You’ll not only be entertained by Monster Hunter World: Iceborne for hours, but you will be in awe of its complex systems, and how they align so well to create an unforgettable expansion to an already fantastic game.

A rewarding gameplay loop; New monsters are a sight to behold; Easily accessible after the main story;

Significant difficulty spikes; Mechanics can feel overwhelming;

Monster Hunter has always been a franchise that hooks players with a mercilessly addictive gameplay loop: Make a weapon out of a monster, then use that to beat more monsters into submission so you can make new weapons and pants out of them.

Monster Hunter World hasn't exactly subscribed to the typical release pattern with its first, last and only paid DLC, Iceborne . Announced soon after the base game found its way to consoles, Iceborne wasn't released until almost 18 months had passed, which is more often the territory of rushed...

Positives + Huge amount of new content + Manages to both build on and compliment original game + Great new visual design

Negatives; A sizeable jump in difficulty for those unprepared

Capcom took the gaming world by storm in 2018 when they released the first-ever Monster Hunter game to be available outside of the Nintendo system. Monster Hunter World is an amazing game with beautiful graphics, great AI and fantastic gameplay.

More grind; New weapons add level of dynamism to gameplay; Many more hours of content; Improved multiplayer difficulty scaling

Still some AI glitches that can cause frustrating defeats; Hefty price tag

Monster Hunter World's first paid expansion, Iceborne, is now available on PS4 and Xbox One. Our review has now been finalized after a brief stint as a review in progress. For more, check out our Iceborne tips guide .

Variants on familiar monsters makes for a well-designed progression curve; Introduction of the Clutch Claw adds variety to combat without sacrificing difficulty; Integrating tougher foes into existing environments feels like a seamless addition; The new ecosystem provides interesting layers of...

The narrative doesn't quite give you the chance to be invested properly; Brand-new monsters are relatively few

Capcom's smash hit open world epic gets a massive new expansion that adds some unseasonably snowy monsters and a ton of new content.

The new area is great in terms of how it handles the snow and cold, and all the new monsters with their unique abilities; Clutch Claw is useful and there are plenty of handy quality of life improvements

The requirements to play, in terms of your character's experience, are surprisingly demanding; No new weapon types and the new area isn't any bigger than most of the existing ones

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is an excellent expansion so large that it almost feels like a sequel. It's a better version of a great game.

Dozens of cool new monsters; The best-looking armor in the series; The most challenging hunts World's ever seen

Several annoyances remain unfixed

Full disclosure here: I got into Monster Hunter because of World. Having only briefly dabbled with MH3U and MH4, the many changes and tweaks to the formula for World enticed me to finally give the fra

Huge roster of new monsters; New mechanics feel essential; The meta has been completely overhauled; Hoarfrost Reach is beautiful; Incredible endgame

Multiplayer organisation is still a bit odd

Monster Hunter World reached a wider audience than any other game in the franchise, mesmerizing new hunters and pleasing longtime veterans. World had its extreme challenges, but they were tucked away in late- and post-game content.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne adds just what Monster Hunter World needed and even more quality of life changes to the greatest Monster Hunter game of all time. The new monsters and quests pack a punch, and there's enough content to justify the price.

Plenty of new quests; Extremely challenging for players looking for a greater challenge; New equipment including layered equipment and upgrade levels for weapons; Beautiful new locations

Way too difficult to tackle alone; Long loading times for Hoarfrost Reach