Some online game sequence simply aren’t for everybody, and that’s okay. League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Darkish Souls — these video games require true dedication to study, which might make them very rewarding but in addition straightforward to bounce off of. Monster Hunter was a part of this lineage, however in 2018, Monster Hunter: World provided a surprisingly accessible on-ramp for newcomers. Years later, Monster Hunter Wilds seems to interrupt down much more boundaries.
I didn’t get to play Monster Hunter Wilds, however Capcom introduced a reside gameplay presentation to Summer season Sport Fest Play Days. The 2 trailers had me curious, however after seeing the sport in motion, I’m satisfied that Wilds might prime World as my favourite entry.
Our hands-off demo started at base camp, the place Palicos had been arduous at work, and gamers might purchase objects, improve gear, and extra. It does look considerably just like Astera, which is the Hunter’s Guild’s base of operations in Monster Hunter: World. Not like in World, which forces you to choose a quest from a listing, put together for the expedition, and cargo a completely separate map to start out searching, you possibly can simply hop onto your Seikret (a brand new bird-like animal mount) and journey out into the world. No loading screens or flipping by means of menus this time.
So we left the bottom camp and headed out into the Windward Plains, which is the primary area you’ll go to whenever you embark upon your journey. Capcom says that it’s about two instances the dimensions of the common area in earlier Monster Hunter video games, and it’s simply one in every of many.
Earlier than taking over any monsters, we rode over to a small village within the area crammed with AI NPCs going about their lives. You may speak to anybody milling in regards to the village to get some taste textual content or purchase objects that may assist you out in your subsequent hunt.
We then opened the map, which is much extra detailed (and customarily legible) than different Monster Hunter maps. It’s a 3D topographic map that shows your environment intimately, together with icons for monsters and objects within the space. These monsters and objects change relying on the time of day, and that will probably be mirrored on the map as properly.
At this level, we picked a monster to pursue on the map, left the village, and arrange camp within the desert. After cooking a fast meal, we mounted our Seikret and commenced driving towards it. After we arrived, there was really an entire pack of roaming Doshaguma, which look one thing like lions mixed with bears. We began attacking the Alpha Doshaguma, and after a number of swings of our sword, the hunt started by itself. A seamless transition with none menus or loading.
As quickly because the pack realized it was being threatened, all the Doshaguma started attacking us. We had been outnumbered, which meant we in all probability wouldn’t stand an opportunity in a conventional struggle. So, we jumped on our Seikret and led the pack to a quicksand lure created by the snake-like Balahara. It eradicated a lot of the others so we might give attention to the alpha.
The remainder of the demo consisted of a wide-ranging, dynamic battle that included switching from lengthy to short-range weapons, utilizing the brand new hook slinger to create traps utilizing the atmosphere and get on prime of the monster, and watching an infinite Apex monster seem simply in time to do large harm to the Doshaguma whereas we stored our distance.
Because the monster started to put on down, it limped again to its nest, at which level we known as in three NPC hunters to assist us end the job. All the hunters unpacked their Giant Barrel Bombs and rolled them towards the sleeping Doshaguma, exploding on contact. A number of well-placed assaults and pitfall traps later, the Alpha Doshaguma had been defeated. We carved up the monster for supplies and had been in a position to proceed exploring with none interruptions.
For me, the largest barrier to entry in Monster Hunter has at all times been the downtime between the motion. Each time I’m tempted to leap again into Monster Hunter: World, I keep in mind that it’s going to be at the very least one other 10 minutes earlier than I’m really working round preventing the monsters. That’s by no means going to be a priority in Wilds. These seamless transitions have me as excited as any new characteristic, from the dynamic climate to the strikes you’ll study.
Though I didn’t really get my fingers on it, I walked away eager to play Monster Hunter Wilds greater than some other recreation I noticed at Summer season Sport Fest.
Monster Hunter Wilds launches on PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, and PC in 2025.
