Capcom's Monster Hunter series has been the apex predator of the over-the-top, big swords and bigger beasts gaming experience for almost two decades now. During that time they've released 17 videogames, two anime series, four manga volumes, a card game, and a feature-length movie. This impressive lineup will be joined by a board game in the next few years, but another company may beat Capcom to the punch.
Primal: The Awakening is a co-operative deck-building board game from Reggie Games. The game is currently being funded on Kickstarter, and has raised almost $2.5 million in just over a month. No Monster Hunter fan taking a look at Primal: The Awakening's Kickstarter page could fail to see the strong influence that Capcom's series has had on the game. Everything from the oversized weapons to the monster parts-based crafting system shows an appreciation of the Monster Hunter style. However, it's the monsters themselves that are the most intriguing.
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At first glance, the beasts of Primal: The Awakening seem to have been lifted almost directly from a Monster Hunter title. However, while there are some creatures that bear striking similarities, there are many more that stray from the established Monster Hunter style. Starting with the monsters that are most similar means starting with Primal: The Awakening's signature beast, The Awakened.
A monstrous dragon-type bristling with overgrown horns and spikes, the Awakened is perhaps one of the least imaginative of Primal's monsters. It bears a close resemblance to Monster Hunter: World's Nergigante, also a creature that's crucial to the plot of its game.
Another of Primal's monsters that seems to be directly influenced by Monster Hunter is the Hurom. Based on its art and figure design, the Hurom is a lithe creature covered in sharp scales, which seems to have electrical powers. Although any of its other characteristics are not known, this design sounds like a cross between Monster Hunter's Tobi-Kadachi and Odoragon monsters, both swift predators with a dog-like appearance.
Although the Monster Hunter series is full of imaginative and unique monsters, there are a few design choices that it's tried to steer away from. For example, there are very few Insect-type monsters in the series, with the only real examples being found in the Fourth Generation. Primal: The Awakening clearly doesn't have the same prejudice, as it plans to launch with the beetle-like Ozew, followed by the colorful Pazis in the first expansion.
Another creature design that Primal: The Awakening seems ready to embrace is the Snake-type monster, with the venomous Reikal coming in a later expansion. In contrast, the Monster Hunter games have never featured a creature without some kind of limbs to help propel it. Even the beasts in Generation 4's Snake Wyvern category are equipped with small legs.
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It may be easy to label Primal: The Awakening as a deliberate attempt to fill Monster Hunter's niche in the board game market before Capcom can do it itself. However, there's no denying that Reggie Games are taking advantage of the wider design opportunities in the tabletop arena. While the Monster Hunter videogames have always been bound by what could be modelled and animated, no such restrictions exist for a board game.
This is almost certainly why Primal: The Awakening, despite its clear Monster Hunter influence, is moving into new directions with its monster design. What remains to be seen is whether the official Monster Hunter board game will take a similar route. If not, it would need to rely on the nostalgia built up through 16 years of Monster Hunter games to bring fans into the new medium.
Primal: The Awakening is in development.