Monster Hunter: Wilds [Review-in-progress]
I spent my first weekend roaming the Wilds of Capcom’s latest Monster Hunter title, and I find myself enraptured by the danger and the beauty of what I found. The action is fast, frenetic, and visually stunning, delivering on the series’ signature power fantasy of facing down colossal creatures in breathtaking landscapes. But despite these strengths, Monster Hunter Wilds is held back by a convoluted multiplayer experience, cumbersome in-game systems, and a seemingly drastic divide between the low-rank and high-rank experience.
The latest entry in the Monster Hunter franchise aims big - both in the scope of its world and in the refinements to its combat and exploration mechanics. It introduces seamless, open environments, dynamic weather, and a new mount system that makes tracking and fighting monsters feel smoother than ever before. But while Wilds polishes the core Monster Hunter experience in many ways, it doesn’t push the envelope as far as it could.
The Thrill of the Hunt – Combat and Exploration
Right from the opening moments, Wilds impresses with its sheer spectacle. The game kicks off with a thrilling, cinematic sequence that throws you into a high-stakes battle, setting the tone for the adventure ahead. These scripted moments are some of the best in the series, blending action and storytelling in a way that feels organic.
But once you’re left to your own devices, the core gameplay loop remains as satisfying as ever. If you’ve played Monster Hunter World, you’ll feel right at home - only this time, the hunt feels more fluid and less frustrating thanks to a handful of smart improvements.
The Seikret, Wilds’ new birdlike mount, is a game-changer. It eliminates a lot of the tedious foot travel from previous games, allowing you to keep up with monsters more easily, gather resources on the move, and reposition in battle without breaking the flow of combat. It’s a brilliant addition that enhances the pace of the game, making hunts feel more dynamic and less like a prolonged game of cat-and-mouse. I also can’t help but wonder how many times Capcom’s legal team re-read their contract with Square Enix, because the Seikret looks suspiciously like a Chocobo—which, to be clear, is a good thing.
Combat itself is as strong as ever. The 14 weapon types return, each with its own nuanced mechanics and playstyle refinements. Whether you prefer the weighty impact of the Greatsword, the frenzied action of dual-blades, or the calculated precision of the Bowguns, Wilds refines the combat flow to make each encounter feel smoother and more engaging. Perfect Guards and new counterattack mechanics add layers of skill expression, making fights feel tactical yet exhilarating.
Another major highlight is the world itself. The environments are expansive and immersive, with seamless transitions between biomes. Weather changes, dust storms, and shifting ecosystems add a level of unpredictability to hunts that makes every outing feel alive. Environmental hazards and traps also play a bigger role, rewarding hunters who use their surroundings intelligently. The result is a world that feels untamed, even if some areas feel a bit sparse or less detailed than expected.
What Holds It Back – The Same Old Hurdles
For all its refinements, Wilds still carries some of the franchise’s long-standing issues - and in some areas, Capcom missed opportunities to make real improvements.
1. Multiplayer is Still More Convoluted Than It Should Be
This has been a recurring issue in Monster Hunter, and while Wilds makes some strides, it’s still more complicated than necessary. Joining story quests with friends remains frustrating, since players often need to progress through cutscenes solo before teaming up. For a series that thrives on cooperative play, this feels like an outdated design choice that Capcom should have streamlined by now. As one user put it: “Any game that requires you to know the difference between Link Party, Friend List, Member List, Follower List, Private Lobby, Squad, Squad Lobby, Environmental Link and Hunter Friend is doing multiplayer very wrong.”
2. The Menu Systems Are Still Overly Complex
If you’re a Monster Hunter veteran, you’re already used to the franchise’s notoriously clunky menus and item management systems. But if you’re a newcomer, Wilds is still a lot to take in.
Crafting, cooking, and inventory management are all crucial mechanics, but the game doesn’t do enough to streamline these systems. While the tutorials are better than before, there are still areas where menus could have been simplified to make progression more intuitive. There’s a missed opportunity here - Capcom could have taken a more modernized approach to UI design and inventory management, but instead, Wilds retains some of the same cluttered systems that have plagued the series for years.
3. The Story is…There, I Guess?
Nobody plays Monster Hunter for its story, but Wilds does try to inject more narrative structure than past games. And while some will appreciate the attempt, the execution feels lacking.
The game leans into a "stranger in a strange land" narrative, which is a departure from the previous frontier/exploration themes. Instead of a bold journey into the unknown, the story feels more restrained, with your character deferring more to the existing factions and political structures of the world. While the characters themselves are interesting, the plot lacks the adventurous spirit that made past games feel like grand expeditions into the wild.
And then there’s the pacing issue - cutscenes sometimes disrupt the flow of gameplay, and the first several hours are heavily tutorial-driven. While this helps onboard new players, veteran hunters may find themselves itching to dive into the deeper content faster.
4. The High-Rank Experience Feels Like a Different Game
This is nothing new for Monster Hunter, but in Wilds, the gap between low-rank and high-rank content feels more drastic than usual.
At lower ranks, the world feels dynamic but somewhat limited - monsters don’t interact with the environment as much, and the weather systems feel more like background set dressing. But once you hit high-rank, suddenly everything changes - weather shifts affect monster behavior, new interactions between creatures emerge, and the full depth of the game begins to shine.
While this is in line with previous entries, the gulf between the two experiences feels wider than ever. I can’t help but feel that Wilds could have done more to introduce these dynamic elements earlier, rather than making them exclusive to the high-rank experience.
Final Verdict – A Great Hunt with Familiar Frustrations
Despite its flaws, Monster Hunter Wilds is a fantastic entry in the series. The combat is fast, fluid, and endlessly engaging, the world is vast and visually stunning, and the new Seikret mount makes exploration and combat more dynamic than ever.
But at the same time, it doesn’t go far enough in fixing long-standing issues. The multiplayer system remains unnecessarily complicated, the menus could use a modern overhaul, and the early-game experience still feels too disconnected from the high-rank endgame.
For Monster Hunter veterans, Wilds is a must-play: it’s a refined and polished iteration of everything that makes the franchise great. But if you were hoping for a bold step forward, Wilds falls just short of true evolution.
That said, I’m hooked - and I’m excited to see what Capcom has in store for the late-game and future updates.
