Summary
- Monster Hunter Wilds is a massive success.
- Series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto believes Wilds’ emphasis on story is responsible for the game’s success.
- This is a surprising opinion since Wilds’ story is one of the most criticised aspects of the game.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a massive success for Capcom, both critically and commercially. Wilds peaked at almost 1.4 million players only on Steam, and holds an impressive average critic score of 89 on OpenCritic. Wilds seemed destined for success given how popular the series is and how long it’s been since the release of the last mainline entry, Monster Hunter: World in 2018. Still, the acclaim and player base that Wilds attracted may have surprised even Capcom.
In an interview with the Japanese outlet Nikkei (translated by Automaton), Capcom’s executive vice president and Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto cited the game’s story as one of the major reasons for Wilds’ incredible success.
Was Narrative The Strong Suit Of Monster Hunter Wilds?
“We placed emphasis on the story and increased the immersive feeling with voice acting,” Tsujimoto said. “We made it possible to play together across different game consoles.” These comments may seem strange to some as many players feel Monster Hunter Wilds’ narrative is weak compared to other aspects of the game. Although characters like Gemma and Alma have proved popular, the storyline feels like a shallow vehicle to teach you the basic mechanics of Wilds rather than a full-fledged aspect of the game.
A recent Reddit thread from Ruminatingsoule is illustrative of this point of view, they write “I just want to explore on side paths, look at vistas, hunt small monsters, gather items, but nope. Gotta get tethered back to the sluggish-moving group like a child and get scolded for it. Did the developers seriously think people wanted this? They are treating the player base like incompetent children. Let me play the game, fools.”
This isn’t a universal opinion by any means, but there are numerous complaints that the story isn’t particularly interesting and actively stands in the way of monster hunting, which is what people play the game for. Our own Eric Switzer scarcely mentions the narrative in his 4.5/5 review, which is indicative of how little the story seems to matter to veteran players.
Perhaps Tsujimoto has data to support his claim, or maybe he’s just highlighting one of Wilds’ new features. Either way, love or hate the narrative elements, players are certainly out there hunting monsters in large numbers.
- Released
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February 28, 2025
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence, Blood, Crude Humor