izigame.me

So I'm far from done with this game, but the reviews being mixed is completely ludicrous. If you're on the fence about getting this let me give you a tip: Monster Hunter is always going to be two different styles of game. Rise is not World, World is not Rise. World is slower and more methodical because it's mainline series. Rise is more fast and arcadey because it's Generations. That's how it is. If you thought World was way way better than Rise because you think Rise is too fast and arcadey, you will not like Sunbreak. If you like Rise, you will love Sunbreak. The only real downside with Sunbreak is it takes a little lonng to have the new monsters kick in, but every single one of them is an awesome fight (yes, every single one, including That One that people whine about. If you get hit by the triple charge's first hit, wirebug after he passes you and if you get hit by the second stay on the floor and wait out the third. It's not that hard, man.)
People complaining the game is too easy likely played a lot of monster hunter in the past and are comparing its difficulty to when they were brand new to monhun, which is an innately skewed comparison. People complaining the game is too hard can't handle the arcadey speed and pace, and that's fine, but if you can and enjoy it that is EXACTLY what you're getting a better version of here.
The gulf in effectiveness between weapon classes is always going to exist (ranged weapons will always have faster times than melee weapons, that's what the inevitable nature of uptime is) but there have been MASSIVE buffs to things like Gunlance, Lance, and Hunting Horn which were on the low end damage wise in the past. Lance now has the ability to have nearly 100% uptime on damage, Gunlance gained the most fun skill in the entire game (GOD I LOVE BULLET BARRAGE), and the biggest and most important change build-wise IMO is that (crafting spoilers) EVERY SINGLE WEAPON goes to rarity 10 or in the case of basel will very soon. That one change is MASSIVE to me, because I love love love build variety and the only weapon I see zero of it in is very specifically bullet-barrage-spam-style Gunlance and then only because there's only the one shell level 8 long shell gunlance. Wide shelling poke-shell-shell still has several options (regardless of the salt you'll see.)
I LOVE this expansion, it's absolutely fantastic and everything I wanted it to be, because I love Rise and love the arcadey pace and love doing things like fighting a monster and punching into its attacks with my shield, sending it flying like a Punch Out opponent. I cannot overstate how good every weapon (though I can't speak for bow because I have wrist problems and can't play it in any game) feels now thanks to switch skill swap scrolls and build variety.
ELEMENTAL CHARGE BLADE is awesome now. Do you have any idea how long I've wanted this?! Ditto elemental Switch Axe. The new greatsword moveset makes it into a claymore that, with a simple scroll swap, can become a far more effective version of the previous charge combo instead (thanks to a counter that throws you straight into a +35% damage True Charged Slash). This is IMO the achievement of what Generations Ultimate was aiming for with the different styles - 12/14 weapons (excluding longsword and maybe bow?) have MULTIPLE playstyles that are all REALLY GOOD.
I've played an absolute shitload of this game since release and I've never been happier playing monster hunter, and I put in hundreds of hours into Iceborne because I love that one too! The games are great, and this is no exception as long as you enjoyed base Rise. If you don't like arcadey, then this isn't for you, and that doesn't make it an awful Monster Hunter game it makes it different. These games alternate, that's what they do, so if you absolutely hate fast paced gameplay just wait for the next one that will assuredly be more of what you're after. Me, I'm hype for the next and even more hype for two games from now when we get more of this.
Sunbreak starts with less content at release on PC than Rise had but also we had a ton of updates already integrated into Rise on PC launch and this one's simultaneous cross-platforms. I highly recommend rushing through MR1-3 as fast as you can (you'll get a chance to redo those early fights and they'll be relevant and just as fun without being pushovers later, don't worry) to get the rest of the new Switch Skills and get to the majority of the new monsters. You'll have a much better time of it.
Highly recommend getting a layered weapons mod though, the fact that still isn't in the base game is a massive oversight IMO but one easily fixed.
Get Sunbreak if you liked Rise. Don't if you didn't. It's that simple.