Monster Hunter World Story Will Be 40-50 Hours Long

If you somehow found yourself worrying about the amount of playtime you'll be getting with Monster Hunter World, worry not (or worry, if you don't have a whole lot of time to spare). Along with the endless exploration of its open world and multiplayer modes, the game will take somewhere around two solid days to complete in story mode, according to director Yuya Tokuda.

"I guess it will take about 40 to 50 hours, depending on the type of player, to complete the story," Tokuda said during an interview mein-mmo.de about the game. "But it would not be a monster hunter game if it had no content that you could enjoy when the story is done." Players still have the option to forge for supplies, upgrade their armor and participate in battles alongside other players in multiplayer mode. What's more, weekly events and free updates will be available to keep players busy, according to Kaname Fujioka, executive and art director for Monster Hunter World.

The interview covered quite a bit beyond that, focusing on some of the real world locations that the team pulled inspiration from to create the game's various worlds. Of all the locations surveyed during the trip, it was apparently the team's venture to the great down under that left the biggest impact. "A group of designers visited different areas in Australia, including Tasmania. That has had a great influence," said Tokuda.

"The background designers used the areas of Australia as inspiration for the plants in the Ancient Forest and the ant hills in the Wilderness Wastes." Tokuda spoke of one particular designer, who was responsible for designing the plants and vegetation in the game, and how the research affected her work."She said that it was a huge difference to see how the vegetation grows and integrates with the environment, rather than just looking at it in photos."

Monster Hunter World releases on January 26, 2018 on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.