10 Best Monster Hunter Games Ranked by Metascore

Capcom has pumped out several excellent Monster Hunter titles over the years. Also, the fact that very few Monster Hunter games score below 80 on Metacritic certainly speaks volumes to how much the franchise is loved. Despite fan and critical praise for the series, I was curious to know in what order the games take the cake. The best way to do this is by looking at the top ten games, in the Monster Hunter series, with the highest metascores. 

What is a Metascore?

Metascores are number scores used by Metacritic to rank the critical success of different types of media. The scores are determined by the opinions of critical reviews and users’ ranking of the game on a scale of 1-10. So, the metascores take both sides of video game criticism into account.

List of the Best Monster Hunter Games

My list starts from the lowest metascore and works up to the Monster Hunter game with the highest metascore. Metacritic does not have one listing for a game, however. For instance, a game can be available across different consoles and can be ranked more than once on the Metacritic list. I have compiled my list with only one listing for each game; therefore, a game on the list ranked more than once on Metacritic will appear only once here.

10) Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin - Metascore: 82

This spinoff series of the Monster Hunter franchise offers a similar experience to the regular RPG gameplay found in the main series, but there are a few differences to keep in mind. 

One, it contains a turn-based battle system. It can get a little monotonous, but I can say that strengthening your monsties and reaping the rewards through turn-based combat is majorly satisfying in the end. 

Two, it’s nice to take on the role of a rider instead of a hunter. Because a rider needs the power of “kinship” with a monstie to succeed in battles, it quickly becomes obvious that egg hunting is an essential part of gameplay. Searching for monstie eggs and combining powerful gene sets to create the ultimate monstie is something that makes this game so fun. Players directly influence how difficult the game is for them by how powerful their monsties are, so there’s a lot to work for in the end. 

The story itself takes players on an adventure across different environments where they make friends and enemies as they uncover the mystery behind the glowing pits found all over the land. There’s also the matter of unraveling the mystery of whether the main monstie, Ratha, possesses the Wings of Ruin, but I’m not delving into spoiler territory. Needless to say, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin has rightfully earned a place among the best monster hunter games list.

Available on: Nintendo Switch and PC

9) Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - Metascore: 82

This is an expansion pack for the Monster Hunter Tri Wii game (which I’ll get to in a minute). Ultimate adds tons of features and even replaces a few found in Tri - there’s a lot to unpack. Basically, the expansion added to the online and local wireless gaming experience and brought back other gameplay options, such as weapons and map areas, found in other titles, especially Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. However, most of the major features added had a lot to do with the tech side of the game. Target camera, bottom touch-sensitive screen (it’s for the Nintendo 3DS), and it was the first game in the franchise to have dynamic shadows; this simply means that the shadows look like the shape that casts them. One can see why this expansion would rank in the top ten. 

Available on: Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS

8) Monster Hunter Tri - Metascore: 84

Tri is kind of a big deal in a lot of ways. Not only did it serve as the Monster Hunter franchise debut title on the Nintendo Wii, but it also brought a lot of new features to the gameplay. Some of these features can no longer be accessed, such as Wii Speak capabilities, but it was the first Monster Hunter game to feature it, so that’s cool. Online and offline multiplayer options were where this game really shined and is why it’s considered one of the best Monster Hunter games. Both cooperative modes allowed players to join a hunting party of up to four players. Otherwise, players can choose to pursue the single-player hunting experience with Cha-Cha, an AI hunting partner. As for the plot, players are tasked with helping Moga Village from threatening monsters nearby. Basically, the overall goal of the game is to hunt monsters and collect monster parts to progress and grow stronger - ya know, the usual Monster Hunter gameplay. 

Available on: Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Wii

7) Monster Hunter Generations - Metascore: 85

Generations had something new to offer with its new special attacks and combat styles, but especially with the introduction of playable Felyne characters; Felynes were simply companions in other franchise entries. Armor plays a huge role in this game, too, because players have the chance to mold their armor into something different using collectibles, such as ore or monster parts. Hunting Arts was also a new addition to the game. It required players to charge up the moves before they could be activated. Hunting Arts is similar to how kinship skills work in Wings of Ruin - this franchise really likes the idea of making players wait to use powerful attacks. Generations also introduced Hunting Styles, where weapons contain their own battle effects and forms. New monsters were added along with past popular monsters from other games in the franchise. Generations has the right mix of familiar and new, creating another top Monster Hunter game for sure. 

Available on: Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS

6) Monster Hunter Freedom Unite - Metascore: 86

Now enters the first game in the franchise to be available on iOS. Freedom Unite serves as an expansion of Monster Hunter Freedom 2, as it had more missions to complete, monsters to fight, and equipment to choose from. It also placed importance on Felynes by adding a Felyne fighter companion and downloadable content to customize its armor and unlock its skills. The game’s gameplay followed the same pattern as other titles except for the new “Epic Hunting Quest.” This allowed for quest optimization in a way. Players could choose from one to four different monsters to fight in one quest. There were other quests that players could accept from the gathering hall and a Felyne character as well. Considering its PSP and iOS capabilities, it was a unique entry in the franchise. Sadly, it can’t be downloaded on mobile nowadays because Capcom removed it from the App store back in 2019.

Available on: PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita

5) Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - Metascore: 86

This entry in the franchise is an expansion of Monster Hunter 4. One of its unique aspects is that it contains the most monsters ever found in a Monster Hunter game, with the total equaling nearly 90! Once again, players find themselves traveling through different environments and battling monsters that live there, except there’s a mysterious virus that threatens the world. There’s also the option of forming hunting parties with friends and choosing from a huge lineup of weapons and armor (especially when the DLC added new armor sets and masks) to make hunting just a little bit easier. No doubt, this entry was ranked as one of the best Monster Hunter games on Metacritic because it is one of the best-received games in the franchise to date. 

Available on: Nintendo 3DS

4) Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak - Metascore: 87

Sunbreak is the newest Monster Hunter content at the moment. It’s an expansion for Nintendo Switch’s Monster Hunter Rise (I’ll get to that one in a minute). The expansion made improvements to gameplay, but also added new monsters and hunter locales. There are also Master Rank quests, which add new difficulty to the game. Sunbreak was released in June of this year and has already accumulated positive reviews. 

Available on: Nintendo Switch and PC

3) Monster Hunter Rise - Metascore: 87

This story-packed game has players fighting or capturing monsters as they complete quests for monster parts, and other rewards that will strengthen their weapons and armor as they travel throughout the land. A lot of weapons from Monster Hunter: Generations and World return in this game, so there are a lot of weapons to sift through. The story, in my opinion, is really where the meat is for this entry. And with the addition of Sunbreak, there’s even more story to explore. Players take on the role of a hunter (again) as they uncover the “Rampage,” a mysterious occurrence of crazed monsters attacking Fugen Village at random, eventually spreading to Kamura Village, another prominent location in the game. Sunbreak’s arc adds another huge task for the hunter to overcome after a strange monster appears. I won’t delve into spoilers, so those are the only plot details I’ll discuss for this one. Any best Monster Hunter game list wouldn’t feel complete without Rise and Sunbreak, honestly. 

Available on: Nintendo Switch and PC

2) Monster Hunter: World - Iceborne - Metascore: 87

One thing to say about the Monster Hunter franchise on Metacritic is that critics and players alike love their game expansions. Iceborne serves as an expansion to the highly praised Monster Hunter: World (again, I’ll get to it in a minute). It adds a new arc to the original game’s story and offers players the chance to explore a large icy region of the world. There, players can find new species of monsters along with some returning ones. Iceborne also expands the world’s skill-based progression and crafting system. Capcom really gave attention to all parts of the game for this one. Combat features were also added to aid players in the final showdown with the monster, Velkhana. 

Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC

1) Monster Hunter: World - Metascore: 90

Now here’s the highest-ranked game on Metacritic. World has players, once again, take on the role of a hunter who joins a research team to help study the land of Astera. The player’s main goal is to slay or capture monsters for further research. Armors and weapons, like in other Monster Hunter games, determines how well these monster hunting goals are met. Quests also play a big part in World. This time, quests can be enhanced by meals that provide specific buffs for battles.

Several features help players monster hunt, such as Scout Flies that highlight monster tracks or other collectibles players might otherwise miss. Also, World’s story mode is directly tied to its different types of quests, which are low and high-rank categories. There’s a lot to discover in this game that would take me all day to mention here. This neverending exploration and richness of gameplay features is possibly the main reason it is ranked number one and rightly so.

Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC

What is the Best Monster Hunter Game?

If there’s anything to be learned from this list, it’s that the Monster Hunter expansions are definitely worth the money. Perhaps some gaming companies can learn a thing or two from Capcom when it comes to DLC releases. I guess it depends on one’s personal opinion on game expansions in general. With the recent success of Sunbreak, I’m curious to know what Capcom has in store for the franchise in the coming years.