Monster Hunter is one of, if not, the biggest franchise Capcom has created in their long history. While the franchise has always been popular, it wasn’t until Monster Hunter World released in 2017 and soared to become Capcom’s best selling game ever that the franchise captured almost everyone’s attention. Now, eight years later, the real follow up to Monster Hunter World has arrived with Monster Hunter Wilds. As a novice player to the Monster Hunter games, aside from like an hour or two in Monster Hunter Rise that really didn’t draw me in, I can attest that this game is an absolute delight that made me a solid fan of what the franchise really is.
As a novice player to the Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Wilds starts out incredibly overwhelming. The game gives you access to fourteen different weapons to choose from at the start. Each weapon has their own moveset and combos to master. You can be given a recommendation for a weapon based upon a few questions about your preferred playstyle or you can test them all out and choose one for yourself. You are given the ability switch weapons and to carry a second weapon pretty quickly, so you’re able to to mix and match your desired playstyle easily to what suites you best.
The real issue in terms of being overwhelmed came with the game’s UI. You are presented a barrage of different icons filling the maps from numbers marking the different areas of the map to monsters to all the different materials scattered about. Then, things like the item pouch are definitely hard to read at first. The icons are so small and the layout of the items is confusing takes time getting used to, and in the heat of battle this is definitely not something you want to be going in and out of a lot. Luckily, there are eight Radial menus you can customize to have your equipment and items in a more convenient spot, but only four can be used at a time and still must be switched between to be used.
After you settle into the game and learn its systems, Monster Hunter Wilds does make you want to keep hunting monsters, carve them up, and use their parts to enhance your weapons and armor to do it all over again. This is where the game shines the brightest as the hunts are so engaging and fun. Some of these hunts can take ten to twenty minutes or longer depending on how long you look to fight by yourself or bring in other players or NPCs along to the hunt. Yet, they never feel like a drag or go on too long. Learning a monster’s moveset and abilities and how to counteract them with your weapons and equipment is a blast. You are also able to open up wounds on a monster that are targeted weak points, and can easily be aimed at due to the game’s Focus Mode that allows for a better form of targeting these points.
You can even use the environment to your advantage as your sling can be used to pull down rocks or vines to help deal with monsters. There’s also the different weather conditions that can happen throughout the game. One such being the sandstorm that introduces lightening that can hit and shock a monster. Then, what I thought was the coolest part was watching different monsters fight each other during a hunt. There was one point where I was hunting a monster during a mission and then it just so happened to run into another monster while we were fighting it, then a completely different third monster came out of nowhere and they all engaged with each other. All these things make the world feel vastly more alive and creates new opportunities and strategies to how you tackle the hunts.
The game truly becomes the most engaging at the endgame. This is due to the “Tempered Monsters” these monsters are suped up and harder versions of regular monsters you encountered throughout the game. These monsters easily put up the most challenging, but fun fights in the game. Then, once you defeat them, the rewards you earn can be used to craft Artian weapons and Decorations for your weapons and armors.
Then there’s the story. The story of Monster Hunter Wilds sees you and your group sent off to the Forbidden Lands to help a young boy who was separated from his tribe thanks that the terrifying “White Wraith” monster. It’s a simple premise, and it doesn’t evolve much more than that. The narrative isn’t the most engaging and the characters aren’t the most fleshed out compared to other modern RPGs or action games. The mission structure is constantly the same as well as it’s always “something happens then hunt a monster,” so there’s no real mix into what you’re doing throughout the game. However, the game does feature some highly cinematic cutscenes that’ll have your eyes glued to the screen as they happen. These are especially true when it comes to the introduction of a new monster for the first time.
Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds is is fantastic new addition in one of Capcom’s most beloved series. The game can be completely overwhelming, especially to new players, at first. However if you stick with it, once you get the hang of how the game works you’ll be absolutely engaged in hunting monster challenge throughout. While the story isn’t the strongest out there, the gamplay easily pick up the slack and shines in the game. Monster Hunter Wilds is just another example as to why Capcom is firing on all cylinders and one of the best developers in the world.
Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed on PlayStation 5