far, TiMi Studios seems to have done a solid job; the core buttons make things easy.

The first monster battle itself already does a good job of introducing mechanics gradually. Controls are explained clearly, so the process is smooth enough for you to understand, even for players who may not have much Monster Hunter experience.

There’s a little complaint, though. I didn’t get higher graphics on the beta, they were locked on my device at High, and I know for sure my mobile supports Ultra. The same was for both Field and Arena frame rates, strangely. Must be because of the beta? Not sure. Not changing my device, yet.

The beta still leaves a few technical questions unanswered

Something that I have always complained about, the “overwhelming” phase of the menus and the UI, I did not feel it this time. Of course, you need all the important buttons for a game of this genre, and once you get the hang of it, the muscle memory kicks in to help you.

As good as the first impression was, there are still areas that need refinement. I would still say I might like a little more fluidity during the transitions, maybe because the graphics are too detailed. For example, during the character-building screen, I did notice a little frame drop, strangely enough, not to find it during the battles.

And while the cinematic-heavy opening is genuinely impressive, I can also see some players finding it too long before fully entering gameplay. Personally, I enjoyed it because the presentation quality was high enough to keep me engaged, but players looking for immediate action may feel differently.

Final Thoughts

My biggest takeaway after trying Monster Hunter Outlanders is that you don’t feel like you are playing it on mobile. Of course, the small screen is a giveaway, but you get my point. There is a lot to love about this game, and you can easily say this has the potential to be even bigger.

This is just the second closed beta. The promise this game has will surely be fulfilled by the time we get to the full-fledged launch. TiMi Studios clearly wants this to feel like a large-scale Monster Hunter experience adapted properly for mobile devices, and based on this beta version, they are moving in the right direction.

The best compliment you can give this game is that it is large-scale and ambitious. Mobile games often scale things down to fit platform expectations, but Monster Hunter Outlanders feels like it is actively trying to push beyond them instead.

On this very note, I would like to see how the performance of the title fares in the lower-end devices. I didn’t get to try it on the highest settings either, but given the scale of this, I do feel the mid-range phones will be put up to the task to handle the title smoothly.

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