Ever wondered in a direct comparison of Monster Hunter: World vs Dauntless, which game comes out top? The monster hunting genre is now being propelled to the spotlight no small thanks to these two games. And at the moment, both are available for play with Dauntless being in open beta on the PC, while MHW has also released its PC port on Steam.
Gameplay
Dauntless and MHW share a lot in common – both are about hunting monsters in group. What separates the two games? Dauntless’s combat is a strong point, it has weight and feels good when executing attacks and it’s fast paced. You have combos that can be unleashed using your left and right clicks. Holding down TAB will bring up the cheat sheet for attacks, so be sure to take a look at that. The hunts themselves are good fun. In Ramsgate – the main hub – where players gather to craft and group, you can get new weapons and tier them, before heading out on a hunt. The group hunts are incredibly fun, as the four of you get dropped on an isle to sniff out a Behemoth. The fight then can take up to 10 -15 minutes, depending on how geared you are, and it’s definitely engaging.
In comparison, Monster Hunter: World is a more complete experience as a whole, from combat to progression systems. For starters there’s plenty of quests and side quests to do that does add some narrative to the world. This is where Dauntless falls behind with its world building. The combat system in MHW is a lot slower paced, but feels a lot more strategic and fights can be very long depending on the group and other factors. In the long haul, you may get more enjoyment out of Monster Hunter: World as a main game.
Graphics
Which game looks better? This is an incredibly subjective point so players should make decisions based on what they like. Dauntless for starters utlizes a familiar cartoon style of aesthetics with bright colors and non-defined shapes – similar to games like Wildstar, Fortnite and even World of Warcraft. The tone it sets gives it an almost casual vibe that may be attractive to a lot of folks. The Behemoths are well designed too, with each monster having a distinct look that do change depending on updates – like how The Coming Storm expansion did to a few of them recently.
MH:W’s graphics are more mainstream to the user. This simply means, it looks exactly like what you’d expect of a AAA game. Environments are lush, character models and monsters look crisp with great textures and the coloring will definitely make you feel at home if you play RPGs and JRPGs. Therefore, based on aesthetics alone, it’s hard to judge which one majority of players prefer, so we can talk about optimization instead.
At present time, Dauntless is the better optimized game. It’s smoother to run, with no crashing or other gameplay hindering issues, which Monster Hunter: World has suffered early in its Steam release.
Longevity
When it comes to the longevity, replay value and future content proposition, we feel Dauntless might edge out Monster Hunter: World. Capcom as a studio do not have many online-service MMO style games under their belt. This makes it hard to determine if they’ll do a consistent job at releasing new content for MHW and keeping the game fresh for players. Right about now, the replay value of MHW is still very high plus you have a plethora of other Monster Hunter titles to check out on other platforms. We don’t know for sure what Capcom’s DLC road map is and how often the game will be supported in the long run.
Dauntless on the other hand is designed with an MMO style service in mind, with future updates bringing new content regularly. The game already has an expansion out, which brought new weapons, behemoths and more. This is a plus point for Dauntless but only if developers Phoenix Labs remain consistent with content updates.
Price
It’s hard not to lead with this – Dauntless is free to play. For what you get, it’s hard to argue with an online game that allows you to play with friends or strangers and have a good time taking down big bad monsters in their vibrant world. Content updates and future patches are all free of charge, and while you could buy supporter packs for additional stuff, you don’t need to spend a single dime for the fun.
Monster Hunter: World costs $60 a pop on pretty much every platform (unless Steam has a sale for the PC). It’s a hefty buy in but the good news is you’ll know you’re paying for a good quality game with a large player base, which means queue times are better. There’s probably a lot more to see and do in MHW than Dauntless currently, and it’s more than likely you’ll get good value for if you’re a fan of the genre.
Conclusion
Monster Hunter: World vs Dauntless, which should you play? Based on what we’ve experienced, again, we believe it’s subjective but all in all it comes down to this. If you love monster hunting games and want to experience the latest entry in a long line of great monster hunting games, go with MHW.
If you have never played a monster hunting game, are on a budget and are curious about checking one out, start with the free to play Dauntless, and explore from there.
