A monster roaring somewhere off in the distance, a potion gulped down in a panic, and a 3DS getting warm in your hands.

Monster Hunter Generations reads as a game that hooks you more than it impresses you. Fun stands out the most, ahead of 91% of games, though that rests on very few votes and still needs confirming. Behind it, attachment and the desert island question sit just above average, around 60%. Then things stall. Controller feel drops below average, which is almost ironic for a series built entirely on how its weapons land. Art direction falls further still, ahead of only a fifth of games. That is the tension: you sink hours into it, but you do not look at it.

Next to modern big-budget action RPGs, the 3DS hardware simply does not forgive on the visual side. What Generations offers is something else: the hunting loop, the preparation, the co-op, a density that is rare in the genre. The aesthetic criteria do not tell that part of the story.

So, who is it for? For you if you like games that unfold slowly, systems you have to tame, long sessions with friends. Much less so if you want to be gripped in the first hour by what is on screen.