Monster Hunter: World Shows Beautiful Scenery And Big Bad Beasts In 20 Minutes Of Gameplay

The Monster Hunter series can be a bit intimidating if you haven't been with it since near the beginning. Most of the games just throw you into the world and expect you to make your own way, which can be freeing or paralyzing depending on what kind of gamer you are. Thankfully, the recently-announced Monster Hunter: World promises to be a more accessible experience for the uninitiated.

Capcom UK has released a new 23-minutes of HD gameplay from Monster Hunter: World's Ancient Forest area. Right off the bat, you'll notice how much more welcoming the game is, as it presents the player with a cheery guide who will tell you all about what you're supposed to be doing.

You can also use glowing insects called "scout flies" to track down targets in the game's big open world. You still have to find some tracks or other clues before the scout flies will be able to lock onto their target, but it's still a lot more intuitive than the old "wander around and maybe you'll find what you're looking for" system of locating monsters. You also now have a multi-purpose "slinger," which you can use to swing across chasms and toss projectiles – generally speaking, you're a lot less clumsy in this version of Monster Hunter.

Aside from the new gameplay elements, Monster Hunter: World just looks great, featuring a more lush, realistic world than we've seen from the series before. And some of the monsters are a real trip. For example, the Great Jagras, which can gobble up another monster nearly its size completely whole. You later see the Jagras cough the monster it ate for its young – nature is disgusting, and Monster Hunter understands that.

Monster Hunter: World stomps its way onto Xbox One and PS4 in early 2018. A PC version is also in the works for later in 2018.