Near the start of Monster Hunter Wilds, you get asked to pick your weapon. Like everything in Monster Hunter, this selection is accompanied by a vast array of text. And like everything in Monster Hunter accompanied by a vast array of text, I didn’t understand all that much of it. With ‘love’ not an option as a weapon of choice, I opted for the dual blades instead.
I looked at this selection of deadly damagers sort of like you would a class system in any other RPG. In action games, I tend to opt for faster weapons that let me dive in and out of danger quickly, so dual blades it was. It seemed like a good way to play a rogue. And for someone better at the game, maybe it would be. But it didn’t seem like I was doing much. Then again, fights in Monster Hunter are long, and your starting weapons are weak. Still, I was afraid the game’s hype was set to pass me by. Then I got out a big gun, and all was right in the world.
Switching Between Melee And Ranged Saved My Monster Hunter Playthrough
A few missions in, as you start finding your feet and getting to grips with the basics (or rapidly skipping everything if you’re a veteran), you’re prompted to speak to the blacksmith about altering your arsenal. Here, Gemma offers you the same selection you received at the start of the game, but this time it was for your secondary loadout.
I figured that while my dual blades weren’t setting my soul alight, they did do what they promised – swift, persistent damage. I could go for a bigger, slower weapon, but while that would offer more satisfying damage in one fell swoop, it would stop me from dashing away so easily when I inevitably got my positioning wrong. No, while they didn’t provide the perfect power fantasy, the dual blades were exactly suited to me. What I needed for my second was not an alternative version of the same, but something completely different.
This is where the gun came in. The light bowgun allowed me to attack from a distance, unleash powerful volleys, and target the open wounds that glowed viciously red without needing to put myself at the mercy of a swiping claw. It feels a little like a coward’s weapon, but then, I feel a little bit like a coward playing Monster Hunter. I haven’t resorted to calling in bots to do my fighting for me, but I am leaning into the fact that Monster Hunter makes me feel weak, not strong.
Bowgun Completely Changed My Perspective On Monster Hunter Wilds
This is where I’ve struggled with previous games. You can see my approach in my initial weapon choice – dual blades are the choice of the foolhardy. Chaotic beings who rush in blades agleam and stab without thought are best suited to dual blades, and that is how I usually handle myself in action games. It’s not the most tactical or intelligent of styles, but when you can race around the room and take out your foes in a flurry of blood and steel, there is nothing like it.
You will never get to do this in Monster Hunter. It doesn’t matter how good you are or how high your level is, you will never get to stroll up to one of these beasts and dispatch it with a couple of blows. The fun is in the hunt, which is why each battle takes an age. The feeling of supreme power is not supposed to come from striking down any who challenge you, but from going the distance against something ten times your size, knowing you’ve been at war with it, and emerging victorious.
In World and Rise, I found myself getting annoyed that battles raged on, driving even more reckless behaviour than usual, until I would die, fail, and have to restart. A few times of that, and the last step stopped happening. In Wilds, I’m embracing the fact I’m not supposed to beat these things. The fact I can stay alive is the victory. Overcoming them is a miracle. It has changed my approach to the game, encouraging caution, distance. Speak softly and carry a big gun.
I couldn’t tell you if ranged weapons are better than melee weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds, or how good dual blades or light bowguns are. I’m almost certainly not playing the game in a way that allows me to know. But they are the perfect mix for reckless cowards just happy to stay alive, and they fit me to a tee.
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.
Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.
The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
90/100
- Released
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February 28, 2025