Monster Hunter Wilds is finally here. As well as launching the sixth generation of Monster Hunter from Capcom, Wilds is the first “open world” title in the franchise. Is this a game-changing innovation, or did Capcom cash in on a popular trend?
Monster Hunter Wilds launched on February 28th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X and Steam, and today we’re reviewing it on a PlayStation 5 slim model.
The story kicks off with your crew of hunters, the “Avis” unit, arriving at a new and unexplored land called The Forbidden Lands. We rescue a young man, Nata, who is native to this new landscape, which was thought to be uninhabited for thousands of years. Thus kicking off an adventure to reunite Nata with his tribe and find out what happened to his village.
The pacing of the story is really strange and presented in a new way for Capcom. Usually the story is just an excuse to hunt monster A, then onto monster B, etc., with you choosing your next hunt from a predetermined list. This time Capcom presented some really beautifully animated CGI cutscenes that weave interesting lore and some GREAT monster action… and sandwiched them with the slowest, dullest unskippable walking sections. They are boring, slow, and the conversations add nothing to the plot. I did not enjoy this approach at all, but thankfully that is just a small part of a massive game.
The gameplay finally opens up when you are allowed to hunt the monsters. The new maps are huge and very pretty. These moments feel somewhat fleeting and over before you know it. Capcom has turned the difficulty right down to zero for these hunts, and then you’re right back into slow walking and talking. The story wrapped up in about 12 hours; after that, you unlock the open-world aspect of the game, known as “High Rank.”
As it turns out, the story is this game’s version of “Low Rank”. In previous titles, Low Rank served as a beginner/introductory difficulty. Unlocking High Rank opens up so much freedom that it really feels like a new game, which I say with a sigh of relief. High Rank involves exploring the open world and discovering more monsters with higher difficulty grades. With the higher difficulty comes more rewards, better armour and weapons, and more customization options. The first hunt in High Rank made my heart swell and brought back so many memories of older Monster Hunter titles. I won’t spoil the moment, but it was awesome.
High Rank throws so much content at you, it almost feels overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to begin. Monsters start invading each map, side missions open up, and you’re left to explore at your own will. You can also join others for hunts via the Lobby and SOS (co-op) systems. There is a handful of story missions to unlock as you progress through High Rank hunts and increase your hunter rank; however, the bulk of your time will be spent in Investigations and Field Surveys.
These High Rank hunts provide a tonne of good rewards to perfect your armour/weapon mixset with. Besides creating new weapons and armours from the corpses of your slain foes, the High Rank gameplay loops consist of hunting for decorations, armour spheres, and endgame weapons.
Yes, Monster Hunter has a lot of systems, and it doesn’t always explain them well. But the question we should be asking is, “How does the combat feel?”.
The combat feels phenomenal. Capcom has introduced new tricks such as stealth attacks, offset (parrying), and perfect guarding. The parry in particular is something I’ve become addicted to using in Souls-like games, so seeing them introduced in Monster Hunter Wilds just feels so good.
The hunts don’t just feel good, they look and sound great. Every map is huge, and features new weather systems that drastically changes how each map looks and plays.
There are still just the traditional 14 weapons to choose from, but each plays completely differently. For example, the Great Sword is slow and cumbersome to move with but hits for HUGE damage. In comparison, the Dual Blades hit fast and let you run around the map like a madman. The improvements Capcom added into Wilds combat make it feel the best of all the Monster Hunter titles, and I haven’t even mentioned the main new combat trick introduced: Wounding.
The wound system works similarly to “breaking parts” from older titles. Each body part can be wounded and take extra damage while wounded. Those wounds will break when enough damage is dealt to them, or if you perform a special wound attack by using the new focus camera. Sometimes breaking a wound will knock back or knock down a monster. It basically breaks down to, “See a wound? Hit the wound”.
The hunts don’t just feel good; they look and sound fantastic. Every map is huge and features new weather systems that drastically change how each map looks and plays. For example, the Scarlet Forest goes from vibrant and beautiful to flooded and harder to navigate. The Windswept Plains sandstorms even introduce lightning, as if avoiding just a monster wasn’t already hard enough. The first hunt with the Windswept Plains apex predator, Rey Dau, was a standout, an absolutely awesome encounter during a lightning storm. There is a tonne of loot and items to gather in these massive open environments, and it feels great to find new monsters or investigations with even better rewards.
The open-world concept plays well during hunts, as the maps are huge and feature a lot of environmental traps or tricks to play with, which really rewards the players for exploring and learning the maps. However, during free roaming, it’s not really “open world”, it’s a bunch of huge maps connected by narrow walkways/tunnels that monsters can’t cross. This innovation doesn’t feel like much more than just increasing the size of the maps, certainly not an “open world”.
You can join up with friends online to take on tougher hunters together via online multiplayer. Here’s where it gets a bit confusing. There is a main base at each map that acts as a non-combat gathering area where up to 16 players can be visible, but you are joined by 84 more non-visible players if you’re in a public lobby. You get notified when other lobby members start hunts, which you can quickly jump into. You can make private lobbies too or set up a squad so it’s easy for just your friends to play together. But wait for it… next you need to create a link party so your friends can still play in each other’s hunts while they’re in different public lobbies! But wait for it… there are still more systems, then you need to create an environment link so your friends can free roam your map with you! My brain hurts just writing it; the multiplayer system is seriously more complicated and cumbersome than what it should be.
The upgrade and customization gameplay loop is satisfying, and Capcom is adding new “Event” quests each week with new rewards. This makes an already highly replayable game even more engaging. The first two Event quests feature a cute bunny hat and stat buffing items to give you an edge during tougher hunts. There are free Title Updates planned, similar to the fifth-generation Monster Hunter titles. Expect new Monsters, armour, weapons, and new customisation item grinds to sink your teeth into.
Pros
- Beautiful environments with dynamic weather leads to some breathtaking encounters.
- Combat feels the best of any Monster Hunter yet.
Cons
- Matchmaking for multiplayer is way too complicated.
- Initial story is very slow and on rails.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a really great game, as we’ve come to expect from Capcom. The first 12-15 hours are very slow and may put some people off—especially if this is your first Monster Hunter title. Stick with it, as the game massively opens up and rewards you for your patience. Monster Hunter is at its best when it’s throwing unforgettable monster battles at you, and Wilds features plenty of that. Some bizarre menu and system designs aside, Wilds is a great purchase that you can sink many, many hours into.
A review code was provided by Capcom for PlayStation 5.
