When I saw that the first Monster Hunter: World Horizon Zero Dawn quest went live, I was super excited to check it out. After all, I had finished the core game and wanted to spend more time with Capcom’s excellent action role-playing game. So, when I fire up the quest (called “Lessons of the Wild”), I was expecting to have a good time. Instead, I was treated to killing eight Barnos, which are extremely weak flying enemies that mostly just sit around in the air doing nothing. There’s also a Tzitzi-Ya-Ku roaming around that serves only to be an annoyance (and to knock the flying enemies to the ground in case you have a melee-based weapon). It’s easily the game’s weakest quest, and makes the most banal of the game’s side-quests seem interesting in comparison. Even worse, I had to do the monotonous quest (which thankfully only takes a few minutes) twice in order to earn the armor.
Let’s take a look at the quest’s official description, which is written from the perspective of a Nora Outcast (In theory, that’s really cool):
It’s time for some special training. Wingdrakes are feeble things compared to larger monsters, but even they can take down a hunter. Cull their numbers and we’ll prep some new Palico gear.
Now am I expecting too much from what is supposed to be a small bonus? Probably, but just a little more care could make this feel like a real treat for fans of both games. Some added context as to why the Nora tribe is interested in these creatures (beyond viewing them as “training”) would go a long way.
I can’t be all down on the “Lessons of the Wild” quest, though. The reward, which is Watcher-themed armor for your Palico, is super cool, and totally worth the few repetitive minutes it takes to earn it. It focuses on one of Horizon‘s biggest strengths, which is visual design, and it’s really neat to have a little robotic cat following me around on my expeditions. I just hope that future quests take advantage of the opportunity that Capcom has with these crossovers. It shouldn’t feel like I’m wasting my time to get something, as it really hurts the appeal of what should be a very special momentous event.
