Monster Hunter Wilds is finally here, and Capcom has done it again with another hard-hitting adventure that takes the player through a fascinating world full of wonder and chaos as they take on some of the most daunting enemies the franchise has to offer during one of the best stories that Capcom has created for a Monster Hunter game.
Monster Hunter Wilds has a Unique Story and is Full of Vibrant Locations
One of the biggest challenges that the Monster Hunter franchise has always struggled with is having an interesting story that can grip its players for the entirety of its story. However, this doesn’t seem to be an issue for Monster Hunter Wilds, as its story is one of the best stories the franchise has seen in a very long time.
In the past, the Monster Hunter franchise has always had interesting stories that lean towards very serious events within the Monster Hunter universe; however, Monster Hunter Wilds has taken its story one step further as it has moved into the history of the Monster Hunter universe and brought it into the current day setting, allowing players to learn more about the franchise’s hidden lore.
Due to this, players can experience a whole new environment and world within the Monster Hunter franchise as they partake in one of the most exciting and pressure-building stories to date within the Monster Hunter franchise.
To add to the story, Monster Hunter Wilds also utilizes its location in its storytelling. Each location has its part to play within the narrative and is one of the best sets of locations the franchise has explored through the years.
With numerous weather effects, plenty of exploration, and extraordinary views to find, each location is full of brilliant set pieces that will have players wanting to explore Monster Hunter Wilds just for the sake of exploring. While also allowing the player to utilize their environment during their hunts to deal devastating damage to the monster they are hunting or to simply get ahead of them by using a shorter route through the map.
Along with the setting being in a completely new location, there is also the fact that Monster Hunter Wilds uses a weather-based system that changes as the game progresses; whether it be a chaotic lightning storm, monsoons, scorching heat, or freezing cold, there are multiple scenarios within Monster Hunter Wilds that can alter each mission as well as creating new scenarios for the player to encounter throughout the games long story.
Monster Hunter Wilds’ Combat Continues to Impress
As with all Monster Hunter titles, the combat is one of the most important features within the franchise, and in Monster Hunter Wilds it has been cranked up to an eleven. With so many familiar bosses from previous games and even some new bosses, there are plenty of opportunities to try out your combat skills, with numerous changes being made to the familiar weapon sets.
Due to new inclusions like the focus mode, which changes the view of the player slightly, moving into an over-the-shoulder perspective and highlighting weak spots, and the increased option of traps both in your inventory and in the open world itself, there are plenty of new ways to take on the monsters that call this place home.
To make the focus mode even more exciting as an inclusion within Monster Hunter Wilds is the Wound system that the developers have added into the game to make the combat more interesting. This new system allows the player to create wounds upon the enemies they fight, which are very easy to spot and can deal devastating damage once dealt enough damage.
This encourages players to attack monsters in all kinds of positions on their bodies, no matter how tough they are, as this allows the player to slowly deal damage and open weak spots to increase the damage over time.
Even though there are still only 14 weapon types within the game, which hasn’t changed since Monster Hunter: Worlds, each of these 14 weapons has plenty of upgrades to choose from, allowing for a flexible playstyle for every gamer and their needs within combat.
The Enemies and Characters are Just as Fascinating as Ever
When it comes to the Monster Hunter franchise, the first thing players will notice is the NPC’s (Non-player characters) that they will meet along their journey. In the past, Capcom has struggled to bring together a cast of characters that the player is willing to journey with through the entirety of a Monster Hunter game.
However, during my time with Monster Hunter Wilds, I was pleased to see that Capcom had begun to learn from its mistakes and was able to create a wonderful cast of characters that have brought the Monster Hunter world to life while showing the deep and dark world that this franchise is set in.
Although there were moments in which the characters were relatively confusing in their actions and their dialogue, it still managed to push the story along, allowing for each character to have their moment in the sun as well as tell an amazing story that ended with one of the best conclusions to a Monster Hunter story to date.
Along with the NPCs that the player can meet on their journey, there are also the monsters that give the franchise its name. Throughout Monster Hunter Wilds, there are plenty of monsters to hunt, both familiar and unfamiliar, as the player explores this unique world.
Each of these monsters is just as unique as the last, as each monster provides a brand-new challenge for the player whether they are familiar with these monsters or not, as there are plenty of new scenarios within Monster Hunter Wilds that will have players on the edge of their seats waiting for the next monster to rear their heads at the player.
Normally in a Monster Hunter title, it is very difficult to include the monsters in the actual story itself without having some form of doomsday scenario or having to avoid talking about the fact the player has to hunt down these monsters just for the sake of it. However, Monster Hunter Wilds was able to do what many of the other titles in the franchise could not, as it brought the monsters to the forefront of the story of the game and made them the most interesting aspect of the game, rather than just targets to hunt.
Monster Hunter Wilds is the next installment in the Monster Hunter franchise, as it takes the player to a new location within the world of Monster Hunter as they attempt to discover the history of the location they are exploring while saving the inhabitants of the region from all kinds of disasters that follow the monsters calling the region home.
Summary
Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds is arguably one of the best titles within the franchise in terms of story, combat, locations, enemies, and even characters, as it blends all of these aspects into one fantastic creation that tells an amazing story that ends in one of the most satisfying ways possible, putting many of the other Monster Hunter titles to shame.
HOURS PLAYED: 38
PLAYED ON: PS5
Monster Hunter Wilds was released on February 28th, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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I am a long-time writer who enjoys talking about numerous different game genres as well as playing them. My main focuses are games like Helldivers 2, Warframe, and so much more.
