Of all the games that I have played, the one that stands out right now has to be “Monster Hunter.” Even if I only started playing the series a few years ago, it has quickly become one of my favorites. Created by game studio Capcom back in 2004 for the PS2, the series has produced game after game with constant iterations, with 2018’s “Monster Hunter: World” being a notable feat in how it brought the series into the mainstream with its larger scale and more accessible gameplay.
The newest entry in the series, “Monster Hunter Wilds,” was released on Feb. 28 this year, acting as another step up with more innovations and refinements that elevate the monster-hunting experience. Along with going over what makes the “Monster Hunter” series itself great, it will be interesting to see just how this new game shakes things up.
With such a long-running and admittedly niche series, one might ask: “Ok, but what is ‘Monster Hunter’ even about?” I had always found that this type of question ironic, considering how it’s in the title itself: you hunt monsters, specifically in the act of balancing the lush ecosystem in which your character and these fantastical creatures inhabit. In slaying them, you can also create distinct and stylish weapons and armor from their bodies, making you more powerful and capable of fighting even larger monsters.
While incredibly simple in concept, it makes for a really fun gameplay loop. It is also incredibly well thought-out in regards to the execution, specifically in how it focuses on incorporating realism into its world and the monsters. Although there are flying wyverns and leviathans and other beasts, there is always an underlying, realistic-enough reason as to why they could exist.
For example, in “Wilds,” one of the new monsters is a giant toad dubbed Chatacabra. As you fight it, it uses its absurdly oversized tongue to attack you, which it also uses to lick up sedimentary rocks and minerals from the surrounding environment to fortify its limbs and protect itself. Making these animals and their traits sound plausible, even if a little absurd, is what keeps everything grounded and comprehensible while you’re playing, while also elevating the fantastical aspects.
The hunting methods that the player uses are also well-designed. When on a hunt, you can use your weapon of choice, but you also have access to a cat-like ally called a Palico to assist you, items and potions which can improve your stats, and different traps which can be left by you or even just found in the environment. The weapons themselves are in a league of their own in terms of their complexity and depth. There are 14 distinct weapon classes that you can use. You have your conventional weapons that you would think to be used for hunting giant beasts, like greatswords, lances, hammers and artillery, but you also have counter-heavy longswords, incredibly quick-slicing dual blades, stat-boosting musical instruments, and even a bug spear (do not even ask me how they came up with that). Every single weapon in this game has its own moveset with huge combos (with really cool animations) that build a flow state which cannot be replicated by any other weapon. It makes for incredibly fun combat, especially considering that being able to participate in online multiplayer with up to four people is an option.
With all of this praise, this is still simply an overview of the series itself. In the newest entry, tons of new features and concepts have been introduced, breaking new ground for “Monster Hunter.” The biggest precedent this game has set has been in the world itself. In the past, while every “Monster Hunter” game has set hunting action in a giant area, sections of the map were separated via a loading screen. “Monster Hunter: World” changed this by removing the loading screens in favor of a more interconnected experience, but different hunting biomes and your home base were still loaded separately. “Wilds” builds on this immensely. Now, everything in the game is interconnected. Your base camp is connected to multiple different biomes, with you being able to travel through a completely seamless world without any loading screens. It might not sound that big, but this sets the gameplay experience to radically new heights and makes the world feel alive. With the size of the world growing considerably, so too do your movement options with the Seikret, a bird-like mount that you get to ride around with, which allows for faster and more fun travel.
Additions to combat are noticeable as well. New to “Monster Hunter Wilds” are wounds. Now, as you fight a monster, you can create wounds across its body that act as weak points. This is where the “Focus Mode,” also a new feature, comes into play. By holding down a button, you enter a specialized state that allows you to aim your weapon much more easily and take advantage of the wounds you inflict on the monster. You can then use weapon-specific “Focus Strikes” on wounds to execute incredibly stylish finishers, which add a whole new layer to the flow state of your weapon., I believe these changes to combat are a needed and natural evolution of a tried-and-true formula, making for a wildly enjoyable game.
There are then the other aspects of the game, like the story and visuals. Historically, “Monster Hunter” has never had a huge emphasis on story, with most of it boiling down to just slaying a monster. This time around, though, the story is much more involved. Playing as a hunter on an expedition group to a previously unexplored region, you, along with your team, navigate this world while trying to locate the home of a young boy named Nata, whose village was displaced by a mysterious monster. The characters in this story have true arcs that change as they interact with each other and the world around them. Your hunter character and Palico (who have usually been silent or confined to simple “meows” in prior games) also now have actual voices, which also add a lot to the story’s depth. As someone who has played it to the end, I think this game’s story is a noticeable step up from prior games, and a nice way to orient players to how the game works. It is not an incredible work of storytelling or anything, but it is a lot more put together than prior ones.
A big criticism I have with the game, though, is in its performance. With the game being the first in the series to release on multiple platforms, PS5, Xbox Series X & S, and PC, making sure the game runs well is a big part of making for a successful launch. What actually happened left a lot to be desired, though. Console versions lacked a lot of graphical fidelity, and the PC version was hit hard with super high hardware requirements for a lackluster output with low and unstable frame rates. It got a lot of deserved criticism across the board from reviewers and players alike, including me. Thankfully, the developers are addressing these complaints with post-launch updates, which is hopeful.
The “Monster Hunter” series has been around for a while now, with its many games and constant improvements focusing on combat and immersion. The newest game, “Monster Hunter Wilds,” recently released this February, keeps making big strides to elevate the monster hunting experience with big changes to combat systems, approaches to world design, and a more involved story. Although there are issues here and there, especially surrounding the slow technical performance, it is clear that the developers are determined to address any issues through sizable updates. The first free Title Update to the game just released for the spring season, for instance, adding more monsters, modes, features, and an entire multiplayer hub, along with countless performance and balance adjustments. This game and the series as a whole are awesome, and I hope you feel just the same.
