IGN calls Monster Hunter Outlanders a competent mobile hunt with a gacha catch
After six hours on an iPhone 14 Plus, IGN praised the visuals and World-style loop but flagged a slow grind across nearly half a dozen in-game currencies.
IGN published its review in progress of Monster Hunter Outlanders on October 30, 2026, a day after the free-to-play mobile spin-off launched on iOS and Android. After six hours, the outlet found a surprisingly complete Monster Hunter experience on a phone, but warned that gacha-style progression is already pressing on the edges. No final score has been given yet.
What IGN liked
The headline praise is fidelity. IGN describes Outlanders as essentially Monster Hunter World squeezed onto a phone: scoutfly trails, buildable towers and ziplines, monsters that brawl with each other, and a forested opening area full of verticality, all in a moderately sized open world. Rather than simplifying the loop, it keeps the classic cycle of tracking, hunting, carving and crafting intact. On an iPhone 14 Plus, the reviewer reported a consistent frame rate with very few dips and environments that look stunning.
Redesigned monsters are part of the pitch. Aesoland's Radiant creatures, powered by a mineral called Radiantite, get tweaked movesets, such as a Pukei-Pukei that leans on head and tail attacks that suit the streamlined lock-on.
Where it struggles
Controls come in two flavours. Adventure Mode boils combat down to three buttons, Attack, React and Burst, and handles dodges and blocks contextually; IGN found it comfortable but lacking the friction that makes hunts satisfying. Classic Mode restores full manual combos but proved too cumbersome on touch alone, so the best way to play is Classic with a controller.
The bigger worry is progression. Recruiting story Adventurers uses gacha pulls with Rutacoins, alongside Zenny, Research Points and a pile of upgrade materials, nearly half a dozen currencies in all. IGN built a full four-person party easily from starter currency and liked solo play with distinct companions, but felt the opening hours drag under tutorials and resource juggling, and expects pulling duplicates to frustrate later on.
What comes next
IGN says it will keep playing for its full review. For SEA players, the game is free to try, so the real question is how hard the later hunts lean on resources. Our own launch rundown covers controls, classes and phone requirements if you are starting today.
Source: IGN.
