‘Monster Hunter’ Makes Double-Sized Return To Nintendo Switch; Release Date, Gameplay, More

Thursday’s Nintendo Direct Mini showed off a handful of games coming from third-party developers, but all anyone can talk about is “Monster Hunter.”

Capcom’s hugely popular action-RPG series is poised to make a comeback on Nintendo Switch in 2021 with not one, but two new games, with wildly different takes on the franchise.

First up is “Monster Hunter Rise,” a title that looks to follow the standard series gameplay template. Players will start in the ninja-inspired Kamura Village and take on quests in areas said to be completely open, not segmented like in previous titles.

The “Rise” in the title isn’t for show, either. Climbing and verticality are major parts of the game’s design, IGN reports, with players able to climb walls and use new grappling hooks dubbed “Wirebugs” to scale the environment and mix up combat.

The second title coming later is “Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.” The “Stories” spin-off reimagines the series’ world in a more traditional RPG structure, with cartoony art, turn-based combat, and an actual story. The first game released on 3DS in 2016 and eventually made it to mobile phones in 2017.

“Monster Hunter Rise” has a confirmed release date of March 26, 2021, and is now available for preorder. “Wings of Ruin” has a less-defined release window of summer 2021.