I feel I have to chime in here, since Monster Hunter World was mentioned.
As someone who's played multiple Monster Hunter games such as MH:FU, MH:3U, MH:4U, MH:GU, and MH:W, while clocking at least 200 hours on each game (more as the series progressed, with about 700 in Monster Hunter: World), I can probably provide some clarity here.
I would not consider Monster Hunter: World an RPG. There are a lot of common RPG elements missing to consider it an RPG. However, it could be said there are aspects of roleplaying that exist within it.
- It lacks choice and consequence. Any actions you take don't affect anyone outside of your character.
- There isn't a story or narrative, or at least one that's clearly defined as you progress through the game. Your ultimate goal is to understand the "New World" and figure out why monsters are migrating there. Cutscenes are primarily there to help you transition from one monster to the next.
- The game also doesn't have a class/skill based system, where you commit to set of abilities and stick with them throughout the game that uniquely define your character. Instead, this is done through armor and charms, which can be changed/swapped at will (though in previous games this could only be done in town, which in itself what an aspect of commitment).
- Lack of character development. You don't get to know about the upbringings of the people you interact with, or what led them to be there. If you do, it's probably a short one liner like "I came from X to see what the New World was all about". They don't change or experience something such as hardship as you move along.
But it's also important to note that Monster Hunter games were never designed with story, character development, character classes/skills, or choice and consequence in mind. They're purely designed for your character to engage in intense fights, with or without friends, while acquiring skills through armor, charms and decorations (gems, basically).
I've gotten to know a lot of people who claimed Monster Hunter: World to have the best combat of any game they've played, but keep in mind that it probably took a lot of time to come to that conclusion. Tons of people who started the series with World have made this statement, and being the first they've experienced, I could see why they'd say that. There's a deep and complex learning curve to every weapon type, and they might love it for its complexity.
But I also think it's a combat system not everyone is going to think fondly of. I've encountered plenty of individuals who weren't fascinated by the combat system and left them disinterested with the game completely. Even if they were to learn the mechanics of each weapon, who's to say they'd find the game fun? Many people would argue that a combat system doesn't need to be complex to be great.
Don't misunderstand me, though. I find MH:W to be incredibly enjoyable and it's among one of my favorites, but it's a series that was really hard to recommend to new players up until MH:W showed up, and even now the combat system is a massive hurdle for most first timers, where it can take hours to fully comprehend 1 weapon type, and there are 14 of them. That's a pretty steep learning curve.
I have my feet drenched in tons of genres from cRPGs to jRPGs, shooters, adventure games, horror games, etc. The series has always shared aspects of RPGs, but the games are still far away from being
true RPGs. They're all an absolute blast to play, but not for a second would I call them RPGs.