About three years ago, Capcom released the Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter: World, which was a critical and commercial success for the Japanese company. Many fans found the Iceborne expansion to be the pinnacle of the series, adding in so much new content and mechanics that it felt more like a new entry instead of just more quests.
Fast forward three years later, and Capcom's next Monster Hunter expansion, Sunbreak, is here, but this time for the Switch/PC exclusive Monster Hunter Rise. Comparing these two expansions might not be fair, as Rise and World are two very different games, but still, it's hard not to, especially since Rise was built off of World's quality of life features that make both games so approachable for newcomers.
For anyone that's played Iceborne, the contents of Sunbreak aren't too different. There are returning monsters to hunt that come from classic Monster Hunter games, as well as brand-new monsters like Garangolm and the flagship monster, Malzeno.
There's a new hub area called the Elgado Outpost, which is a bit smaller than Kamura Village, but still gives players plenty to do. And, of course, the new Master Rank quests are added, giving hunters a challenging array of missions to complete to see how the story plays out.
However, even with the dozens upon dozens (or even hundreds) of hours that players can spend with Sunbreak, it doesn't feel as grand or purposeful as Iceborne. It doesn't have as many new monsters as it should, and a lot of the quests, especially the early ones, involve hunting monsters players have already fought against in the base game.
Even when players roll credits and continue in the Endgame, there are a lot of repeated monsters on the hunting list. There are some quests later on that players can unlock called Anomaly Quests, and the target monsters are afflicted with a virus that makes them enraged, sometimes even performing new attacks.
These quests sound cool in theory, but they don't feel that different from fighting the monster in a normal quest. It does add a bit more variety to the total package, especially since hunters can get unique materials from the afflicted monsters, but still, it's not one of the most memorable parts of the Sunbreak expansion.
As a seasoned Monster Hunter fan, Sunbreak doesn't check all the boxes to make it feel like a complete and well-put-together package. That being said, it's still Monster Hunter Rise at the end of the day, which is a wonderful and well-executed experience that is worthy of praise. The Wirebug mechanics feel as good as ever with the quality of life updates added in Sunbreak, the new Switch Skill Swap adds more variety to a hunter's moveset, and hunting down monsters for the new master rank armor sets and weapons never gets old.
There are a lot of neat little touches here and there that make Sunbreak a fun all-around experience, even without the game-changer that was the Clutch Claw back in Iceborne. For Monster Hunter Rise fans still looking to grind out some armor for dozens of more hours, Sunbreak will definitely deliver on that front.
But for the die-hard Monster Hunter fans out there that are looking for something a little different than the base game, there's not much new stuff to partake in this time around. Sunbreak feels like DLC for Monster Hunter Rise's Endgame rather than being a proper full-blown expansion.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is available for PC and Switch. The Best War Games was provided with a Nintendo Switch code for this review.
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WHERE TO PLAY
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion: The world of Monster Hunter Rise gets bigger and deeper with this massive expansion featuring new monsters, new locales and more!
A new adventure in a distant land: Renowned as the "Fierce Flame of Kamura” since the events of Monster Hunter Rise, you must set sail to uncover the cause of a terrible threat facing a kingdom across the sea!
New enemies arrive, old foes return: Arriving in Elgado Outpost, you discover that the abnormal events threatening this kingdom are caused by Malzeno, Lunagaron and Garangolm – terrifying monsters known locally as the Three Lords. In addition to these new enemies, You must also face old foes as series monsters not featured in Monster Hunter Rise make their return!
Deeper gameplay: Your trusty Wirebug returns and is more useful than ever, with the addition of new abilities for all 14 weapon types that bring a new level of flexibility and depth to the hunting action.
A colourful cast of characters: Your new base of operations features a variety of locals to interact with, each with their own charming personality. Sometimes they will need your hunter’s help, and sometimes they will be the ones who help you out!
Note: You must own Monster Hunter Rise in order to play this expansion. Sunbreak content is accessible after completion of the 7-star Hub quest “Serpent Goddess of Thunder”. If you purchase this content while the game is open, you must restart the game in order to access the content.