Review | Monster Hunter Wilds - A Force of Nature
I ride out into the desert, the dark sky and raging storm painting the scene in murky blacks and blues. The tension builds towards a fight against a tyrannic monster that threatens the local population with devastation and destruction. The ensuing battle is long and arduous. I soar through the wind, swinging my glaive as the monster roars and thrashes. I manage to stay one step ahead of the beast. Before I can put it down for good, an even bigger monster appears and snaps the first one like a twig. I promptly shit my pants. I am playing Monster Hunter Wilds.
Once again, Capcom sends us on a treacherous expedition to an unknown land, filled with exotic flora and fauna, rampaging monsters, and gorgeous vistas. However, nature is more dense and lush this time, the gameplay is smoother and (mostly) more intuitive, and the wilds feel more alive than ever. For sure, this is an all-new generation for the franchise.
The inciting incident is the discovery of a young boy, Nata, from a previously unknown tribe he calls The Keepers. After a mysterious monster known as the White Wraith attacks his home, his uncle sends him away to find safety elsewhere. After many days of travelling alone, he passes out in the desert, where the Hunter's Guild finds him.
The region the boy has just fled from is known to the Guild as the Forbidden Lands. The place was long thought uninhabited as contact with locals was lost a millennium ago. Nata's appearance proves that people still live in the region, prompting the Guild to investigate to learn more about the Forbidden Lands and return Nata to his home.
This is where we come in — we create our Hunter and our Palico buddy for the adventure, and step out onto a ship crossing an ocean of sand. Before the journey is over, we meet some of the locals, both people and monsters, and begin to discover the mysteries of the Forbidden Lands. The setup of Wilds' story is a great indication of how the rest of the tale will go: classic Monster Hunter exploration, investigation, and hunting, paired with personal stories that intertwine with the work.
Much like in Worlds, the story takes us on a whirlwind trip through the various regions that comprise the game world. There is plenty to see and do, but following the critical path will have you jumping from desert to forest to icy caves in rapid succession. While there is more depth to the story in Wilds, rest assured that High Rank and the whole endgame system come soon thereafter.
That's not to say you should breeze through the story as quickly as possible, as there is plenty to enjoy here. The extra effort to create a more personal tale throughout is mostly successful. The characters may not have the depth you would find in a more RPG-style game, but there is still enough to invest yourself in. Your Hunter is a seasoned, experienced member of the Guild, but through the fresh eyes of Nata, we learn about the world and the ecosystems that keep it turning.
In this way, Capcom attempts something it has largely avoided or kept to a minimum. Some effort is made to address the invasive, colonial nature of the series. While most games simply handwave the whole issue (looking at you, Pokémon), the Monster Hunter franchise has often been criticised for not doing more, given its title.
The usual hand-wavery returns from previous games, and we're told time and again that the Hunter's Guild exists to study monsters, only killing them when it is deemed necessary. Try to keep that in mind as you slaughter your way through dozens of monsters during your playthrough.
Personally, I've never minded this too much. All violent video games have some amount of conceits for why you do the things you do, and Monster Hunter is no worse than the rest. I do appreciate how Wilds goes the extra mile in this regard, and in my opinion, does about as well as it can.
For one thing, the story opens up opportunities to explain your actions a bit better. Your party is exploring regions and meeting local people and, usually, any monster slaying is done in the name of the greater good. Does that mean that most if any of your quests end with peaceful resolutions? No, but at least you have a decent idea of why you have to kill the monsters.
I am no fan of hunting in the real world, but I am also a farmer, and I know what dealing with animals on a daily basis is like. It isn't pretty, and there are times when you have to do things you don't want to do. I can happily accept the placation Capcom puts forward, and I think Wilds does a good job of putting this issue to rest. Look, I have dealt with plenty of real hunters in my time, they can be an awful lot worse.
Let's get back to the fun stuff, like slaying big bad monsters with a clean conscience. For my money, it has never been better than it is here in Monster Hunter Wilds. Everything you know and love about the franchise is back: all the classic weapon types, a wide variety of monsters to hunt through diverse biomes, and a near-endless supply of armour and weapon upgrades to craft.
Rather than dramatic changes to the combat formula, Wilds opts for smaller and more impactful updates. For example, the new wound system. Repeatedly damaging a particular area of a monster will gradually open wounds, signified by red Scoutflies buzzing around it. Target that wound with the new Focus Mode and use a Focus Strike to deal huge damage and stun the beast.
The aforementioned Focus Mode allows you to better aim your attacks, which is a godsend in what is historically a quite clunky and unwieldy game. We've all taken a swing in a previous MH game that went wide and been left waiting an age for the animation to end. Focus Mode helps to alleviate that somewhat, which is particularly useful against agile monsters.
Opening wounds adds a new level of intentionality to the combat that improves the flow. On top of targeting specific body parts that might do more damage, wounds give you new targets to aim for, adding more dynamism to your fights. The damage reward can be huge, so you'll want to go for those wounds when you can. As a glaive user in previous games, fights mostly consisted of working towards getting the three buffs you need to unlock your aerial attacks, then ceaselessly spamming said attacks. The new system has transformed my hunts by mixing in Focus Strikes to open up wounds, stun the monster, get all my buffs, and bust out some higher damage attacks in quick succession.
There are of course some bigger gameplay additions in Wilds, and none make more of a difference than the Seikret. This is your mount, a rideable monster roughly the size of a horse, but with a combination of reptilian and avian features that come together into a more adorable package than it sounds. Your Seikret is your second best friend, after your Palico, of course. They move extremely quickly and open up routes you wouldn't otherwise be able to use.
Gone are the days of running through vast jungles and deserts on foot, desperately trying to keep up with your quarry. That said, I do often miss the on-foot treks. The Seikret is wonderful and I do think it is a net positive addition, but I also think it hampered my initial exploration experience.
When I think back to Monster Hunter World, I can almost perfectly imagine the layout of many of the regions, especially the Ancient Forest and Wildspire Wastes. In Wilds, by the end of the main story I barely knew my way around the base camp. There are several factors at play here — the regions are bigger and there is a big jump in fidelity and density — but a big part of why I felt so lost was because I spent all of the story mode zipping through each region on my Seikret.
Your Seikret buddy is more than a vehicle: it is a living creature and it acts accordingly. This includes the ability to follow the trail to your objective without your input. With the press of a button, your Seikret will bring you where you need to go, and I think this causes a disconnect that makes it harder to learn your way around.
Now that I am in the post-story High Rank part of the game, this problem is going away by itself. Moving on from the very guided story section to the more open endgame naturally gives you more room to explore and find your feet your own way.
Where previous Monster Hunter games threw you in the deep end, Wilds spends a little more time in the kiddie pool, and I don't think that's a bad thing. The story is decent and engaging, and you inevitably get to experience the world on your terms. That experience is classic Monster Hunter turned up to eleven. You have your mainstays like Rathalos and Yian Kut-Ku, but many of the monsters are brand new for Wilds, and the variety keeps things fresh from start to finish. You have many regions to explore like before, but each can change a lot depending on the time and the season. Day and night will actively change as you play, as will the season, between Fallow and Plenty.
The seasons are explained in detail during the story, but the gist is that the Forbidden Lands goes through a cycle of Fallow and Plenty. Each season changes the appearance of the land and the monsters therein.
Further, each region has an extreme weather event that brings out its apex predator: Sandstorms in the Windward Plains, and monsoon rains in the Scarlet Forest, for example. These conditions are dramatic and special events that produce some of the most spectacular moments in the game.
Presentation has always been a strong suit for Monster Hunter, and Wilds is no different. Few games benefit as much from the progression of graphical technology as MH — the visuals are simply incredible here. As a card-carrying member of the "I want less graphics in my games" club, I will happily admit that Wilds is an excellent excuse to buy a fancy new console or graphics card. Not only does it look fantastic, but the depth of the fidelity actively improves the game. You can truly get lost in the forests and caves of this game in ways usually reserved for leaving your house and going to real forests and caves.
The music is another standout achievement. The series is known for quality scores, and Wilds is pretty exceptional even by Monster Hunter standards. Many of the compositions have a mysterious quality to them, really elevating the feeling that you are in a new and unfamiliar land, but not an unwelcoming one.
I particularly like the music that plays when you defeat a monster, which is a more understated and sombre piece than you might expect. The full score has plenty of excitement and bombast (the Wilds version of Proof of a Hero is wonderful), but the music that underscores the completion of a hunt strikes a different tone. Rather than a triumphant cheer after defeating your foe, it's more of a contemplative moment of peace. It doesn't make you feel like a big conquering hero, so much as it creates a pause for you to reflect on what you've just done. This stood out to me; it's a beautiful little piece that solidified for me that Wilds wants you to care about this world, and your place in it.
The game isn't without its drawbacks. I've been playing on PC, and performance hasn't been totally consistent. Thankfully, the framerate has been pretty good during important moments like hunting and exploring the world. The issues tend to crop up for me in more NPC-crowded areas, like base camps and villages. This is likely due to the fact that these areas are no longer a separate load zone from the open regions — you can seamlessly travel between camps, villages, and the wilds.
Wilds has a fully connected world. It still functions mostly the same as before, with several distinct regions, but now there are Tony Hawk's American Wasteland-style connection points between each level. Travelling between regions can play havoc with performance, but considering it's not something most players are likely to do often, it isn't much of an issue. More than anything, it's an excuse for me to name-drop American Wasteland in 2025.
The open nature of the game extends to online multiplayer. If you join a public lobby when you log in, you'll find plenty of other hunters milling about the various camps. SOS Flares return, allowing other hunters to join you, with the added benefit of AI-controlled hunters that can join you even if you're offline.
The multiplayer systems have caused no shortage of confusion among the player base, so MH fans can rest assured knowing that Capcom has not made playing with friends any less obtuse than it always has been. The upside is that once you get to grips with it, the new multiplayer options are really useful. Squads are like clans, persistent groups that you can create with friends to more easily join up with one another. Then you have Link Parties, which groups you with other players temporarily. While in a Link Party, invitations will be sent to all other players when one person starts a quest. It can take a bit of getting used to, but consistent co-op hunters will get a lot of mileage out of these new mechanics.
Everything that Monster Hunter World was in 2018, Monster Hunter Wilds is in 2025. It's a big step forward for the franchise in so many ways, giving existing fans a lot to be excited about and new fans a starting point to jump in.
MH is a tricky series to assess for new players from the inside. Much like MMOs and other similar genres, as a long-time fan I don't feel qualified to say for sure if this game does a great job onboarding brand-new fans. It definitely does make the effort: the story mode is a great introduction and the game has plenty of tutorials, but it is still a complicated game unlike most others, and some homework will likely be required.
That said, I do feel like Wilds is an excellent way for potential new fans to get started. If Monster Hunter is ever going to be for you, this is the way to get involved right now. For existing fans, the wheel has not been reinvented but it does turn smoothly.
Gameplay changes have made the act of hunting monsters so much smoother and more enjoyable. The fights are more engaging, and significantly less time is spent plodding along after a fleeing monster. These changes in pace may alienate some older fans, but honestly the game they know and love is still there. Just because you have a Seikret doesn't mean you need to ride it everywhere. This isn't the Arkham Knight Batmobile all over again — no one is forcing you to use it this time.
All in all, this is an exceptional game. In 2018, Monster Hunter World stunned the industry by becoming Capcom's fastest-selling game, surpassing sales juggernauts like Resident Evil and Street Fighter.Monster Hunter is mainstream now in all the best ways, and Wilds is the flag planted on the top of the hill.
