Preview: Monster Hunter Wilds Opens up to a Thrill Worth Chasing

Veterans of Capcom’s beast-bullying brawler series may be pinning lots of hopes on the latest outing in Monster Hunter Wilds. Previous entries World and Rise successfully expanded the session-based multiplayer hunts to labyrinthine jungles and desert tunnels. Now, Capcom is pouring on gravy.

Sat at a preview booth out at Gamescom, I was tasked with hunting down one of the game’s earliest main targets, a lowly Alpha Doshaguma, in a wide-open expanse of sand dotted with the occasional cliff, quicksand whirlpool, or oasis. Despite the mostly barren landscape, the RE Engine still effortlessly showboated with sand particles, swarms of smaller monsters sweeping across the plains, and one of the game’s landmark new features: dynamic weather.

Sandstorms envelop the arena as you play, bringing with them additional hazards to look out for – as well as obscuring your vision. Lightning strikes can help and hinder you, dealing damage to friend and foe alike, and adding dramatic flare to an already theatrical battle. The core of Monster Hunter Wilds is immersing you in the pursuit and challenging you to master weapon combos that most effectively snip bits off your prey to earn you rarer weapon and armor upgrade materials. It’s a simple loop, and if it grabs you early, you’ll fast find yourself making spreadsheets keeping track of how many poor beasties’ limbs you need to chop off to get a shiny new Great Sword.

The series has something of a hardcore reputation for fans already in the rhythm of chasing and slapping monsters across open terrain. But given the early encounter’s design, Doshaguma’s lumbering attacks, and helpful tooltips at what seemed like always the perfect time, there’s no doubt there’s a focus on onboarding new recruits to the hunt.

That isn’t at the expense of something new for the fans, though. Weapons have slightly different mechanics to account for a more explicit mechanic of targeting monster parts. Wounding a monster will give it a gash on its body, but entering Focus Mode with the left trigger makes these wounds even more obvious with textbook red glows. Each weapon can then perform a focus attack by hitting the right shoulder (or other button combos for the more complex weapons like Insect Glaive) to launch fancier salvos and style on your unfortunate prey. Attacks like these unleash extra damage – and a fancy animation – but can be hard to land while monsters thrash about futilely, only extending their demise. Just stay still, man, let me hit the big red bullseye.

Players aren’t locked into just one weapon for the duration of the hunt either, with secondary weapons equipped before heading out from the tent. Choosing to swap to your other weapon summons your trusty Seikret, a sort of raptor mount that holds your gear for you and helps you chase down fleeing monsters. Attacks can be launched from your mount for extra style points, and you can also position yourself for a grapple onto your quarry’s back.

Swapping weapons from the back of your Seikret allows you to reposition and make up for shortfalls in your offense – for instance, using quicker Dual Blades for chasing and whittling down, while saving your Switch Axe for when your target is immobilized. Or adding a long-range weapon to provide support from afar, or deal with a flying enemy who likes to lurk just out of reach.

As well as a large arsenal to suit personal play styles, you can also get a little clever with gadgets and traps, such as waiting for a monster to try and take a nap mid-hunt and then surrounding them with explosive barrels. Your pals in multiplayer aren’t the only ones who can engage in this coordinated bullying, as co-op AI summoned with an SOS flare will also take your lead and stack up bombs for an even ruder awakening.

It feels good to gang up on the monsters after being knocked around by them for a bit. That’s one of the true hallmarks of a good Monster Hunter game in my mind. But Wilds seems to have so much more to offer, and based on just a little slice of that action, I’m ready to carve off an even bigger chunk next year.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Release Date: February 28, 2025

• Windows
• PlayStation 5Pre-Order
• Xbox SeriesPre-Order