Capcom shared a wealth of new details about Monster Hunter Rise during its Digital Event this week, including more information about the game’s free demo. The demo is now available on the Nintendo eShop, and if you download it, you will unlock an extra item pack in the full game when it launches in March.
The demo gives fans their first taste of Rise’s two great new game mechanics: the Palamute and the Wirebug. The former is a new kind of dog companion that players can ride and fight with during a hunt, while the latter functions like a wrestling hook and makes the players spin in the area.
In terms of content, the demo contains four missions: two practice exercises that introduce you to the Wirebug and the new Wyvern Riding mechanic, and two proper hunts. The “beginner” hunt gives you the task of killing a Great Izuchi, one of the new monsters introduced in Rise, while with the “intermediate” hunt you must make the return to Mizutsune.
Both chases can be played solo or online with other players, and you can try all 14 weapons in the game. However, the demo will only be available until February 1st, so you have a limited time to play it. You must also have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play the demo online with others. You can read our Monster Hunter Rise demo impressions here.
Your progress with the demo does not go over to the full game, but according to a message in the Switch news channel, anyone who has demo storage data will unlock an item booster package in Monster Hunter Rise when it launches. The booster suit consists of the following:
- Mega Potion x20
- Slaggat Trap x5
- Energy drink x10
- Mega Demondrug x5
- Mega armor x5
In addition to the demo lineup, Capcom shared a new trailer for Monster Hunter Rise during this week’s digital event. The video introduced us to a new land, the Frost Islands, as well as a variety of monsters that will appear in the game, including the new Goss Harag and several returning monsters such as the Tigrex, Khezu, Barioth and the aforementioned Mizutsune. The video also gave us our first look at Wyvern Riding, a mechanic with whom you can temporarily ride and take control of a monster.
Monster Hunter Rise launches on March 26 for Nintendo Switch. In addition to the standard edition of the game, Capcom will also release the editions of Deluxe and Collector, which include some extra bonus items. You can learn more in our Monster Hunter Rise pre-order guide. Three new Monster Hunter Amiibo figures will also be unveiled on March 26th.
Rise is the first of two new Monster Hunter games coming to Switch this year. The second, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, is expected to arrive sometime this summer and is a sequel to the series’ 3DS RPG spin-off. Capcom teased that there would be some connection between Rise and Wings of Ruin.
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