Monster Hunter’s Sunbreak expansion is a tonal shift from Rise

polygon.com:

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is the upcoming expansion to Monster HunterRise, last year’s Nintendo Switch-only Monster Hunter game that came to PC in early 2022. It promises new monsters to fight, new companions to battle with, an expansion to Rise’s Switch Skill system, and more high-flying adventures with the Wirebug.

But Sunbreak is not just “more” of Rise, and instead breaks from the Japanese folklore theme of its base game entirely. In a translated interview, Polygon spoke to Sunbreak producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yoshitake Suzuki about how the expansion capitalizes on Rise’s success while also giving players something fresh.

In a video demo for Sunbreak, Capcom showed two new monster hunts, one of which took place in the expansion’s creepy new area, The Citadel.

“With Rise, it was more focused on the Japanese folklore motif,” said Tsujimoto. “But with the addition of new Master Rank quests on the Sunbreak side, once [players] start taking place in those, they will be more fully immersed in the Western motif.”

Tsujimoto was referring to Sunbreak’s clear interest in the Gothic castles of classic movie monsters like Dracula — the expansion is Monster Hunter by way of Castlevania, or Capcom’s own Resident Evil Village. The Citadel is a European-looking mountain glade filled with ruins and foliage.

Despite its scenic beauty, a purple, ominous haze sits over the map, imbuing the area with a sinister feel. As players climb over the dilapidated castle turrets and into the snowy mountains, it should be clear that they’re nowhere near Kamura Village (the main player hub in Rise) anymore.

But these tonal shifts should not be taken as a philosophy change with Sunbreak. Despite the new mise en scène, Capcom worked to