Monster Hunter Now fixes Pokemon GO’s biggest problems and adds one new one

06.10.2023 - 22:43 / destructoid.com / Pokémon Go / New

Every day, after I finish my shift of writing about long RPG series or how to pronounce names, I go for a walk. I’m admittedly not as healthy as I’d like to be, but I at least try to get some steps in, if nothing else. Typically, if my phone is to be believe, I get about 5,000 steps in per day. But since I’ve started playing Monster Hunter Now, I’ve been regularly doubling that count.

For those who aren’t in the know, Monster Hunter Now is the latest GPS-driven Augmented Reality game from Pokemon GO creator Niantic. I don’t think I need to explain to anyone here the sheer cultural impact Pokemon GO had on the world, even if the game at launch wasn’t super great. And while Niantic would throw its hat into the ring with other major IPs to capture that lightning in a bottle again, the company hasn’t matched that success since. For this reason, I went into Monster Hunter Now almost as a joke. I was bracing myself for another Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis situation; something that I’d put up with enough to write about, and then put down immediately after.

Obviously, the Monster Hunter brand lacks the clout of Pokemon. However, it wasn’t until I started playing Monster Hunter Now that I realized how well it fits Niantic’s formula. Running after and tracking down monsters is a core part of Monster Hunter, and that translates well to walking around your real-life neighborhood. And unlike Pokemon GO, Monster Hunter Now stays sort of true to the series’ main mechanics instead of going in its own direction. I found the game’s foundation absolutely fascinating, and it actually fixes three of the biggest complaints I had with Pokemon GO. It’s just unfortunate that its awkward monetization strategy hits you like a truck at a certain point.

As the title implies, Monster Hunter Now revolves around hunting monsters. Killing monsters drops materials you can use to upgrade equipment, which lets you go out and kill more monsters. It’s a simple, engaging loop that makes the core series so engaging, and Monster Hunter Now captures this well. Crafting and upgrading equipment takes only a few button presses, and everything you’ll need is outlined clearly for you.

It’s incredibly basic, but in the free-to-play mobile space, this is a breath of fresh air. As I played and returned to Pokemon GO over the years, I often found myself drowning in unnecessary mechanics. Am I upgrading a Pokemon with perfect IVs? Do I have enough storage space? Why am I so limited on Stardust? Even outside Niantic’s wheelhouse, mobile games like to throw convoluted mechanics at you, presumably to confuse you into spending real cash to overcome the grind walls. I typically find myself needing to look up guides for free-to-play games just to figure out