Capcom has dropped another glimpse of the ending screen for Monster Hunter Stories 3, and with this, gamers are trying to guess how the rewards might work in their favor. The end screen shows XP earned, loot, and a combat rating whereby the higher the rating, the more materials you’re getting. To put it differently, the players’ knowledge of monster-hunting stuff pays off directly. The moment the mechanic was introduced, however, the online conversation immediately changed to very heated discussions regarding the game’s Deluxe Edition and the story DLC that players will have to pay for. It was really messy and fast.
The screenshot was first posted by the official Monster Hunter Twitter account, which pointed out that it was more skill in battles that meant more treats. It’s a mischievous system which, to some extent, reminds people of the style rankings of Devil May Cry, which is a good thing. But, suddenly, there were loads of replies that were quite negative. Gamers are super upset with the recently announced paid story DLC that is part of the Deluxe Edition. I mean, huge backlash.
Bulbmin5000, one of the users, was straight to the point, “Maybe don’t sell story content as DLC and the Deluxe edition will actually look like a better purchase.” The same sentiment was echoed, albeit in different forms, throughout the thread. PixeledBeard, another commenter, sarcastically questioned, “Cool, is that behind a paywall too?” Ouch. The frustration was palpable. The gaming community is very unhappy that what they perceive as the story content of the base game is not only being sold but being sold for an additional price.
But hang on; there is more. Some players came to the support of the criticized content division. User TH3MAF1A stated, “Many firms have done this before, why is it a pain now… take the standard edition and pay the extra $10 or whatever the price is when DLC comes out.” This heated the argument even more with FabrizioART arguing that the doing of “crappy stuff” by other companies is not an excuse for it. It is a classic game players’ debate, the ethics of monetization and all that.
Despite the controversy surrounding the DLC, questions about the actual game remained. One user stygus28 was unsure how it would be that Legiana was accompanied by two companions and speculated whether the Shrieking variant was involved. FabrizioART explained that players could swap companions in the party, which is indeed a great hint. A different player, Vulcan653, roughly translated a statement in Spanish that they understood and accepted the idea of sharing EXP and the material ratings being fair with no reason for them to complain. So, it is not all about the anger caused by the DLC; there are also some who are extremely pleased with the game mechanics.
Of course, the excitement is entirely real. Bosnian_Grit expressed that the game is so good that it could even “make them go through the first two just to play it.” BigBossDJB is all the more excited for the demo while theclownaround is beseeching the unveiling of multiplayer features. Thus, it is not all despair and sorrow. The pivotal gameplay revelation served its purpose—it appears to be captivating and intricate.
Nonetheless, the topic of DLC is still present, looming over all like a dark cloud. RizoaOfficial made a very serious comment, albeit in a joking manner, “Wow! It looks so good I’m just surprised you didn’t cut it out and try to sell it as DLC!” It’s a joke, but it hurts because it points out the players’ real fear of the content being divided for selling profit. ExactSpy9060 rebranded the paid story DLC as “lame AF for a $70+ video game,” a feeling that is similar to the one shared by many in the gaming economy today.
So, what can we learn from all this? Monster Hunter Stories 3 is introducing to the players a wonderful battle reward system that encourages the player to improve his/her skills. But, on the other hand, Capcom’s decision to include story DLC in the Deluxe Edition has resulted in a lot of disagreements among gamers. Some view it as a contemporary practice, while others, although fewer, are very vocal and still regard it as a drawback of a title with a premium price tag. The controversy is already a huge part of the game’s pre-release story, and it will be interesting to see if Capcom will respond to the negative comments before the launch. The fighting screen may reward knowledge, but the real battle seems to be taking place in the comments section where the issue of content value is being debated. Players will eventually cast their votes through their purchases on PlayStation and Xbox, and the success of this system—both in-game and out—still remains to be seen.
