Playtesters of the mobile open-world hunting game are already raising eyebrows. Not because of difficult hunts, but because it might be a little too easy once you hit a certain point — and spent some cash. That’s according to Chinese Hunters who participated in a closed test back in August 2024 through the QQ Games platform. Monster Hunter Outlanders gacha and gameplay decisions could make or break this bold new spin-off.
As interviews and teaser trailers have shown, you can recruit 赖狩人or hunting Partners similar to popular games like Genshin Impact and the likes. It also comes with a ‘character switching’ system between your main Hunter and the Partner characters, which are obtained through gacha mechanics.
For those worried about fashion hunting, don’t fret. You can freely swap your main character’s gear while Partners are locked into fixed equipment and skillsets. So far, TiMi Studio has teased three characters: A Barroth Lance user, Kulu-Ya-Ku Dual Blades expert, and a Bow hunter.
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However, playtesters were worried that these Partners could get too powerful. In fact, several testers claimed the game became very ‘simple and boring’ once they rolled overpowered, high-tier Partners.
In terms of weapons, the test only offer a limited amount, like what has been revealed so far: Long Sword, Lance, Light Bowgun, and Bow. It might be similar to Monster Hunter Now where more weapons will be dripfed throughout major updates. Reviews on TapTap also mentioned that weapons can be acquired through gacha and the game includes a battle pass system.
An NGA forum user added that gacha weapons come in different rarities and ‘constellation’ levels. Higher rarity Long Sword, for example, could come with different attributes, such as longer Iai Slash i-frame and follow-up moves.
Another thing that became a cause for concern is that there are no time limits and failure counts in open-world hunts. When fainted, you’ll just respawn at the nearest base and keep going. Another NGA user wrote that the combat seemed to play close to Zenless Zone Zero.
Nevertheless, for those Monster Hunter veterans seeking challenges, Outlanders introduces dungeons called 怪物巢穴 or roughly translated to ‘Wyvern Nests.’ Players said that these are timed hunts capped at 5 minutes, with presumably the familiar three carts failure count. To earn valuable materials, you’ll need to spend in-game stamina when entering. Otherwise, you can still fight the monsters, but walk away empty-handed.
Just like Tempered and Apexes, monsters of Isolaneysa Island will appear in powered-up forms. So far, there are mentions of 结晶 or ‘Crystallized’ and ç´«ç‚Ž or ‘Purple Flame’ forms. As TiMi Studio developers have mentioned, the island is filled with crystals that affect monsters’ behavior and will be important to the plot. There will also be original ‘mysterious’ monsters, according to playtesters.
As for the closed test itself, it was limited to iPhone users with a high level of QQ Game activity. Such as those who had the time to play League of Legends daily. Even then, those who got in said the game’s performance on top-tier iPhones in 2024 was rough. Together with the chugging gameplay trailer, it might hint that optimization still has a long way to go before the suspected late 2025 launch.
With gacha Partners and weapons, stamina-based dungeons, and a forgiving open-world structure, Monster Hunter Outlanders seems like a major departure from the series’ traditional formula. Whether that’s a good thing or not will likely come down to how Capcom and Tencent balance all these aspects. And how long players stick around once they realize they need 5-star Partner and gear just to beat a Rathalos.
