Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak preview – New expansion helps franchise reach new heights
Monster Hunter Rise is about to reach its apex with Sunbreak, and it could make it the best Monster Hunter title so far.
Monster Hunter World may have marked a brave new shift for the long-running franchise, bringing it back to home consoles and streamlining its core systems, but for our money, Monster Hunter Rise is the best way to get on board withthe series. That left some players undoubtedly concerned about a lack of endgame, and it’d be fair to say that while the campaign’s shorter, easier missions give way to much more challenging hub quests, many fans were banking on the arrival of Master Rank.Sunbreak, like World’s Iceborneexpansionbefore it, duly obliges, but it’s not just the monsters that are tougher this time around — Hunters gain new skills to make encounters more epic than ever which ensures Sunbreak feels less like DLC and closer to Rise 2.0.
I will (Sun)break you
Aside from the gorgeous monster design, though, the new Citadel location is incredibly striking. Moving between day and night during a hunt, it’s full of varied locations that feel like they’d have been cordoned off behind loading screens in prior installments in the franchise. There’s a swampy area, a lush forest, and the huge, dilapidated castle that’s been shown in trailers. While hunting during the day, it feels familiar and therefore a little safer, but once the magenta tones light up the sky there’s a real feeling that you’re in grave danger.
You’ve got a friend in me
One of the largest changes, though, is the addition of Follower Quests. These single-player quests partner you with an AI companion and task you with hunting a monster together. Each partner has their own combat style and weapon of choice, and in our preview, we teamed up with new character Master Arlow to take on Seregios, the “thousand-edged dragon” that made its debut in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
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Final thoughts
Despite the number of times our character was knocked out, pummelled, thrown across the map, and crushed in our short time with Monster Hunter: Sunbreak, we kept coming back for more. Master Rank will be a true test of coordination and camaraderie, or the ultimate masochism when playing solo, but we’ve never been more excited about the future of the Monster Hunter franchise. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak feels primed to take the base game to the next level, while also offering enough additions for those who are playing the game for the first time to build their own skill sets on. That’s a tough balance to strike, but we can’t wait for launch — and we’re coming for you, Lunagaron.Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak launches on June 10, 2025, for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
For more previews of upcoming releases, be sure to check out the following:The Quarry preview|Two Point Campus preview|Lord of the Rings: Gollum preview| Saints Row preview
