Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Expansion Gets Multiple New Details, and a Demo [IGN]

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, the “massive” expansion coming to the Switch and PC game, will get a demo tomorrow. We also learned about new maps and monsters – including the return of Monster Hunter 4’s iconic Gore Magala.

Announced at Capcom’s Summer Showcase event, we learned that a demo for Sunbreak will arrive tomorrow, Tuesday June 14. It will include the returning jungle region, and monsters to slay such as a Great Izuchi, Malzeno, and Astalos. New silkbind attacks and the new skill switch swap will be available, and there are training quests for new players. The demo supports multiplayer for up to four players, and there’s no limit to the number of times players can attempt quests.

Alongside the demo, we learned about a number of returning monsters coming with the new expansion: Daimyo Hermitaur (first seen in Monster Hunter 2), Espinas (from Monster Hunter Frontier), and Gore Magala. The last on the list will be well-known to players of Monster Hunter 4, where the dark wyvern served as the flagship monster. Monster Hunter Rise’s Rakna-Kadaki will also gain a new form, Pyre Rakna-Kadaki.

Not only is a Monster Hunter 2 monster appearing in the new DLC, but a map – that game’s Jungle is being enhanced for the more open areas of Rise. Its appearance changes over time, too.

Finally, we learned that more free title updates will arrive in Monster Hunter Rise following Sunbreak. In August of this year, it will add the Lucent Nargacuga, a new area called the Forlorn Arena, as well as other new monsters. There will also be updates in the fall and winter, and more to come in 2023.

Last year, we awarded Monster Hunter Rise an 8/10 review, saying it “mixes classic Monster Hunter ideas with some of World’s best improvements and a whole bunch of clever new mechanics of its own.” Sunbreak was announced a few months later and, while it will add a Master Rank and multiple new monsters, fan-favorite Lagiacrus won’t be retruning. It’s out on June 30.

Rebekah Valentine is a reporter at IGN.