Monster Hunter World Iceborne: Official Guide & Walkthrough

Monster Hunter: World released back in January 2018 to widespread critical acclaim, something of a first for the series in the west. While the series has been pumping out impressive sales numbers in Japan for a long time, the west has always been more lukewarm on the series and with the majority of titles being tied to portable systems, it made that barrier even tougher for Capcom to break into the western market. So when Capcom announced a new Monster Hunter game aimed at consoles, the first since Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on the Wii U (a game that was ported up from the 3DS) many people were excited. Fast forward over a year and a half later and Monster Hunter: World has established itself as Capcom’s highest selling title worldwide and is played extensively to this day thanks in no large part to the great post-content release.

Monster Hunter: World saw a barrage of constant new additions to their monster roster as series favorites returned alongside deadlier variants of the game’s toughest threats. Exciting events such as collaborations with Square Enix and CD Project on Final Fantasy XV and The Witcher 3 events made the game always worth returning to and with the base game so stacked with content, there was always something new to find or discover be it a new weapon to train with or new friends to help out. This all brings us to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, the game’s first and only large scale expansion and large is exactly what you’ll find it is. You may be forgiven to be fooled into thinking you’re only getting one new area to hunt in but the area is the largest to date in a Monster Hunter game and there’s so much content packed into the release, with more to come through post-launch content, that you’ll easily put just as much time into this new expansion as the base game.

Hoarfrost Reach is a beautiful location full of many secrets.

Hoarfrost Reach is a beautiful location full of many secrets.

It’s worth noting that you’re required to finish the base game’s storyline before you can even access the expansion content as the story is a direct continuation and you’ll be delving into the Master Rank difficulty from the get go. Following your Hunter’s exploits in the New World, a sudden migration of Legianas to the west have caused some concerns for the Research Commission and so begins the journey to the new landmass of Hoarfrost Reach, a beautiful glacier packed full of forests and caves full of deadly beasts. For fans of the original Monster Hunter World story, you can expect the same here with more fascinating cutscenes introducing the new monsters and a story that holds your interest until the credits roll. The story in Monster Hunter World does just enough to provide you with a motive for everything you do and the continued story of some of the more colorful characters such as your ever faithful Handler is always welcome along with the ever fantastic voice cast.