It has been really satisfying to see the massive growth of Capcom's Monster Hunter series over the years. Centering around players taking on oversized, ferocious beasts in exotic locales with over-the-top weaponry, it showcases a sense of scale and power with its core action that not many other games can match.
However, even as the series expanded in scope and audience, it kept its largely traditional structure of bite-sized, stand-alone missions even as the scope grew around it. But things are changing in a big way with the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds.
The direct follow-up to Monster Hunter World finally sees the series step into a large open-world experience that not only moves away from the hub-based structure of earlier entries but also leans further into the experience of being a hunter who has to adapt to a large, systemic world. After playing the opening hours of a near-final game build during a recent visit to Capcom, it felt as though Wilds is bringing the most ambitious leap forward that the series has seen yet.
As with previous games, Monster Hunter Wilds focuses on a team of explorers and hunters traveling to a seemingly uncharted territory filled with new wildlife and resources to collect. The expedition is an adventure filled with discovery and survival, and that means having to undertake. But unlike earlier entries, Wilds places a greater focus on the core narrative of this expedition and how the newcomers learn about the indigenous cultures of the land, its communities, and the fabled monsters that roam the world.
Monster Hunter Wilds builds upon the core systems of exploration, traversal, and the actual hunt. Wilds mixes systems from World and the recent Rise, which added more advanced traversal mechanics such as the wirebug grappling hook and a rideable Seikret mount. Additionally, many of the favorite weapons throughout the series return, such as the long blade, gun lance, and insect glaive. I had a particular affinity for the long blade because of its combo efficiency and charge moves, as it allowed me to manage better at staggering enemies.
The Monster Hunter series has gotten significantly bigger over the last two decades, but what makes Wilds such a big move forward is how the game is structured in a more connected and dynamic world – and in my view, that ends up changing the flow of the traditional MH experience for the better. As previous games have an isolated Hub space where you prepare before you venture out into instanced versions of the game world, the world of Wilds is now interconnected and mostly fully open – with story beats serving as gateways to new areas.
It feels as though Monster Hunter is embracing the progression of Horizon: Forbidden West or The Witcher 3, which is very welcome for the change in scope. Along with heightening the sense of exploration and challenge, it also makes the world itself feel more lively. Different settlements are now located around the map, where you can interact with other characters to learn more about the world, craft gear, combat practice on training dummies, and deck out your protagonist with the latest upgrades. The series has always offered flexibility for load-outs and which activities to take part in, but Wilds certainly puts more effort into offering context.
Wilds also features a more developed and present main story than earlier Monster Hunter games. While previous entries certainly had a core story, Wilds emphasizes its plucky cast of characters who help out the protagonist as he explores and hunts beasts – they'll even help out the protagonist and their Palico assistant during important battles. The main story also acts as a way to get a feel of the game's new structure, as key story beats will showcase the latest changes in monster AI, the dynamic landscape and weather, and the more advanced traversal and combat actions while on your mount.
However, the main story and its progression also tend to dictate what events you'll see and what activities are available. I imagine this will be an adjustment for long-time players who are used to experiencing the different activities at their own pace, but I largely felt Wilds kept things going pretty well during the opening hours.
I found there were plenty of opportunities in the new open design, and even just spending time riding around exploring, hunting unmarked beasts, and observing the surrounding regions was fun. One of my favorite encounters during my hands-on was in a side mission in between story objectives. I had to hunt down a roaming Alpha Doshaguma – a massive new beast that's essentially a mix between a bear and bison.
Once I took the quest, I added a marker on the map, and I traveled down to the lower areas of the desert region on my mount, all seamlessly from leaving the settlement and into the open world. Once I got to the Alpha Doshaguma, I found it within a pack of smaller Doshagumas. I tried to sneak up on the monster, another innovation for Wilds, but it didn't turn out well as a nearby monster roaming into the area blew my cover, resulting in a fight and subsequent chasing of the Doshaguma. It was an exciting battle that spilled out to other regions, highlighting what Monster Hunter does best – the thrill of the chase.
What impressed me most about this particular sequence of events, which saw me stalk, battle, and chase this target, was that it heightened the hunter experience that this series is really all about. Along with tools and opportunities to use stealth and plan your attacks, the systematic nature of the world – which can see rival monsters get into conflicts and the changing weather and terrain shifting the field – adds so much more variety to the encounters. I felt I had to adapt so much more to situations compared to World and Rise, which always kept me on my toes.
The opening hours of Monster Hunter Wilds were only the surface of what's to come, and I'm already thinking about what sort of encounters will come later in the main story. Given the new changes to the structure and its more story-driven experience, I would argue that Wilds is also a great place for newcomers who haven't played the series to jump in.
While this follow-up to World focuses on everything the series is about, the sequel does a solid onboarding of the Monster Hunter experience. With the massive scale and dynamic activities, I see Wilds ending up being a sequel that highlights what the series does best and shows a path forward for the series ahead.
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