When comparing Monster Hunter: World vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends Grim Dawn for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” Grim Dawn is ranked 97th while Monster Hunter: World is ranked 105th. The most important reason people chose Grim Dawn is:
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities. Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities. Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Dynamic and immersive world
You're not just stepping into an arena to fight monsters, you're entering a living and breathing world where monsters go about their daily lives - eating, fighting, hunting, and resting. It's very interesting seeing carnivores assault a flock of herbivores or two winged creatures having a territorial dispute mid-air. These type of events considerably add to the immersion, making you truly feel like a hunter that's intruding upon an ecosystem.
Pro Exhilarating hunting gameplay
MH:W is a game about hunting wyverns, dragons, and many other monsters.
You track them down in their natural habitat, be it a giant forest, a valley littered with dead bodies, or an active volcano, engaging them in combat that quickly turns in a struggle for survival.
You use any weapon or tool at your disposal to kill or subdue the monster, while it relentlessly chases you, slashing with its claws, biting you, swiping with its tail, and using any breath attack it may have.
Sometimes the monster might even try to escape, forcing you to chase it. Or it might become enraged, causing it to attack you more ferociously. As a result, you always have to be on your toes and react accordingly, which makes it a really thrilling experience.
Pro Awesome graphics
The graphics look simply stunning, featuring very detailed environments with a great amount of flora, accompanied by great lighting and shadow mapping. The monster designs are especially noteworthy, allowing you to make out even the tiniest details on scales, feathers, and claws. All of this is brought to life by a very vibrant color palette, making the game a treat for the eyes.
Pro Engaging crafting-based progression system
Monster Hunter: World is considered an action-RPG, but you don't level up or learn any new skills like in most RPGs.
Instead, progression is heavily reliant on your skills as a player and the crafting system, requiring you to craft gear to improve your character. This creates an unusual gameplay loop where you hunt monsters, collect their body parts, and use them as materials to craft better gear, allowing you to hunt even stronger monsters.
If you can't beat a monster, you either need to get better at fighting the monster or improve your gear. When you finally beat the monster, it's thanks to your skill and effort as a player, which feels both rewarding and gratifying.
Pro A great variety of weapons to choose from
There are 14 weapon types total, primarily split into melee weapons and ranged weapons. This includes dual blades, longswords, bows, bowguns, and even hybrids called gunlances. Each weapon type has its strengths, weaknesses, unique combos, and even upgrade paths.
For example, the dual blades allow you to move faster, chain quick combos, and enter a “demon mode”, which let you to deal more damage. The downside is that the dual blades have a short reach, so you have to be willing to throw yourself into danger by staying as close to the monster as possible. Another example, the bowgun, can be used to fight monsters at a safe distance and multiple ammo types, tailored for specific monsters and situations. The downside is that reloading leaves you defenseless, ammo can run out, and being too close or too far to the monster reduces the damage effectiveness.
As a result, there’s enough variety and depth that most players will be able to find a weapon that suits their playstyle.
Pro A lot of cross-title integration/seasonal events and in-game decorations
Cross-title integration such as FF15, Devil May Cry, Megaman, Horizon Dawn, Street Fighter, Assassin Creed add new challenges to the game, as well as new equipments setup.
Pro Complex leveling system with thousands of possible builds
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities.
Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities.
Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Pro Great homage to old school ARPGs
This game is very dark, and grim. It harkens back to games like Diablo 2 or Titans Quest. While other ARPGs have come out since then, none have hit all the marks of what fans of the genre have been asking for. For those that wish for an updated version of Diablo 2, Grim Dawn is the game for them.
Pro Exploration
Pro Highly modifiable
Relevant in modern gaming because the community can keep products like this fresh and varied, even if the developers eventually decide to slow down their updates (which they have not!). The possibilities are great with modding, while the experiences in Diablo 3 and Path of exile are a lot more static.
Pro Drop-in co-op (online and local)
Co-op is pretty convenient as players can drop in and out of your gaming session at any time. This way there is no wasted time jumping out of ones game in order to find players to play with.
Cons
Con Too much of reused monster animation
In mid-late game you will notice most of the High Rank monsters are just another spin-off of a previous monster, where the behaviour is mostly the same, just with higher damage modifier. Where at this point you will easily figure out how to beat it.
They could alter some HR mobs behaviour to make hunting trickier instead of just adjusting the damage/hp/defence modifier.
Con Frustratingly difficult at times
Even though MH:W has been made slightly more accessible to new players of the series, it still has some of the most difficult combat seen in games with a very steep learning curve.
You need to memorize the various map layouts, as well as each monster's habits, attack patterns, and weaknesses, to make beating them even remotely possible.
It might also take while before you fully master your weapon of choice because the tutorials are too basic, instructing you just on basic controls and combos.
Even when you finally manage to beat a difficult monster, your short-lived triumph will soon turn into dread, causing you to wonder about how difficult the next monster is gonna be.
Con Only some builds are fun
There is a definite meta, with superefficient vs non-viable builds.
It's easy to mess up a build, and attribute and spec-bar points are non-respeccable (you can use a cheat editor, but devs want you to reroll a new char).
Con Difficult to move when fighting, especially when you are ranged
Con Static pre-rendered levels
This may cut down on replayability a bit as all the levels in the game are pre-rendered, meaning that each playthrough will have the exact same layout, making for something that can get tiring and too familiar. Similar games have gone with randomized levels, which can keep the game fresh. While Grim Dawn is meant to be a throwback to earlier games in the genre, some newer features found in more recent released would have been welcome.
Con Lots of trips to town
The majority of loot in the game can be useless, with odd stat restrictions or repeats of vendor items. This means the user will need to make many trips into town to sell it all off in order to have room for even more loot they will not necessarily need.