I’ve put about 60 hours into Monster Hunter Wilds so far, but I’d like to describe just seven seconds to you. I’m hunting an Alpha Doshaguma, Wild’s new bear-like monster you’ll encounter early on. I’ve chased the beast all across the Winward Plains, pausing for skirmishes all along the way, and I’ve finally got it cornered in a narrow outcropping. As we square off for the final showdown, I notice a sharp rock hanging precariously above the creature’s head, so I target it with my hook slinger to bring it down, hoping to crush the Doshaguma beneath it.
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Unfortunately, the monster chooses that exact moment to make its move. Just as the rocks fall, it lunges at me, roaring and bearing its teeth in a desperate final strike. I strike with my great sword, perfectly timed, wedging it between its teeth before tossing the monster away in an astounding show of strength. As the Doshaguma stumbles back, I see my opening. I whistle for my Seikret to scoop me up, mounting my bird companion, and charge at the beast full speed. As it rises onto its hind legs to pounce, I leap off of the Seikret and grab onto its head. It immediately tries to shake me off, but I precariously maintain my grip as I clamber down onto its back. I lift my sword and jam it into the Doshaguma’s open wound. The creature lets out an ear-piercing death wail and collapses, once and for all. All of that happened in seven seconds. Imagine what the other 59 hours, 59 minutes, and 53 seconds have been like.
Monster Hunter Evolved
If you’ve been playing the Monster Hunter series for a long time, you can definitely relate to encounters like this. These cinematic, larger-than-life battle moments are the secret sauce that has made this one of Capcom’s longest-running and most successful series. Wilds builds up these kinds of dynamic interactions to a point where routine gameplay moments look like meticulously choreographed fight scenes. For all that’s been made about what’s new in Wilds, its greatest strengths lie in the ways it has refined what was always great about Monster Hunter.
That’s not to downplay the additions. This is no mere rehash of World (though few Monster Hunter fans would have been disappointed to see that). Rather, Wilds aims, and often succeeds, at presenting itself as a living, breathing world. Everything new about this entry is working together to increase a sense of immersion either by adding new layers of realism, or eliminating arcane systems that would traditionally take you out of Monster Hunter’s world and into menus. The results range from good to great, but at the cost of some of the complexity the series is known for. For better or worse, Wilds is the most welcoming and approachable Monster Hunter has ever been.
Living And Hunting In The Forbidden Lands
Much has been made of Wilds’ new map and gameplay loop, which forgoes the traditional hub town and introduces an interconnected series of biomes that keep you in and around your hunting grounds full-time. It’s been described as open-world-ish, but in practice it’s really not so different from the Monster Hunter we’re used to. You’ll still choose hunts from a menu, fast travel to their location, and fast travel back to town when the fight is over. The map structure isn’t as novel as you’d expect, but it does succeed at giving one the feeling of being in the world the whole time. This is an improvement to be sure, but not Wilds’ biggest one.
The maps themselves are a lot bigger and have more dynamic features. The Crimson Forest is the standout biome, being the largest and featuring the most profound climate variance. Its rivers and wetlands are shallow and dry during the Fallow, marked by red-hued river beds and aggressive creatures desperate for a meal. During the season of Plenty, it shifts into a lush green environment humming with activity thanks to the life-bringing waters that run through the rivers.
With the weather change come new hunting opportunities, so while you’re learning the habits and habitats of each new monster, you’re also learning the patterns of each biome. They feel like completely different maps depending on when you visit, which does a lot to keep the experience feeling fresh when you’re deep in the end game grind.
A Harsh World, But A Forgiving One
If there’s a ‘game changer’ to be found in Wilds, it’s the Seikret. Your new mount is an incredibly handy battle partner in myriad ways that will make hunting monsters a lot easier. In Wilds, you never have to stop moving. The risk/reward of breaking off to chug a Mega Potion or pausing for a cheeky sharpen mid-battle are completely eliminated by the ability to call your mount and take evasive actions anytime you need to fiddle with your menus or escape danger.
Get knocked down? The Seikret runs over and scoops you up before you get punished. Ran out of consumables? The Seikret has an extra stash of whatever you need in that exact moment. Brought the wrong gear to the hunt? Swap it out for a different one on your Seikret. This mount changes the entire pace of a hunt and adds so many new ways to interact with the environment and your targets.
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Altogether, the things that make Wilds different from past games – whether that’s new features or the elimination of old features – create a more forgiving experience. In the past you were punished for going into a hunt unprepared, but that’s not the case anymore. If you forget to bring deodorant when hunting the farting Congalala, don’t worry, your Palico just so happens to have some on hand.
Don’t worry about checking your target’s weaknesses and breakable parts with the researcher in town, you can just open your field guide in the start menu whenever you want. And if you do ever find yourself struggling in a fight – which will be rare – there are three overpowered support NPCs that you can call in to take care of the monster for you.
As a veteran of the series, it’s hard to complain about these things because they will undoubtedly bring more people into the fandom, but it feels like with Wilds the series has reached a stopping point when it comes to approachability. If it becomes any easier it will lose something essential that makes the hunting experience rewarding. Some may feel like we’ve reached that point already.
Is Less More?
The entire time I’ve been playing Monster Hunter Wilds, I’ve been on the lookout for missing features. Every Monster Hunter has its own systems and mechanics, so I’m not necessarily looking for World’s Botanical Farm or Rise’s Buddy Dojo, but in searching for Wilds’ equivalents, you’ll find there really aren’t any. Wilds allows you to jump from hunt to hunt to hunt without any of the traditional hunter management in between, which is great, until you start to get the feeling that something is missing.
It’s a streamlined Monster Hunter that goes to great lengths to avoid all of the fiddly (and often confusing) systems the series is known for. That’s a noble goal and one that I ultimately found to be refreshing, but in its simplification, it naturally sacrifices some interesting complexity.
Consider this small example as a microcosm of Wilds’ entire shift in philosophy: when your hunter gets inflicted with a negative status effect, you don’t need to shuffle through your menu to find the right remedy. Just open the quick select wheel and select ‘most efficient healing item’, and you’ll automatically take whatever medicine you need to. A lot of people will enjoy this kind of streamlining, but when everything is this streamlined, the overall effect is a slightly more mindless Monster Hunter.
But when something incredible is happening every seven seconds, what’s a little mindlessness anyway?
- Released
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February 28, 2025
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence, Blood, Crude Humor
- Succeeds at delivering a living breathing world.
- Delivers more exciting cinematic moments than ever before.
- A massive and dynamic world to explore over and over.
- Sacrifices complexity in favor of approachability.
- Easiest game in the series, bar none.
- Online systems are a headache to manage.