This game looks like a big deal, with one Japanese company giving everyone a day off so that they could play it. So what's the deal with this game? I've never played a Monster Hunter game, so I know nothing about it.
MH franchise has always been HUGE in Japan(cause it's good imo)
Its literally their Souls like (but it existed before the souls games ever did)
Yes! The studio took tons of inspiration from MH et al. Dark souls went mainstream in the US first (hence souls-like's instead of MH-likes, also mh-likes is an awkward mouthful )
The main gameplay loop is fighting giant boss monsters for like 20-50 minutes each, skinning them and using their materials to make better gear and kill even bigger monsters. It can get repetitive but you do it with up to 3 friends and you learn monsters patterns over time
It's also great because there's no leveling separate classes or bullshit like that, you will accidentally have the materials to build a new weapon and a piece or two of armor to compliment it, and now you have a totally different playstyle.
Just buy it or emulate it then buy it later. Monster Hunter is quality time wasting.
Lil_Revolitionary summarized the gameplay well, and Monster Hunter has just always been popular as shit in Japan. I'm guessing Rise is a particularly big deal because it marks the series' return to a handheld console after 4 years of being PC-only, handhelds are way more popular there than over here in Burgerland.