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Best games like Monster Hunter on PC

Here is every Monster Hunter game and spinoff on PC, as well as other similar experiences and niche cases of shared mechanics in wildly different games.

Best games like Monster Hunter: a deer-like monster in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.

What are the best games like Monster Hunter on PC? Fundamentally, the Monster Hunter games focus heavily on defeating bosses in large maps, all while scavenging their carcasses and the rest of the flora and fauna for new materials to upgrade your gear.

Now that these RPG games are available on PC, we can join in on the fun and indulge in the power fantasy of launching overgrown lizards into the air by swinging a hammer the size of an elephant’s hindquarters into its scaly gut. Here are the best games like Monster Hunter on PC.

Best games like Monster Hunter on PC

Here are all the best games like Monster Hunter on PC:

Best games like Monster Hunter - a hunter mounting the side of an Anjanath's face in Monster Hunter World. There are smaller monsters nearby just before the fallen tree.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

As the first Monster Hunter game on PC, Monster Hunter World kickstarted a new era in the long-running series. Gone are the segmented zones with tons of loading screens; in their place are a handful of biomes represented as massive maps. Previous games required hunters to throw paintballs to track where monsters disappear. In World and its expansion, Iceborne, fireflies analyze tracks and carcasses to narrow down a monster’s initial location.

The result is one of the most fun co-op games you can play now. There are vast numbers of monsters to hunt, from new dinosaur-inspired beasts to fan favorites across the series. Constant updates and the Iceborne expansion make this one of the biggest Monster Hunter games ever.

Best game like Monster Hunter: a hunter with a bow running away from a Great Izuchi while a gunner in a ballista turret fires at a Aknosom in Monster Hunter Rise.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

Monster Hunter Rise is the better starting point to the series if you fancy a slightly easier tutorial, more unique movement options, and you like Japanese culture. According to our Monster Hunter Rise review, it “takes the tactical, challenging combat that made Monster Hunter World so exhilarating and trims the fat to make its first few hours more accessible.” Rise introduces Palamutes, a new type of hunting companion, and Wirebugs that enable new aerial moves and special weapon attacks.

Monster Hunter Rise feels fresh and exciting, and it’s not just because Wirebugs make heavier weapons easier to use. There are a wide variety of new and returning monsters to fight, some taking inspiration from Japanese folklore. In addition, each monster has a unique fighting style, such as the Tetranadon’s sumo wrestling slaps or the returning Mizutsune bubbles.

If you want more of the same high-quality hunting experience found in Monster Hunter World, playing Monster Hunter Rise is a no-brainer. However, it gets even better with the Sunbreak expansion as it introduces some European folklore-inspired beasts, such as the Lunagaron. There’s even a new endgame mechanic that makes regular hunts much more complex and gives Elder Dragons some much-needed spiciness. With more updates coming in 2023, expect to see some more surprises soon to one of the best PC games out there right now.

Best games like Monster Hunter: a Razewing Rathalos hatching out of an egg in Monster Hunter Stories 2.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

Okay, okay, so this has less in common with classic Monster Hunter games and shares more mechanics with Pokémon games, but our Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin review highlights just how hard Monster Hunter Stories 2 – Wings of Ruin tries to capture the hearts of fans of the main games. Sure, there are times when it feels like you’re watching a Saturday morning cartoon, but there are some genuine attempts at ensuring that this feels like a Monster Hunter game at heart.

You and your battalion of monsties (the tamed versions of monsters) ride out into the open wilderness, fulfilling quests for locals in each of the towns, slaying monsters, and crafting new equipment for your character. Monsties can also have their genes spliced to gain new buffs, which is great if you want to give your main monstie a new trait, like being able to breathe fire. Stories 2 is worth giving a chance, even if you’re on the fence about its cartoonish look.

Games like Monster Hunter: a hunter is using a giant hammer-like contraption to try and bonk a giant rat with a plant growing out of its head in Wild Hearts.

Wild Hearts

With the success of recent Monster Hunter games on PC, it was only a matter of time until others attempted to replicate the same formula. Wild Hearts has the player use ancient technology alongside an arsenal of frankly ridiculous weapons against a diverse list of Kemono – the game’s monsters. Our Wild Hearts review describes it as a “massively entertaining game that introduces some unique twists to the monster-hunting formula”.

The only snags that Wild Hearts has are that it requires a beefy PC to keep it running smoothly, and it didn’t get much in the way of post-launch support. It seems like EA is ending support, so what is here is all we’ll likely ever get. It’s a shame, really, as when it works well, Wild Hearts does enough differently that it’s worth at least giving it a go.

Best games like Monster Hunter: two hunters are surrounding an Embermane in Dauntless.

Dauntless

Dauntless is a free PC game that takes the Monster Hunter experience and streamlines it by taking out the legwork between fights. That means you can visit the game’s bustling social arena, Ramsgate, in one moment and then be hunting a Dauntless Behemoth in the next moment.

All the usual loot-based incentives are still intact, too, and there are plenty of Dauntless Exotic weapons and armor to go after. If you’re unsure about taking on a massive game like Monster Hunter, this is a handy alternative as it’s free-to-play. So you don’t have to worry about forking out for something you may not gel with.

Best games like Monster Hunter: a hunter using a green crystal beam to hit an Oni's hand in Toukiden 2.

Toukiden 2

The idea in Toukiden 2 is to slay gargantuan demons known as Oni in order to protect humanity from destruction. In short, take Monster Hunter and swap out the wyverns and dinosaurs for the horrors of Japanese medieval folklore, and, hey presto, you have Toukiden.

There are so many similarities between Monster Hunter and Toukiden that, in distinguishing them, you may as well be trying to spot the difference between a Rathalos and a Rathian. Both involve hunting gigantic snotty beasts, bringing friends along for the slaughter, upgrading your weapons and gear using resources from fallen enemies, and originating on handheld consoles.

You could buy Toukiden: Kiwami, which is the enhanced version of the first game that was released on PC. But for a better experience, you will want to try Toukiden 2, as it was made with PC in mind from the start. It is also the only open-world game in the Toukiden series, making it the equivalent of Monster Hunter: World for its respective series.

Best games like Monster Hunter: Aiming a bow and arrow at a roaring lion inside a cave in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

Capcom’s other creature-slaying PC RPG is Dragon’s Dogma. This game starts with a dragon ripping your heart from your body. Just snatches it right out of your chest. Understandably, you are not particularly pleased about the situation and set out to find that damn dragon to retrieve your absent vital organ.

That is not as easy as it… Actually, it doesn’t sound easy at all, does it? You will need to get a lot of practice before you can go toe-to-claw with a fire-breathing beast of legend. Weak as you are, to begin with, it turns out you are the ‘chosen one’ and are capable of taking on Hydra, Griffins, and Chimera with a bit of time and experience behind you.

Dragon’s Dogma ticks a lot of boxes if you are looking for an experience similar to Monster Hunter that you can play on PC: an open world, huge beasts to mount and stab in the face, a plethora of armor and gear upgrades, and a party of armed fools to lead around. Unfortunately, that party does not consist of other online players but AI-controlled ‘Pawns’ that learn how to fight from you (poor things). Once you have trained them, other players can borrow your Pawns for their games. It is not a replacement for online co-op, but even without that, Dragon’s Dogma comes close enough.

Best games like Monster Hunter: a giant tiger-like creature roaring and emitting electricity while a hunter stands nearby with a weird sword in God Eater 2: Rage Burst.

God Eater 2 Rage Burst

The weapons you use in God Eater 2 are one of its biggest draws. Called God Arcs, they are developed from the cells of the Aragami – the huge monsters you are sent out to defeat. This means you can collect materials from the dead bodies of your large opponents to upgrade your arsenal. God Eater lives up to its name by letting you devour the monstrous corpses you create.

While all the weapons in God Eater 2 seem to have been manufactured in the same factory as other anime games – they are huge, glow yellow, and cause a lot of blood to gush – they are as varied as Monster Hunter’s roster of blades, blunts, and ballistics. There is plenty of room to specialize here – you can charge into battle with a scythe dragging at your heels, stand back and take pop shots with a sniper rifle, or move in cautiously with a short blade to pierce enemies in fast flurries. Not only are there a bunch of weapons to choose from that allow for different playstyles, but they each also have different forms you can transform them into – knowing when to deploy the right form can give you the upper hand in battle.

Another aspect of Monster Hunter games that God Eater 2 nails is supplying you with hundreds of missions so you can farm for items and materials to upgrade your equipment. Some will find it repetitive, others will relish the chance to watch the numbers tick upwards as they get incrementally better at dishing out swathes of ultraviolence.

Best games like Monster Hunter: a dragon breathing fire from the top of a castle while a knight looks on in Dark Souls 3.

Dark Souls 3

Look, despite some questionable assessments out there, Monster Hunter has little in common with Dark Souls 3. But hear us out.

With dragon slaying, plunging attacks, and plenty of blunts and blades to specialize in, Dark Souls 3 is a decent alternative to Monster Hunter. The series is notorious for its challenging boss battles, after all. You can even cut the tails off some mighty lizards and turn them into weapons, just like in Monster Hunter.

Where Dark Souls 3 differs, however, is in its more prominent interest in worldbuilding, atmosphere, and storytelling. Rather than your progress being visualized as a carved-up hide worn as a piece of grotesque armor, Dark Souls 3 metes it out through the bonfires you springboard from throughout each area. There is a greater focus on learning how to conquer regions, not to mention an underlying interest in tying together convoluted plot threads between characters, locations, and item descriptions.

That said, you get the same sense of achievement when you return to an area with an upgraded blade and slice through enemies with the ease of chomping on a piece of cooked meat. You will still want to hunt for items, farm them before big battles, and acquire materials to upgrade your gear. One beast even has the head of a crocodile and the agility of a dog – squint, and you might mistake it for Monster Hunter: World’s dreaded Odogaron.

Best games like Monster Hunter - two guardians decked out in flamboyant armour (one with a bird and sun motifs and one in a purple aura) in Destiny 2.

Destiny 2

This one is a bit of a curveball, but Destiny 2 does have its fair share of similarities to Monster Hunter. Yes, the sci-fi setting is worlds apart, and the FPS game format puts it in another category entirely. But Destiny 2 is a game with instance-based conflicts against some large-bodied aliens.

The MMORPG side of the game also runs parallel to the item management and stats upgrades of Monster Hunter. You will run through the same areas, popping off headshots, and grabbing loot left, right, and center. Unfortunately, you cannot cut the skin and body parts of the fallen to repurpose as armor in Destiny 2 – a real shame, as we quite fancy sporting a metallic Vex outfit – but there is Glimmer to spend, Shards to install, and Destiny Exotics to infuse.

As you can see, Destiny 2 can compete with Monster Hunter regarding odd nouns, too. For every Anjanath, Malachite Ore, and Gajalaka that Monster Hunter has to offer, Destiny 2 retorts with Hunter Arcstriders, Telestos, and Xur. This, indeed, is where the real conflict lies.

Of course, we highly recommend all these entries when playing with others. However, if the grind doesn’t appeal to everyone, we have a list of the best multiplayer games for you to choose from instead. We also have a list of the upcoming PC games in 2024 if you want to know when certain game’s release dates are.