It makes perfect sense that Capcom would do everything in its power to welcome that newfound fan base into the next frontier, especially after Monster Hunter: World opened the series’ doors to a massive new audience in 2018 and Monster Hunter Rise gave us high-flying Wirebugs to zip around more quickly in 2021. Monster Hunter Wilds does just that, making the already fantastic process of transforming large, frightening dragons into goofy tiny hats quicker, more versatile, and less delicate than ever. The other side of those Dual Blades, however, is that Wilds is light on any real challenge, even for what I’d expect at launch, never asking me to think hard about my equipment. But while the monsters may not pose much of a threat this time around, smart tweaks to combat still mean the act of carving them up has rarely felt better.
The fact that the Wilds campaign isn’t just a completely forgettable excuse to slaughter anything that comes your way this time is a glaring example of how Capcom has attempted to better welcome new players. Okay, so it’s still essentially the same scenario, with you and the Hunter’s Guild going to yet another “uncharted” territory to solve some environmental riddle. However, this time, the characters are quite amazing, even though the plot isn’t that new. Throughout the beautifully drawn cutscenes, your squad is full of endearing personalities and brief character arcs, whether it’s the energetic engineer Gemma, your sympathetic handler Alma, or the complete space cadet of a biologist Erik. I became more involved with Wilds’ campaign than I had ever been with any other Monster Hunter because of that alone.
The campaign is also much shorter than I had anticipated due to Wilds’ redesigned structure. With enough resources from any early battles to maintain my gear up to snuff and move straight from one objective to the next, I was able to reach the credits in just fifteen hours without having to go back and fight a single enemy twice. The goal is to make more people feel like they “beat” Wilds when you contrast that with the more than forty hours it took to watch the story’s conclusion in World. I can see how that change toward approachability might appeal to people who have previously been intimidated by the series.
However, as a veteran, I can’t help but feel a little let down because I never once got knocked out during that whole period, and I never encountered a monster that tested my armor or skills and made me consider my equipment more carefully to reap the benefits of a hard-won victory.
To avoid giving anything away, there is more to accomplish once the credits have rolled. This is when Wilds’s more significant modifications to the classic Monster Hunter loop truly come into their own. The days of traveling back to a different town in between hunts and completing the same set of tasks before moving on to the next one are long gone. Almost everything you need is in the field with you, and every location—from a freezing mountain top to a blazing oil-filled basin—is seamlessly connected to the others, so you’re never more than a lickety-split loading screen away from your destination.
The days of going back to town in between each hunt are long gone.
Cooking and other systems that allow you to get ready for the hunt are still in place, but now those food boosts last for a certain amount of time after eating and don’t go away until the timer goes off. It doesn’t even tick down while you’re in camp, which greatly streamlines a previously tedious process without taking away from the depth it gives hunts. These kinds of easy improvements are common in Wilds, and the overwhelmingly positive outcome is that most of the friction that previous games could cause as you start, stop, and restart between each encounter has been eliminated. All you need to do now is look up monster information on your map, mount up, and go hunting.
Those wild lands can also be incredibly beautiful. Depending on your location, each area will alternate between three distinct weather states. The first desert environment, for instance, begins as dusty and washed out, then transforms into a full-on sandstorm with violent lightning strikes, and then gives way to a period of plenty that is lush and vivid. The forest, on the other hand, follows a similar pattern, but with a lot of rain. Although these small seasons don’t affect your actual hunts, they can influence the creatures that show up, and it’s a real treat to witness how each hunting area changes drastically depending on the time of year you visit.
Except for a few late-game sections that experienced incredibly annoying texture pop-in problems when I was using the PS5 Pro’s Balanced setting, everything else functioned flawlessly.
Whether it’s a charismatic newcomer like the flamenco-inspired spider Lala Barina or a recurring monster like Gore Magala, the monsters you encounter on your adventures are also typically quite good. Nu Udra is the real stunner. The tentacles of Monster Hunter’s first octopus-like creature can be as unpredictable to deal with as you might expect (especially when they are literally on fire), but there is no greater sense of accomplishment than severing every single one during a hunt. Arkveld, the main character, is one of my favorites of the group because of its chain-like appendages.
For Wilds, the experience of taking on any of these monsters is fantastic. Monster Hunter encounters have always been appealing because they give you power through dazzling maneuvers and powerful attacks, but it’s just as crucial to know when to strike, where to stand, and how the monster will react next as it is to know which buttons to push. You do need to be a hunter, not simply an action hero, to take out these massive monsters effectively by studying their ins and outs. They have a variety of interesting moves of their own.
This is also true in Wilds, but combat is more adaptable and forgiving, allowing you to change your footing a bit more in mid-combo. As a result, there are fewer instances in which an ill-timed attack with a lengthy animation had me embarrassingly slicing at the air without losing the careful consideration these chunky strikes demand.
More people will likely enter because of the simpler tuning.
I think this hard setting will bring in a lot more visitors, but it also means that I lost interest in Wilds before I even reached 40 hours, whereas my previous three Monster Hunter evaluations ended around 50 to 60 hours, even though I still had a ton more to do. (This was much longer than the time I spent reviewing Wild Hearts.) Don’t get me wrong, though; this game still has a good amount of gameplay by most measures, and it has been among the most enjoyable I’ve ever experienced with the series.
Longtime fans will undoubtedly hear this and think, “Well, the real struggle will come when we get updates, G-Rank, etc. However, based on Capcom’s update roadmap, I’m concerned about how long it could take: Only one new monster has been revealed for the entire spring, and there is only one more slated for the summer. Rise, on the other hand, felt a little weak at launch as well, but within a month, it had six new monsters, followed by three more. Endgame threats like Monster Hunter’s powerful Elder Dragons seem to be necessary for Wilds to truly test its limits.
Having said that, Wilds is one of the most customizable games I have ever played, not just in the Monster Hunter series but anywhere. You can switch between two weapons while hunting, and there are a ton of accessibility features. You can also change the size of or disable specific elements on your user interface, have more control over your menus and radial wheels, and you can change the appearance of small details like your mount, chat stickers, and even fast-travel tents to a surprising extent. Finally, you can wear any version of each armor set, effectively doubling the cosmetic options that were previously available as you get into the crucial fashion aspect of things toward the end.
You can now sprint throughout each map with your pals (including through cross-play) and move fluidly from hunt to hunt while still receiving full mission rewards without needing to reassemble at camp in between battles. Partying up online has also been strengthened. Additionally, there are quality-of-life changes for you even if you primarily intend to play alone. These could include the previously mentioned Support Hunters, who fill in for you when you send out an SOS Flare (before being replaced by any actual people who eventually answer the call), as well as the addition of an “Online Single-Player” option that allows you to send out Flares to get assistance while completely pausing action before you do.
Verdict
In Monster Hunter Wilds, the series’ typically jagged edges are cleverly smoothed off to minimize any friction that would prevent you from grasping one of its incredibly entertaining weapons and securing them firmly in a monster’s hide. However, Wilds has cut Monster Hunter a bit too close to the bone in several areas in an attempt to make it more approachable. This time, I hardly had to delve into its intricate equipment system to become an apex predator. Like the blustering lightning storms of its magnificent desert, its more flexible fighting is some of the most enjoyable I’ve experienced with the franchise. However, it will only last a little while before Capcom challenges us with some serious endgame animals.
