Monster Hunter Wilds at a glance: makes you want more, despite exhausting menus
The latest instalment had me gripped with hunting fever, and I’m only a newbie to the title. Unfortunately, I had to spend too much time in menus, which interrupted play. Here’s my initial verdict after roughly ten hours of gaming.
In Monster Hunter Wilds, the extensive character options let me create the hunter of my dreams. After that, I plunge into the stylish story sequences and learn the hunter’s craft.
Here’s a typical scenario: in the quest menu, I select a mission where I have to find and kill a monster. Before I set off on the hunt, I check my inventory and realise there’s a few items I don’t have. So I go to the crafting menu and quickly make a shock trap – this’ll come in handy later.
As soon as I’ve crafted all the items I need, I prepare a delicious meal. This increases my health and stamina. Now everything seems good to go, so I set off on my Seikret, a bird that takes me swiftly to my destination and keeps me company, alongside the cute Palico cat.
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After a short ride through a brightly coloured area, collecting all kinds of useful ingredients along the way, I finally reach the monster I have to kill for my quest. I don’t really have any great tactics yet, so I skilfully jump off my Seikret and ram my blades into the beast.
Blow after blow crashes down on the unsuspecting monster. It’s easier to do damage with the double blades as soon as the monster has its first wounds, so I put my shock trap near it. When it falls into the trap, the slaughter starts. Not long after, I gut it and ask the blacksmith if I can make some nice equipment from the loot.
And so, the cycle of Monster Hunter Wilds begins.
Great monster hunt with all the trappings
I’ve just described the loop that captivates me within the first few hours of Monster Hunter Wilds. The name of the game says it all. If you’re hunting for wild monsters, you need to be well prepared, but you’ll keep being rewarded with epic battle sequences.
Let’s start from the beginning. A good monster hunter needs the right equipment, including one of fourteen weapons. A quiz helps you choose the right armaments for your style of play. However, you’ll still have to practise a lot on the training ground to master the weapons.
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As a hunter, I start by dealing a few blows with the longsword, shield and sword before I decide to use the double blades.
You can improve your weapons in a similar way to armour by going to Gemma the blacksmith. It then becomes clear why you actually take the monsters apart and dissect them, each monster has its own armour set and weapon. Defeated monsters allow you to produce stronger equipment to slay beasts that are even more powerful. Didn’t I tell you it was a cycle?
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In the first few hours, you follow a central theme through the main story, introducing you to useful features step-by-step, such as preparing food or the crafting menu. This is how you gradually uncover different areas full of collectibles and monsters. From harmless herbivores to mammal-like beasts and dragons, the game includes everything, just as in previous spin-offs.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t hook me. The developers at Capcom have espoused the generic and used chic cutscenes and scripted rides through the overworld as a means of hammering home the plot. The only highlights are the epic battles against special monsters that you have to fight over and over again during the story.
I don’t think that’s wrong in itself, but the question inevitably arises: why waste so much time on the secondary story? I’d much rather be on the hunt than in cutscenes or scripted events.
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Getting distracted from the hunt is annoying
This brings me to the next disruptive factor. I realise that preparing thoroughly for a hunt can feel rewarding. That’s why I’m always delighted when a monster runs into a trap I’ve made, as it puts the creature out of action for a few precious seconds.
But at the same time, it’s annoying how much extra you have to do alongside the monster hunt. Most of the processes I’ve already described take place via menus. It feels like I spend as much time there as I do hunting. I either find out about monsters or run through populated areas to find the right NPC or building to prep for something else.
While I get that this is also meant to heighten the immersive experience, if half of the monster hunt is just poring over menus and data, it feels like a let-down. Avalanches of text aren’t fun.
The developers could’ve found a more natural way to incorporate the monsters’ distinctive features, behaviour and how they benefit the local ecosystem. For instance, I’d have loved to find out from my skilled expedition companions why there was currently a monster in the area and which weak points have been spotted so far.
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My hope is that I’ll get used to navigating through the avalanches of menus the longer I play. Monster Hunter Wilds is supposed to be particularly accessible for newcomers like me, but this offshoot also has a steep learning curve.
I’m excited to seehow things pan out in the next few days before the release and whether I’ll become something of a veteran by then. The hunt has definitely made me hungry for more.
You’ll find my final verdict in my detailed review, which will hopefully include testing out the game’s online features. These weren’t available at the time of writing.
Monster Hunter Wilds will be released on 28 February 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Capcom kindly gave me a copy of the PS5 version to review.
Header image: Capcom
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Cassie Mammone
Freelance Editor
cassandra.mammone@gmail.comI wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.
