18 RPGs we can’t wait to play in 2018

#3. Monster Hunter World (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Monster Hunter has been a phenomenon for years now. Well, everywhere except the U.S. Why is that? We aren’t adverse to complex and challenging games. Maybe it’s just that it’s a game heavily dependent on co-op online play and the majority of games in the series we got over here were on systems with rather abysmal setups for online play such as the Wii, the 3DS, and the Wii U. But still, the series always seemed just on the cusp of being a mainstream success here.

This may finally be happening with Monster Hunter World, the first big time-sink of 2018. It’s on systems that have a solid online infrastructure (PS4, Xbox One and later this year on PC). In addition, while not dumbing down or “streamlining” the demanding gameplay, the opening hours do serve as a tutorial of sorts, which is something the previous entries haven’t really bothered with. Numbers will actually show up when you hit a monster, giving you a better idea of what weapons work better and where you can target to do more damage. Each weapon type is a completely different play style, and this is the first game in the series that offers a video tutorial for each that helps you learn the ins and outs as you go. Will this increased accessibility finally be the key to Monster Hunter garnering a big audience in the U.S.? We’ll find out January 26th.