Monster Hunter World is free to try on PS4 until May 20

If you aren't sure what all the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne buzz is about because you haven't played the fabulous base game, and you own a PS4, you've got a golden opportunity to catch up on the hype. Monster Hunter World is offering a free trial on PS4 through Monday, May 20, and any progress you make in the trial will carry over to the full game if you decide to pick it up. 

As we said in our review, Monster Hunter World is the best and most approachable entry in the series. It has best-in-class combat, stunning monsters and environments, and a much simpler matchmaking-based multiplayer system. It's handily the best jumping on point for Monster Hunter, and it's one of the best games of this console generation. 

As it happens, now is also a particularly fantastic time to try Monster Hunter World. The spring festival event is in full swing, so all previous event quests - which feature wild monster variants and dish out special rewards - will be available until May 16 alongside a few new ones. Plus if you start the trial now, you'll get to spend around 10 days with the game, and you can easily break into High Rank content in that time. If the rush of unlocking High Rank gear and monsters doesn't hook you, nothing will. 

We've got plenty of Monster Hunter World tips for those hunting for the first time. If you need them, we've also got a full Monster Hunter World walkthrough and a complete Monster Hunter World monsters guide

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.