Nintendo eShop update gives Monster Hunter fans a chance to try its Switch debut

We’re in peak “doldrums of summer” time, just ahead of the more overwhelming fall gaming season. Nonetheless, Nintendo Switch eShop has a handful of downloads to check out before September, including a preview of the first Switch game from a huge franchise.

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is a Nintendo Switch version of the expansion to 2016’s Nintendo 3DS entry in the series. That game, Monster Hunter Generations, received praise from what was back then a smaller fanbase — a dedicated niche that already knew the Monster Hunter ropes. Things have changed since then, however, as Monster Hunter: World introduced a swath of newcomers to Capcom’s action-RPG franchise.

Don’t expect to easily jump into Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate if you’ve already sunk hundreds of hours into World. Get ready for a steep learning curve, in part due to way more hunting styles, monsters and even loading screens to deal with. It will take some time to unlearn your Monster Hunter: World habits if you’re eager to become dedicated to another Monster Hunter game. Thankfully, this one’s on Switch, so at least you can carry it around with you if you really want to be serious about Generations Ultimate.

The full game won’t launch until Aug. 28, but a demo is on eShop now. As Redditors have pointed out, it includes single-player and both online and local multiplayer; there are also a trio of quests, 14 weapons and six different ways to hunt.

As for what else is on Switch this week? We’re fans of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes’ previous iterations, including its PlayStation VR version; that’s a high-anxiety party game that seems apt for Switch. The full list is below:

• ACA NEOGEO METAL SLUG 4
• All-Star Fruit Racing — available Aug. 21
• Animated Jigsaws: Beautiful Japanese Scenery — demo
• Arcade Archives Kid’s Horehore Daisakusen
• CastleStorm
• Detective Gallo — available Aug. 17
• FLIP OVER FROG
• FunBox Party
• Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Nitro Ball
• Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
• Manual Samuel
• Monopoly for Nintendo Switch — demo
• Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate — demo
• Morphite — demo
• Next Up Hero
• Out of The Box — available Aug. 22
• Persian Nights: Sands of Wonders — available Aug. 17
• Polygod — available Aug. 17
• Red’s Kingdom
• Robbotto
• Spectrum — available Aug. 20
• Tiny Hands Adventure
• Treadnauts — available Aug. 17
• The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Season Pass