Monster Hunter World debuts the series on PS4, as a high-action, slightly western-feeling beauty

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In a surprising turn early in Sony’s E3 2017 press conference, Sony unveiled a brand new, distinctly current-gen Monster Hunter for PS4, entitled Monster Hunter World. While the trailer doesn’t give too much away about the wider structure, or what exactly that ‘World’ part indicates – though a bit of camp fire cooking does appear at the end – it does indicate an interesting tune-up of the series' traditionally methodical action. 

With a slightly more western twang, Monster Hunter World doesn’t waste any time in getting into some serious action, with a faster, more frenetic vibe than the series' traditionally more methodical MO. After a bit of light stalking and a dash of Assassin’s Creed-style, crouching-in-a-bush fun, our giant-sworded hero creeps up on a huge T-Rex type creature, but then climbs to a higher vantage point and leaps on top of it to initiate a distinctly cinematic struggle.

From there on, it’s smash cuts of similar battles, dotted with slightly scripted-looking stand-out struggles, and a whole lot of running away from large monsters whilee leaping and vaulting over logs. Imagine the bit in Uncharted 2 where you have to run away from the truck, except with a giant, hulking lizard, and you’re pretty much there. 

That aside, there isn’t much to decipher, except that the game looks gorgeous, in a more-photorealistic-than-usual kind of way, and that it’s coming in 2018. More news as we get it. 

Make sure you check out our full E3 2017 schedule to stay tuned for all the details as they arrive, and check out our roundup of all the E3 2017 trailers.

David Houghton
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.