Monster Hunter Wilds Shows Off Its Unpredictability at Summer Game Fest

At Summer Game Fest 2024, Restart attended a behind-closed-doors presentation for Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds, the developer’s latest monster-fighting action-RPG which will allow players to defeat a wide range of dangerous beasts across large open landscapes.

During the demo presentation, we watched a Hunter on his quest to defeat a large Doshaguma, a brown bear-like creature with long, sharp claws and an even meaner temper.

After exploring base camp and a village where Seikret mounts are raised (the baby Seikrets are adorable, by the way), our Hunter made his way into the Windward Plains. This transition from civilization to the wilderness occurred seamlessly, without a loading screen to break up the immersion.

After locating his target beast, our demo guide observed the creature, highlighting the ability for players to decide when to transition from simply exploring the land to tackling a quest.

We could see this particular fight would be challenging, as the Doshaguma was part of a pack, with our target appearing larger and having a darker color than its packmates. In this kind of scenario, players would have full freedom to engage the entire pack at once, though they would also run the risk of being overwhelmed by so many creatures.

For the demo, the hunt took this approach, engaging the huge monster while it still had plenty of backup from its companions. Once the fight was on, the action became fast-paced, with the Hunter attempting to damage the creature (and also avoid its attacks) while riding on their Seikret. The goal, at least at first, was to isolate the target monster from its companions using the natural terrain.

While being chased by the pack, our hunter received help from an unlikely source, as the group of Doshaguma walked over a quicksand trap set by another dangerous creature, the leviathan-like Balahara. The trap quickly swallowed up the smaller Doshaguma, though our target was larger and therefore strong enough to climb out of the pit rather than also being lost under the sand.

Now isolated, the hunt continued for a moment before a massive lightning storm began to transform the environment. These storms mark the transition of the Windward Plains from a dry and barren season into one with lush greenery and wildlife. For now, though, the Hunter still needed to dispose of the Doshaguma.

The fight eventually led to a cave, where our Hunter could target large rock formations hanging overhead in an attempt to bring them crashing down on the monster’s head. Our presenter also found a cluster of Great Thunderbugs, which appear during the lightning storms, and transformed them into a makeshift shock trap to damage the enemy. At another point during the hunt, the Hunter’s Calico companion set a shock trap of its own, temporarily incapacitating our target.

With the Doshaguma damaged, it decided it had received enough punishment and attempted to run away. At this point, our Hunter used a flare to call for backup. In our case, the extra hunters were NPCs, though in the final game, players could team up with other real players for some multiplayer action.

Once the lightning storm had passed and help had arrived, our party found the Doshaguma asleep in an isolated area of the environment. Our presenter decided to wake the creature the hard way using barrel bombs. Now wide awake, the Doshaguma resumed its attack, though the party was eventually able to defeat the creature, allowing our Hunter to carve the carcass for its valuable supplies.

The end of this lengthy fight highlighted one of the major franchise updates to Monster Hunter Wilds. Rather than being transported back to camp after defeating the target monster, our Hunter had the freedom to continue exploring the Windward Plains, where they could observe the natural wildlife, collect more resources, or even begin another quest, all without heading back to town.

While the SGF demo only showed a small percentage of what players can expect to see in the full Monster Hunter Wilds experience (the full game will feature 14 different weapon types, along with new action features and moves for each type), it did a great job of showing off the game’s living environment, full of monsters with their own minds and behaviors.

It also highlighted the unpredictable nature of the game’s hunts. Players will need to react on the fly not only to the changing environment (things like sandstorms), but also to changing animal behavior, such as monsters who may fight against one another, including to the player’s advantage.

As just a taste of the game’s variety, players can mount monsters and deal small stabbing attacks to weaken them and knock them down, set pitfall traps to cause targets to fall into holes, and even track and target a monster’s open wounds by looking for glowing red spots on a creature’s flesh. And of course, players can also give themselves extra advantages during a hunt by cooking and eating food.

Overall, the world of Monster Hunter wilds is set to feel like a real living place, right down to the ability to take a break from the action and watch migratory birds create nests in the trees.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Release Date: February 28, 2025

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

Monster Hunter Wilds is set to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam in 2025. It will feature crossplay support. Players with save data from Monster Hunter World and its Iceborne expansion will receive bonuses in the form of a Felyne Armor Set and Felyne Weapon (that’s four bonuses in total, if players have save data from both World and Iceborne).