Monster Hunter Wilds review: a new open-world design feels fresh and exciting

Monster Hunter has always been a big deal in Japan, but since the phenomenal global success of Monster Hunter: World in 2018, now it’s a big deal everywhere. We’ve had 2021’s Monster Hunter: Rise since then, initially a Nintendo Switch exclusive, then later ported to PC and other consoles, but Monster Hunter Wilds is much more of a spiritual successor to the 2018 title than the Switch follow-up.

The focus here is on creating a big, gorgeous, free-flowing open world that really pushes the processing power of the current generation of consoles. We caught sight of how Wilds' world is designed in our interview with the dev team, who shared details on Capcom's secretive RE Engine that powers the game.

Monster Hunter: World ditched the discrete, separately loaded sub-levels of the series in favour of large biomes that you could roam freely. Wilds goes one step further by connecting together every locale into one giant play area, without a loading screen in sight. It’s an impressive technical achievement, especially considering the level of detail on display in each area. Capcom’s renowned RE Engine (used in Resident Evil 4 Remake) is given a fine workout here as it heaves around herds of giant monsters, in a game that clearly wouldn’t be possible on past-gen tech. More to the point, the sense of freedom that this seamless world brings is tantalising.

Monster Hunter Wilds is all story

The plot of Wilds centres around an expedition to the Forbidden Lands, an area that was thought to be uninhabited until a child called Nata flees from there with tales of a monster attacking his village. The story puts you on the trail of this terrifying creature – known as the White Wraith – as you venture through areas of desert, forest, fire and tundra that broadly follow the same design principles seen in Monster Hunter: World, albeit with a few unique twists, like oil-filled lakes.

So far, so familiar. But one big difference with Monster Hunter Wilds is the greater emphasis it places on story. Whereas before the player’s character was always mute, Wilds introduces a fully voiced protagonist, with dialogue options to boot. And whereas the characters in World were very much bit players, here the blacksmith Gemma and the quest handler Alma are almost constant companions.

Wilds might take most of its DNA from Monster Hunter: World, but one thing it borrows from Rise is rideable companions: rather than dog-adjacent Palamutes, Wilds features the bird-like Seikret. You can direct these not-Chocobos manually, but typically you’ll be locking on to a monster or feature using the map, then letting the Seikret carry you there while you look around at your leisure, idly gathering mushrooms or herbs as you whizz past them. Which is another neat introduction in Wilds: items can now be gathered from a distance using your Hook Slinger.

This is just one of the many ways that Wilds streamlines the arcane systems of previous Monster Hunter games even further than World did back in 2018. Almost all sources of friction have been stripped away in an attempt at welcoming new players. Supply items are no longer stored in a box that you have to remember to check at the start of each quest; instead, you can access them at any time by tapping left on the D-pad. You can now cook a meal anywhere by using a portable grill, and the meal’s stat-boosting effects persist for a fixed time period rather than expiring at the end of a hunt. The list goes on.

Monster Hunter Wilds feels disruptive

The upshot of all this is a disruption to Monster Hunter’s usual rhythm of lengthy hunt preparations at a central hub, followed by a foray into the wild. Now, you can do almost everything out in the field, bar crafting new weapons and armour. Wilds wants to get you to the monsters as quickly as possible.

This is all wonderful news for novice players, but returning veterans might feel short-changed, at least at first. Monster Hunter Wilds can feel a little too simplified during the 18 hours or so of the main quest, as you’re shepherded directly from one monster fight to the next, pausing only for cut scenes. The complexity that Monster Hunter is renowned for is introduced very, very slowly, with things like stat-altering decorations and melding only being thrown into the mix many, many hours in.

If anything, it starts off a bit too easy. Your Palico companion is eager to throw healing potions your way, and I only fainted once during the main campaign. I upgraded to new armour twice, but there was never a point in those first 18 hours where I encountered a progress blocker, a monster so tough that it required a rethink of strategy or grinding for materials.

The newfound emphasis on story is also a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it did a good job of drawing me into this world, of introducing a cast of characters that end up feeling welcoming and familiar, making me feel like part of a crew rather than a lone hunter – especially as my character can now talk. But on the other hand, the lengthy cut scenes slow things down considerably, and I also wonder whether a game series that’s entirely about beating up big creatures really needs much of a plot.

Like in every Monster Hunter game, there’s a giant creature that’s threatening the environment, and like in every Monster Hunter game, the solution is to beat it up. As ever, there’s a focus on how all of this monster culling is in the aid of research and restoring balance to nature; but this has always been at odds with the game’s core gameplay loop of killing majestic creatures in order to make a natty new pair of trousers out of their body parts, then using your new mega trousers to kill even bigger creatures.

Gameplay is as compelling as ever

But here’s the thing: that gameplay loop is still as compelling as ever, and in Monster Hunter Wilds it’s the best it’s ever been. Once the main campaign is out of the way and you enter into High Rank, the entire game shifts up a gear and the training wheels come off. This series has always been about the endgame, and High Rank in Wilds feels incredibly fresh and exciting thanks to the open world structure. Although you can still select individual quests, it’s much more fun to simply wander through the expansive world in search of quarry, especially when a mystery monster tantalisingly labelled ‘?????’ appears on the map.

Attacking any large monster will automatically trigger a quest, allowing you to fire off an SOS flare to call in other players (or NPC support hunters if no one’s available), and on occasion you’ll have to separate individual monsters away from a herd using dung bombs or lures. There’s a chance that another large monster might crash the party, too, all of which makes for exciting, dynamic battles across huge maps (which, incidentally, are filled with loads of secrets to uncover).

The new monsters introduced in Wilds are a fabulous bunch, too. The headline act Arkveld offers a particularly brutal battle in the vein of fan favourite Nergigante, and I also developed a real soft spot for Rompopolo, a sort of giant cockroach with an inflatable bottom. But perhaps the real highlight is the octopus-like Nu Udra: whereas many of the game’s monsters are new variations of tried and tested templates, this fight felt totally fresh. The electric apex predator Rey Dau is another gem, essentially being a dragon-shaped laser cannon, and there are many, many other new faces and returning favourites.

Battles also have a new sense of dynamism thanks to Offset moves, which are specific moves that - with the right timing - can parry certain monster attacks, leaving them open for a counterattack. And monsters can now gain wounds in battle, which can be targeted for massive damage, all of which makes for some exciting, tactical clashes.

The lack of a multiplayer Gathering Hub in Monster Hunter Wilds feels like a bit of a strange omission at first, but it makes sense when you consider the game’s open-world nature, with a handful of base camps scattered across a huge, interconnected landscape. Instead, there’s the option to form a Link Party with friends or with any player you’ve previously encountered, parties that persist between quests. This, in a nutshell, is what it’s all about: gathering together a posse and hacking about a huge map in the name of larks and lovely monster apparel. Into the wilds we go.

Monster Hunter Wilds: verdict

More friction free than ever, Monster Hunter Wilds welcomes new players, but also offers the series’ most exciting endgame thanks to its open-world structure, topped off with some brilliant new additions to the monster roster.