
I’ve all the time seen Monster Hunter as a cinematic sport, although maybe not in the best way that many avid gamers image after they hear the phrase. I’m not speaking about big-budget cutscenes. Slightly, spectacle is baked into its world. There’s no larger thrill than watching on because the titanic beast I’m monitoring out of the blue will get attacked by one other creature. It’s like watching a kaiju battle unfold organically.
With Monster Hunter Wilds, although, Capcom is upping the ante. In a 90-minute demo, I performed by the upcoming motion RPG’s first two missions. They have been commonplace hunts towards towering beasts, however one thing was totally different this time. A bigger emphasis on thrilling cutscenes and cinematic set items took middle stage between my regular hacking and slashing. That makes for a sequel that takes Monster Hunter to the following degree, unlocking its blockbuster potential.
Extra cinematic
When my demo begins, I’m crusing on an ocean of sand with a crew of ragtag characters. After getting briefed on a monster in the realm, the dreaded White Wraithe, I’m handled to an action-packed sequence. I see sandworms chasing a personality in the space, as if I’m watching a scene out of Dune. My hero leaps from the aspect of the ship and lands on a Seikret and provides chase. As I achieve management of my character, I’m out of the blue in a chase sequence. Worms leap round me, and I hold to knock them off my path with my slingshot. It’s positively dazzling.
Instantly, I deem again to 2020’s Monster Hunter movie adaptation. There are some similarities that stand out off the bat — particularly the desert setting. Fragment of me wonders if Wilds was initially deliberate alongside that movie, as in the event that they have been meant to create continuity between each other. I can think about Capcom pondering the poorly obtained movie could hold had a probability to onboard gamers onto its subsequent main launch.
Capcom
Fortunately, the comparisons halt there. The demo I performed rapidly dropped me into acquainted territory as I used to be tasked with searching down a Chatacbra, a frog-like creature. I outfitted an insect glaive and rapidly gave chase throughout the desert sands till I discovered it hanging out in a moist cave. The slicing and dicing commenced.
Regardless of bigger-budget set dressing, Monster Hunter Wilds retains the collection’ fundamentals. Beasts are big harm sponges that are supposed to be chipped down over hard-fought battles. The extra I slashed, the extra I uncovered wounds in my prey. These are represented as pink gashes on its effected limbs. Whereas I can’t lock on to them, holding the PlayStation 5 DualSense’s left set off permits me to focus the route I’m slashing in. By pointing myself towards a weakened hind leg, I’m ultimately in a position to glean it off steadiness and begin wailing on its head because it tries to recuperate. After four minutes of battling, I slay my foe and carve its elements.
In my second quest, I’m tasked with searching down a furry Alpha Doshaguma. I go away my village on the again of my Seikret and leap round some twisted pure structure to construct my technique to the bottom. I discover the docile beast hanging in a pack, with two others sitting at its aspect. To isolate my hunt, I load a wad of dung into my slingshot and let it rip. The pack scatters and I begin slicing, this time with my fast twin blades.
The loop of the combat is identical, however I begin to expertise among the ways in which Wilds brings spectacle into its moment-to-moment gameplay. The combat occurs as an infinite lightning storm takes position overhead. I’m dodging its large assaults whereas bolts zap down subsequent to me. When it tries to flee, I leap onto my mount and fireplace a flare gun into the sky to summon close by hunters to help me. Each are heart-pumping pictures that carry extra adrenaline to fights.
Capcom
I see just a few extra moments like that after I’m freely exploring the open-world. I glean right into a battle with a sandworm in some unspecified time in the future, which snakes its means onto a bony overhang and assaults from above. Later, I have interaction an infinite winged beast hanging out on a sand dune. When it flies away, I chase it to a small pond, the place it will get right into a brawl with a crocodile-like monster — and utterly eviscerates it. Moments like that construct Wilds really feel much less mechanical, delivering the identical pleasure that’s in its flashy cutscenes.
Excessive-level searching
This may be the piece the place you may count on me to speak about how way more approachable that loop is than earlier video games (a chorus that tends to pop up anytime there’s a unique Monster Hunter launch). That’s not the case right here. Whereas Monster Hunter Rise made for a simple onboarding level, Wilds throws gamers into the deep halt. I’m frantically scrolling by radial menus as I seek for my instruments and studying the complexities of the insect glaive on the sail. It’s as hardcore as Monster Hunter will get, which makes it really feel like a sport for veterans in comparison with Rise.
Whereas it took me a while to glean the dangle of its systems-heavy gameplay, I received again on the saddle rapidly. That permit me focus my consideration on making an attempt as many weapons as potential. This time, gamers can equip two totally different weapons at a time. Throughout one outing, I combined my twin blades with a heavy bowgun. In one other, I outfitted an ideal swords and lance. Anytime I used to be on my mount, I may press suitable on the D-pad to vary which one I introduced into battle. That breaks up the monotony of fights, as I discovered myself swapping my gear anytime I had to provide chase as a beast escaped.
Capcom
As for fight itself, you need to know what you’re moving into when you’re used to Monster Hunter. Massive weapons like remarkable swords are late and lumbering, requiring gamers to decide to each hit. Twin blades are fast by comparability, however solely attain just a few factors of injury on every slash. It’s not a sport collection identified for its quickly and snappy battles, and that carries by right here as I slowly slice beasts up with commonplace assaults, aerial hits, and specials.
Although it’s a really high-level Monster Hunter sport in that sense, I glean the sensation that it’ll be simple for newcomers to latch onto in different methods. Its extra cinematic method makes it really feel like a well-known expertise. Its open-world design feels extra releasing to discover too, as I’m not booted again to my camp as soon as I cancel a monster. My rewards pop up on the aspect of the display and I’m free to maintain operating round. Tweaks like that carry it extra in keeping with trendy video games with out giving up what makes Monster Hunter so particular.
I’ll must spend extra time with it to see how inventive its monsters glean and glean the nuances of every weapon down, however the outlook is remarkable. Monster Hunter Wilds seems like an exciting unique chapter stuffed with high-octane moments that carry the collection’ pure pleasure to floor. We might be in for certainly one of 2025’s largest hits if the complete sport capitalizes on what I’ve seen in only 90 minutes of play.
Monster Hunter Wilds launches in 2025 for PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, and PC.