Chapter 237: Makes Perfect Sense, But Still Feels Wrong! (Seventh Update, Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)

Not just Qin Yi, but also others like Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin were staring at Chen Xu with the same look.

After all, the sense of déjà vu was just too strong!

And as everyone knows, up to this point, Nebula Games had only released two major titles—Dark Souls and Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame.

As miraculous as the daily sales records of Minecraft were, in terms of scale, it clearly couldn’t be considered a large-scale game.

And now, this game called Monster Hunter: World—look at its melee combat setting, and then look at those massive Elder Dragons.

In Dark Souls, bosses were generally Huge in Size, primarily to create a strong Sense of Oppression for players.

Add to that the so-called unique action system, and the more the group observed, the more they leaned toward classifying it as a Souls-like game.

"Don’t jump to conclusions. How could this possibly be a Souls-like game?" Chen Xu shook his head and Rejected the idea.

"This is a very special game. Players will quickly become familiar with its gameplay mode. In fact, Monster Hunter: World will be much easier to pick up than Dark Souls."

"In Monster Hunter: World, players have a wide variety of weapons to choose from, and they can craft stronger Armor and equipment, which can then be upgraded."

"Moreover, unlike the Dark Souls series, where armor is practically useless against bosses, in Monster Hunter: World, players can reinforce and craft armor with superior defense power. They can also adapt their armor’s characteristics to counter specific monsters—and even further enhance that armor."

"Players can also use various items to make hunting easier. They even have a companion race called Palico to assist them in battle," Chen Xu explained, detailing each aspect.

"Additionally, there’s a rather unique setting in the game: Hitzone and Hitzone determination based on cut and blunt damage," Chen Xu introduced, describing a key mechanic of Monster Hunter: World.

Simply put, Hitzone refers to a monster’s weak points. Different Hitzones require different elemental attacks.

Similarly, attacking different body parts allows players to achieve effects like horn breaking or tail severing, yielding corresponding materials.

"Then there’s the application of AI systems. We’re building a complete ecosystem in the game—not just static background scenery, but a truly interactive world."

"Creatures and plants like Paralysis Toads, Vigorwasps, Flashflies in the forest, and the environment itself—all will affect the hunt. This is a real, living fantasy world," Chen Xu gave a brief conceptual overview.

Everyone present was brimming with excitement and enthusiasm.

Judging by the game’s scale, Monster Hunter: World would clearly be the largest-scale title they had ever developed.

As Chen Xu explained each system, Qin Yi and the others finally understood why he claimed Monster Hunter: World would be easier to handle than Dark Souls.

Because, honestly, there seemed to be almost no malicious design!

From what Chen Xu had described so far, Monster Hunter: World was completely different from Souls-like games.

The difficulty in Souls-like games came not only from bosses, but largely from level design and common soldiers.

Traps, environmental kills, and carefully stacked mob combinations could easily break a player’s spirit.

But in Monster Hunter: World, the maps didn’t have nearly as many malicious traps.

Players’ main task was to outsmart and outfight the boss.

Even the environmental traps could be turned into tools to defeat the boss.

And to further optimize player experience, hunters in Monster Hunter: World wouldn’t take any damage no matter how high they fell from—something far more awesome than what the Undead endured.

Moreover, by incorporating AI technology, the game’s bosses became far more flexible and lifelike.

This meant that each battle could take place in a completely different geographical setting.

Players would need to get a clear picture of the monster’s attack patterns, then rely on their own operations and intelligence to overcome it.

Listening to Chen Xu, the group wore expressions of sudden enlightenment.

From this perspective, Monster Hunter: World was indeed far more humane than the previous Dark Souls (informal).

However, as Chen Xu continued his explanation, the expressions on their faces slowly began to shift.

At first, he briefly introduced some of the game’s creatures—docile, non-aggressive Aptonoth, Great Jagras, and Kulu-Ya-Ku, the bird-like creature that wielded stones like an ostrich.

Nothing particularly alarming there. But then—what was this?

Tobi-Kadachi, wielding lightning; Anjanath, Huge in Size and ferocious; Odogaron, incredibly agile and venomous.

The art style suddenly felt off!

Not to mention Diablos, Rathalos, Rathian, and Nergigante that came later.

Even without seeing any actual Numerical Design, just the descriptions alone were enough to send chills down their spines.

When Chen Xu finished explaining the concept art, the meeting room fell into silence.

Now everyone understood the characteristics of Monster Hunter: World.

Indeed, this game was completely different from Dark Souls.

Dark Souls was like going to a Foot massage parlor, only for the attendant to pour scalding hot water into your footbath.

"Ouch! Too hot! I’m not washing my feet anymore!"

But Monster Hunter: World was like dipping your feet into warm water.

"Ah, so comfortable! I’ll take technician number 13. That’s a good number! Make sure you really work on my feet later. Where’s the QR code? Scan QR Code!"

But then, when players encountered Anjanath, met Odogaron, and faced Diablos,

The game’s difficulty suddenly jumped a whole tier—like pouring boiling water into the warm bath.

The water temperature slowly, unknowingly, became scalding.

And when players finally encountered Rathian, first sight of Nergigante, and Teostra—the Elder Dragons—

The entire pot of boiling water had been dumped in. Their feet were burning! And at the same time, technician number 13 walked in—completely unlike the young ladies they had imagined, but instead a burly Strongman.

"Massage my feet, huh? Close your eyes and enjoy!"

"Mr. Chen, isn’t the difficulty a bit too high?" Qin Yi cautiously offered his suggestion.

"How could it be? The difficulty curve is perfectly reasonable. Didn’t players keep complaining about Dark Souls, saying they wished for a more gradual progression? Well, I’ve learned from that! Look—our monster progression goes from Aptonoth and Great Jagras at the start, to Anjanath and Diablos later. It’s perfectly gradual!"

"Besides, players have three chances in the game. Only after being Carting three times is the hunt considered a failure. And there’s even a Palico companion—how down-to-earth can you get?"

"It’s all for the players!" Chen Xu sighed with emotion.

"And if you encounter a monster you can’t beat, you can invite friends to join you. Everyone teams up to tackle the monster. Doesn’t that instantly lower the difficulty?"

Listening to Chen Xu, the others remained silent.

It sounded so reasonable. They had absolutely no idea how to refute it.

<>