Monster Hunter Now soft-launches in Singapore ahead of official September release

Monster Hunter Now, the new mobile version of Capcom's smash-hit Monster Hunter series, soft-launched in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Canada, and Sweden ahead of the game's official launch on 14 September.

Monster Hunter Now's soft-launch features a full playable version of the game, with developer Niantic — best known for Pokémon GO — aiming to spend the next several weeks adding new features and improving the game based on player feedback ahead of its September launch date.

Those who play Monster Hunter Now's soft-launch will be able to continue their progress once the game officially launches as there will be no level reset.

If you're in one of the regions where it's available, you can download Monster Hunter Now here. It is only available for Android users at the moment.

What is Monster Hunter Now?

First announced back in April, Monster Hunter Now will be the mobile version of the smash-hit Monster Hunter series, which had previously been limited to console and PC versions.

Like other Niantic titles, Monster Hunter Now is free-to-play and will be supported by in-app purchases.

Similar to the mainline Monster Hunter titles, Monster Hunter Now features the series' signature gameplay loop of hunting powerful monsters to create weapons and armour, which players can then use to hunt more powerful monsters, and in turn create more powerful weapons and armour.

As with other Niantic games, Monster Hunter Now will make use of augmented reality to let players explore the real world in search of monsters and materials, meet new friends, and form alliances with others to hunt monsters.

Monster Hunter Now adapts the mainline series' combat system for mobile players with taps and swipes on the touchscreen. The game can also be played in both portrait mode and landscape mode, depending on whatever the player might prefer.

Each battle will only last 75 seconds, and players will have a few moves to choose from.

Veteran Monster Hunter players can still expect the series' signature weapon classes to significantly alter the gameplay, but they should expect to do so more frequently.

Which monsters can you hunt in Monster Hunter Now?

The biggest draw of Monster Hunter is by far the variety of monsters players can hunt and create weapons and armour from.

In Monster Hunter Now's soft launch, there will be 13 monsters available for players to encounter. These include iconic monsters from Monster Hunter's first generation like Rathalos and Rathian, as well as more recent additions from the game's fifth generation like Anjanath and Legiana.

Monster Hunter Now's early levels will include the likes of the gluttonous Fanged Wyvern Great Jagras, the egg-stealing Bird Wyvern Kulu-Ya-Ku, and the poison-spitting Flying Wyvern Pukei-Pukei as starter monsters.

The more intermediate monsters include the Fanged Wyverns Great Girros, which has paralysis-inducing attacks, and Tobi-Kadachi, which builds up static electricity over the course of battle to unleash more powerful attacks.

There's also a pair of monsters that prefer muddy environments, the Brute Wyvern Barroth and Piscine Wyvern Jyuratodus, that use hardened mud as armour to deflect attacks from hunters.

The Barroth uses powerful charging attacks in battle while Jyuratodus prefers diving into the mud to strike from below.

There's also the fluffy Flying Wyvern Paolumu, which can inflate a sac in its neck to float in the air to strike at unsuspecting hunters from above.

Once hunters are powerful enough, they can take on the more challenging monsters like the Brute Wyven Anjanath as well as the Flying Wyverns Rathian and Legiana.

The tyrannosaur-like Anjanath sports powerful jaws and a muscular body to bite and lunge at hunters in battle. In addition, it can also spit fire attacks once it's enraged.

The Rathian, the females of the Rath species, has a lot of weapons in its arsenal, able to launch fireballs at hunters or inflict venom at players with its spiked tail. While the Rathian is also able to fly, it prefers to fight on the ground by constantly charging at threats.

Meanwhile, the Legiana is a more adept flyer that can quickly strike hunters from the air at multiple angles. It can also use ice attacks to keep threats at a distance.

Finally, the most challenging foes in Monster Hunter Now at launch are the apex predator-level monsters, namely the Flying Wyverns Rathalos and Diablos.

The Rathalos, the males of the Rath species, differs from its female counterpart with its preference to strike from the air.

It will constantly fly around to attack hunters with its venomous claws or launch fireballs from a distance.

Meanwhile, the Diablos uses its fearsome pair of horns to charge at hunters in front of it and its clubbed tail to strike at threats behind it. While this monster has wings, it prefers to move by burrowing underground, striking at unsuspecting hunters from below. It also has a deafening roar that can stun hunters.

Monster Hunter Now will be available on iOS and Android. You can download the game here.

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