This game is better, but if you thought Rise was clunky, World would feel even worse.

Hard to say, seeing how it is a subjective matter. Rise is faster and with a lot of special defensive moves/counter-attacks for all the weapons. World doesn't have any switch skills so the number of playstyles for individual weapons is more limited as well. I think on that front rise is superior. I personally enjoy world a little more, but I've not finished rise so I wouldn't consider my view complete.

If you ask in the World forum, then World is better than Rise.
If you ask in the Rise forum, then Rise is better than World.
So pick whichever forum to get the answer you want.

The control scheme is the same, except Rise is easier to control because it's faster and you can recover out of almost any situation for free (longer explanation here).

What do you find clunky about it? If you're expecting controls from a different game (e.g. RB/RT attacks) then nothing much we can do for you. Otherwise you might want to try different weapons in Rise first to find one that clicks for you.

Monster Hunter as a series feels clunky for newcomers, because they (I was there too) expect the game to play like any other action game. If Rise had clunky controls, than this game will feel even clunkier I guess. Rise, and especially the expansion give you so many ways to attack and defend, that it can't feel clunky even if one tries to force it. This game here is slower in comparison, with heavy weapons where every wrong move can mean your demise against the stronger foes.

Not for you no, the clunk if a part of the game and especially World

Try Wilds instead, you have an "aimlng" mode there

Feels like you're looking for DMC in Monster Hunter. Why don't you try Wilds - it may suit you better. It has a demo now.

usually people tend to adapt to the game they are trying to play, not the other way around

what kind of clunk you're talking about here? if it's about the slow combat, if you think rise is already slow, world would be slower because it's more grounded, which i do prefer more compared to rise, wild felt like the middle ground, and with the dlc incoming, wild might be what you're looking for with the increased move pool and qol than the other 2

if you're new to the franchise, i suggest you take your absolute time choosing weapon in the training mode, and take more time getting familiar with them before even trying to fight a monster

A practice I try to get my friends into when they try any of the 3 modern MH games is to play with each weapon in the training area for about 5 minutes each, narrow down 4 or 5 they felt the most in tune with, take those 4 or 5 on a few Great Jagras, Izuchi, Chatacabra hunts each, and finalize down to 1 to 3 definitive choices. I encourage them to revisit the others but not until they get extremely comfortable with the picks they narrowed down to.

Rise has more skill variety, cool old monsters returning, cool references for older players and better coop with friends, plus has pause, but the repeated japanese city theming and anime visuals puts a lot of people out.

World has good coop with randoms, a crappy story mode with a 2 hour intro and forced cutscenes, the coop is only really good with strangers till you beat the game, the assed redo made the equipment look lame but HD, but no pause, pretty visuals and you can play as a national geographic reporter if you want with the mantle thingy, cool to see the monsters without them wanting the player toon dead,

G rank on world has some inflated hp problems if you are a solo player , adds a decent city insead of the mess that is the base game city
G rank on rise fixed most of problems of the base game plus great build variety and a neat new stage, and no more tower defense missions if you dislike those.

no, this game is hot ass, i tried it multiple ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ times and it's pure ass, the cutscenes, the annoying fart cloud and the maps stink.

I think Monster Hunter World struck the perfect balance between classic feel and modern convenience.

It's a lot less clunky than earlier entries, you have the scoutflies and mount QoL to get you to the fight faster, and farming resources is as easy as checking in to your garden once every ~3 quests.

And yet the fights are still very challenging, with preparation, positioning, timing and knowledge playing a massive part in your success, compared to later entries that are more forgiving.
I say that as a GS main so the difference felt is amplified, it's less marked if you play lighter / more forgiving weapons.

If you had to choose between World and Rise, I would recommend World for an authentic MH feel, and Rise for a more arcade feel.

Something a tad unrelated but on wilds got a whole wound system, if you really the beat the wound you get either a random drop or a dedicated drop, kinda basically if you want a more focused combat buy wilds

They both deserve to be played, but if I had to pick only one I would chose World without hesitation.

I'd say play them both.