Monster Hunter Rise Demo Announced for Nintendo Switch

Capcom held a special Monster Hunter event this week to show off more of Monster Hunter Rise and to announce the surprise release of a demo for the Nintendo Switch game. According to the announcement, the demo will be available starting on January 8th and will be live for quite a while since it isn’t scheduled to end until February 1st. The game itself will release just over a month after the demo ends with the Switch release still scheduled for March 26th.

The trailer below was shared as part of the Monster Hunter stream where players were able to see more Monster Hunter Rise gameplay in action. Introductions were made to show off some of the many monsters that players will encounter in the game as well as more footage from a gameplay feature called “Wyvern Riding.”

In a separate gameplay video, Capcom offered some of the finer details on how Wyvern Riding works. In order to ride a monster, you have to first beat it down to a state to where it can be controlled. At that point, you’re able to mount the monster and traverse the map. Monsters can also assist you in combat by using heavy and light attacks as well as evasive maneuvers. The time you can spend riding any one monster is limited though, so don’t expect to spend the whole game traveling on a monster’s back.

As seen in the gameplay trailer above, players will also utilize a new “Wire Action” feature to manipulate monsters and other parts of the environment. Nintendo previewed that feature and others in its page for the game that offered more information.

“Hunt solo or in a party with friends to earn rewards that you can use to craft a huge variety of weapons and armor,” Nintendo said about the new Monster Hunter game and its features. “Brand new gameplay systems such as the high-flying ‘Wire Action’ and your canine companion ‘Palamute’ will add exciting new layers to the already robust combat that Monster Hunter is known for.”

Nintendo Switch owners can check out Monster Hunter Rise in the free demo starting on January 8th and can play the full release when it launches on March 26th.