Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Review (MSJ/C.Falkner)
Just completed the main story in Sunbreak and I think the only issue with this product is the full price.
This is not a $60 AUD product, but on sale for $30 or $15 it's well worth it.
It just does not add enough monsters and takes a good few hours to get to the new ones.
That said I think most of the new fights are enjoyable, flavourful, and high quality.
For those curious about the progression, the main story of the DLC effectively replaces the basegame grind to HR100, which I appreciated, since I abandoned that grind on my original base game playthrough a few years.
Returning to a fresh save and playing through basegame and Sunbreak the answer is the simple, if you like Rise you will like Sunbreak.
Most of the common complaints from the reviews seem to about the true endgame post-story grind. Which includes RNG mechanics like Qurio crafting and over-tuned fights (apparently).
The story and meat of Sunbreak's content is not like this, which I was surprised to find out considering the reviews. It's very similar to Rise's basegame.
For the main content of Sunbreak, fighting new monsters comes with 2 new maps and the option to bring NPC hunters along, which is a very bad solution to the issues with Rise's Multiplayer. I would say if you're looking to jump into Multiplayer quests with random players then Sunbreak will not fulfil that.
Without friends, this is a singleplayer experience, unfortunately.
Bringing NPCs is an interesting addition as it basically acts as a soft difficulty selector. Bringing NPCs has no downsides, but it does make the world feel a little more alive and gives the a slightly different flavour to the re-used monsters from the basegame. It's a nice optional addition.
If you enjoyed the Rise up until it's story end, you will enjoy Sunbreak. If you're interested in an MMO lifestyle grind with endless progression and content, then this probably isn't for you, but if you're keen for an expansion on Rise and you're okay with revisiting it's mostly re-used cast of monsters, I would recommend it.