Monster Hunter Wilds review - Price Prediction

Monster Hunter Wilds represents a blend of traditional monster combat and a significant update to the hunting style. This game offers an accessible environment for lizard-hunting, while maintaining elements reminiscent of 2007. It’s the most refined Monster Hunter experience yet, but it can be unpredictable and may malfunction if you switch back at inopportune moments.

Above all, Wilds represents an action-packed game in a league of its own. It sets a new standard for powerful melee strikes and the rhythmic thunder of gunlance explosions—the thrill of witnessing your trio of seeker arrows impale a flying wyvern mid-flight, causing it to plunge towards the ground while your excited teammates urge their raptor steeds forward. Wilds heralds a fresh chapter for Monster Hunter, one that strips away anything that might hinder you from engaging in combat with monsters that are ten times your size. While this reinvention is impressive, it seems that Monster Hunter has shed a slightly larger portion of its identity than I’d prefer.

If there’s a term for untamed areas, it’s streamlined. Instead of breaking sword fights with tyrannosaurs into bite-sized quests, the game now offers a continuous, cinematic experience where the wilderness transitions through seasons and creatures roam freely. Preparing for a hunt can be done instantly, whenever needed. Although this setup may seem magical, it doesn’t come without its own price. By prioritizing more monster hunting, the game has sacrificed some of Monster Hunter’s unique appeal.

It’s simply delightful to engage in battles against those lizards! Over nearly 70 hours spent on Wilds, I can truly sense the 20 years of refinement in its combat system design. Hunting, as you may know, is a satisfying pursuit, but the recent updates to Monster Hunter’s 14 weapon categories cater to every kind of wyvern-slayer. Alongside the eye-catching new moves, crucial modifications to the bow and bowgun, and Focus Strike final blows, there’s a subtler elegance in the design that might go unnoticed. Fine-tuned adjustments—such as additional opportunities to correct your footing during attack animations—make Wilds the most seamless Monster Hunter combat experience yet, without compromising its tactile depth.

Tools of the trade

Each weapon seems to have undergone its own grueling training regimen reminiscent of shonen series. My cherished hammer now functions as an unstoppable rolling wrecking ball. It’s been imbued with Mighty Charge, a powerful charge attack that delivers a devastating final blow for concluding combos and serves as a seamless transition point into the next set of strikes. Some of its golf swings have even been transformed into Offset Attacks, a novel mechanic that endows heavier weapons with a sort of defensive counter, albeit one requiring precise timing. The payoff of deflecting a colossal Doshaguma’s charge is well worth the challenge.

The escalation in the use of the switch axe has reached an unprecedented level, transforming into sword mode unleashes scorching, spinning attacks that trace paths of destructive energy upon impact. In my explorations with the bow, I’m equipped with a variety of tracking arrows and homing shots capable of striking down even the swiftest of monsters.

Simply observing another player wield their weapon in combat can challenge my allegiance: A single glimpse of a Dual Blades master spinning across the battlefield, resembling a frenzied Beyblade, has caused me to swiftly adjust my blueprint for gear construction.

As a devoted fan, diving into the latest weapon enhancements feels exhilarating with the addition of Focus Mode and the revamped wound system. Now, even melee weapons come equipped with a handy reticle for pinpointing accurate strikes. The thrill of targeting and obliterating wounds with Focus Strikes adds a fresh layer to the captivating experience of hunting these monstrous beasts. When a glowing red weak spot appears, it serves as a useful guide when I’m unsure about their most vulnerable areas, and the substantial damage payoff gives me an incentive to mix up my regular attack strategies.

It’s a refreshing return to boots-on-the-ground monster hunting.

To be honest, the devastating effect of destroying wounds in this game feels like it’s bound for a balance adjustment. With my hammer’s KOs, the staggering impact of wound destruction, and the occasional paralysis thanks to my Palico’s weapon, I’ve left most monsters struggling to catch their breath.

Despite Wilds combat potentially making hunters excessively skilled, it offers a revitalizing shift back to grounded monster hunting. In contrast to World’s expansion Iceborne and the latest Monster Hunter, Rise, both of which introduced mechanics that felt disruptive, landing a Focus Strike now feels more harmoniously integrated with the continuous dodging, attacking, and countering in the heat of battle.

Plus it looks and feels sick. That helps.

What’s the point of having weapons if there are no enemies to use them against? Growing up, I spent a lot of time drawing dragons in my school notebooks, making me something of an expert on fantasy lizards. In my opinion, Capcom is unbeatable when it comes to making extraordinary creatures look, sound, and move realistically. The Wilds expansion adds some fantastic new monsters to the Monster Hunter series.

Wild world

Rey Dau stands out as a striking early feature: a sharp and prickly top-tier predator that leaves fiery trails in the desert sand with its electrified wing blades. Battling Arkveld, the chief monster of the Wilds, is similar to facing an avalanche; it’s a relentless barrage of whipping chains and explosions of red energy.

In contrast to the calmer monster designs in World, Wilds finds Capcom getting back to their quirky and unusual side. A few hours into the game, I’m battling in the greasy remains of a colossal abandoned machine, facing off against a creature that’s one-third mosquito, one-third velociraptor, and one-third swollen hemorrhoid. There’s a large pink ape resembling flatulence, a recurring favorite from Monster Hunter. Also making an appearance is the Hirabami: flying, pack-oriented wormsharks with tails adorned with scythe blades.

By playing the game, I’m not just enhancing my fantasy but also deepening my understanding of it.

In Wilds, the gameplay experience is more compacted and refined compared to Monster Hunter, even with its emphasis on expansive environments. This is particularly evident in Low Rank, the primary difficulty level that forms the backbone of the game’s narrative. Unlike traditional Monster Hunter progression where you climb through Hunter Ranks between important quests, Wilds offers a focused, story-driven exploration of the Forbidden Lands during its initial 12 hours. This period serves as a reentry into a region that has been sealed for a millennium, guided by the Hunter’s Guild. This change of pace effectively helps players acclimate to monster hunting, gradually introducing key concepts such as crafting, cooking, and gathering through a series of story-based hunts that escalate in complexity.

Just by familiarizing myself with the game, I’m deepening the fantasy.

The abrupt shift of Monster Hunter towards cinematics may not be a grand storytelling achievement, yet the captivating action sequences within these scenes are far from sparse in their visual appeal. Admittedly, I found myself raising a skeptical eyebrow at how the creators of Wilds depict the indigenous tribes of the Forbidden Lands. It seems odd that, despite sharing a habitat with colossal carnivorous sandworms for ages, they’re portrayed as having no knowledge of weaponry. Furthermore, their willingness to supply resources to the Hunter’s Guild feels somewhat questionable, even though Capcom attempts to convey that the organization is in no way involved in colonialism.

The main character in this new Monster Hunter game, titled “The Wilds,” is distinctively different from previous protagonists. Unlike them, this character is already an experienced hunter at the peak of their career when the game begins. They possess a deep understanding of monster ecology and Guild procedures which allows for more realistic portrayals of the Guild in cutscenes and dialogues. Previously, the Hunter’s Guild served as a platform for amusing puns, lovable oddballs, and examining the peculiar psychological quirks of your friendly Guildmarm. However, in “The Wilds,” the Guild is depicted as an organization with a broader philosophy that transcends the mere transformation of dragons into gloves (although I must admit, I wouldn’t mind seeing some more of those charming characters).

As a devoted fan, I found myself captivated by the unique relationship between the player-hunter and Alma, their guild handler. Despite the hunter’s formidable combat skills, they would always hesitate to confront a monster without explicit approval from Alma, even in situations where it seemed like their lives were at stake. This intriguing dynamic provided a fascinating insight into the Guild’s culture and philosophy, which emphasized restraint: while a monster threat may have demanded violence, it was not for the individual wielding a dinosaur-reconstructed gunlance to decide unilaterally when such action should be taken.

Seasonal affect

What struck me odd about Low Rank is its approach to the new season system. In contrast, The Wilds features a three-season cycle that impacts monster spawns, wildlife behavior, and resource availability: a Fallow phase when the environment is barren and aggressive predators are more abundant, an Inclemency stage marked by intense storms across the terrain, and a Season of Plenty where nature recovers and thrives.

The cycle of seasons creates breathtaking vistas. As harsh weather sweeps across the Windward Plains, it triggers fierce, dark-hued lightning storms that turn any confrontation with a Doshaguma into an epic struggle. When the Red Forest flourishes and teems with life, it transforms into a lush, vibrant paradise—one inhabited by numerous large, potentially dangerous creatures.

In Low Rank, you don’t get to witness much of the seasonal changes as they are primarily linked to the game’s story development. Instead, you spend most of your time exploring each region during its Fallow season, and only occasionally experience Plenty before moving on to another location. This means that for my first dozen hours in Wilds, I mostly saw the environments at their dullest, missing out on the opportunity to fully explore how the seasons transform each area and each hunt. It’s unfortunate, especially considering that the monsters in Wilds truly shine under the bright lights of the Plenty season.

Finishing a quest without being booted back to the hub feels a bit like witchcraft.

After achieving credits and attaining a higher rank, Wilds transforms into an open arena for unrestricted hunting. The High Rank system combines conventional Hunter Rank advancement with smooth hunt transitions, portable campsites, and a movable guild administrator. These features aim to minimize hindrances between me and my upcoming target monster. Initiating a hunt can be effortless, as all I need to do is step out of camp and strike a few blows at the nearest creature. Whether I choose to dive headfirst into another hunt immediately after capturing the Balahara or prefer to take a leisurely stroll, hunting and exploration can continue endlessly in the wilderness.

When it’s time to restock my inventory, I simply make a quick dash to the nearest temporary camp I’ve established. In case my meal bonuses run low, having a portable grill lets me prepare a new batch of stat-enhancing meals, whether I’m nestled by an oasis or perched on a rugged cliffside. After nearly a decade of Monster Hunter gameplay, successfully completing a quest without being sent back to base is starting to feel like some kind of enchantment.

In simpler terms, these smooth hunting mechanisms have transformed the Forbidden Lands into an endless series of monster fights, which I’ve enjoyed immensely. However, it’s this streamlining that causes me concern, as it might erase too much of Monster Hunter’s unique character. Consider the Seikret, for instance. I adore my raptor horse and the vibrant green feathers I styled on it. The ability to switch weapons during a hunt, which is almost magic, is fantastic when I need to chop off a tail that my hammer can’t manage. However, the Seikret highlights how much of the actual hunting experience has been diminished in Monster Hunter.

You no longer have to search for monsters anymore as my mount, Seikret, will automatically take me to my quest destination without needing prior sight of it. With the convenience of high-speed raptor autopilot, the new biomes in Wilds, which are Monster Hunter’s largest regions yet, seem smaller compared to the vast World maps I explored on foot before. One of the pleasures of Monster Hunter lies in learning every nook and cranny of its environments, but that level of familiarity is harder to achieve for areas like the Windward Plains that I’ve only traversed while riding Seikret.

Lost tracks

Although I may alter my viewpoint after my sixth consecutive quest for Rey Dau components, I must admit that there are moments when I miss the thrill of tracking Anjanath footprints in the Ancient Forest. Similarly, today’s base camps lack the warm, familiar feeling that the old hub villages and gathering halls used to provide. No matter how delicious the melted cheese at villager festivities appears, it can’t fill the void left by the absence of Meowscular Chef, especially during times when I have to cook my own meals.

Even though my preferences for hunting may have been shaped by a past time period, I can still admire the advancements in Wilds’ multiplayer aspect. Although there’s a bit of roughness when playing with friends, the ability to create “link parties” that allow seamless entry into each other’s hunts, regardless of which lobbies we’re in, is a much-appreciated upgrade.

Despite Wilds simplifying multiplayer sessions with friends, my hunting expeditions have been consistently disrupted by frequent crashes. Fortunately, my PC meets the game’s recommended specifications and it runs smoothly in terms of frame rate. However, this hasn’t shielded me from the game crashing during loading screens quite often, which can be rather frustrating. It seems I’m not alone among the PC Gamer team in experiencing these crashes, but unfortunately, I’ve encountered them more frequently. Until a patch is released to address this issue, there’s a risk that my screen will suddenly go dark whenever I attempt to join a friend’s game.

Monster Hunter Wilds seems to mark a significant shift in the series. Features such as Focus Strikes bring intriguing depth to an already satisfying combat system, and the smooth hunting experience along with changing seasons brings the world closer to embodying a dynamic ecosystem for its monsters. However, without delving deeper into Monster Hunter’s past, it lacks some of the heart that has made the series special.

2025-02-24 18:19

Tools of the trade

Wild world

Seasonal affect

Lost tracks

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