If Monster Hunter World was the first huge, noticeable evolution of the long-running series, Wilds is shaping up to be a clear, exciting progression that takes many of World’s surprising change-ups a step further. Where World disposed of individual zones in each region, Wilds removes loading screens between each region and its home-base town, now located right on the map itself; where World allowed you to eat and change equipment at camp, Wilds additionally lets you pop up a portable tent; and where World introduced voiceovers to its human companions, Wilds gives voices to the Felyne Palicos. I learned all of this and more in a closed-door, hands-off demo and interview with the Monster Hunter Wilds developers at Summer Game Fest.
As is tradition, the hunt I watched started off in town, where you can eat, manage your inventory, and craft weapons and armor with the encouraging new smithy, Gemma. However, this village was established within the Windswept Plains hunting locale with no loading screens separating it from the action. In fact, the entire 30-minute demo, from preparing in town to taking down a monster and exploring, was completely seamless.
While still in town, the hunter mounted their Seikret – a new small bird wyvern type mount that the presenter mentioned is especially useful because the maps in Wilds are two times the size compared to previous games. Considering how vast the locales in World felt, this sounds massive to me.
The hunter then headed off to another small settlement in the Plains. The people here specialized in cultivating cheese and raising herbivores for livestock, and among them was a cheesemonger. After purchasing some of her wares, the NPC said “This will see gouda use.” Personally, I’m happy to see classic Monster Hunter puns still in the dialogue rotation, though I understand some may find it a bit cheesy.
Ingredients in hand, next up was to find the monster to hunt. The map in the menu now shows the area's elevation in a sort-of 3D render rather than the flat illustrated maps we’re used to, and while looking through it, our hunter chose a target for their Seikret to find and follow by way of scent. This is a more automatic approach and didn’t seem to require much action on the hunter’s part. The Seikret can even avoid monster herds on its own as it travels.
During those travels, the hunter showed off a new portable tent. The temporary structure allows you to change your equipment and eat just like in the regular tents dotted scarcely on the map. He also cooked a custom meal in the field, using the cheese purchased earlier along with some meat. Ready for a hunt, he continued on his way.
The hunter targeted an Alpha Doshaguma within a herd of the beasts. The Alpha’s larger size and redder fur differentiated it from the rest, and the hunter donned a Ghillie Mantle to approach unnoticed and initiate battle with a sneak attack. (So, mantles are back – at least this one!) Striking the monster a few times automatically triggered the start of a quest to defeat it.
Trying to fight one large monster amongst a herd looked a little chaotic but also cool, and the Seikret made it possible for the hunter to lure the crowd to a nearby narrow ravine. There, a Bahalara’s quicksand trap quickly took care of the filler Doshagumas, sucking them down into a presumably sandy grave. Unpredictably, once the clashing hunter and Doshaguma were back out in the open, a new monster appeared to shake things up. This was the “Apex” of the plains – the new wyvern shown in the most recent trailer at Summer Game Fest. Usually, this lightning-wielding Flying Wyvern (presumably) shows up with a storm, but the presenter said this time it appeared a little early. To attack, this yet-to-be-named wyvern braces itself on the ground and “closes” its plate-like horns into a pointed formation to aim a beam of electricity. It’s an attack that requires some build-up and looks especially impressive, and though it didn’t happen in my demo, I heard it had the ability to one-shot an unsuspecting (or careless) hunter.
The thunderstorm that followed impressed me — the visuals of lightning crashing down onto the sands and flashing in the background were mesmerizing. At one moment, the hunter called back to a tent on a cliff and looked off into the distance, where the storm rumbled amongst a peculiar environmental structure.
Eventually, the hunter was able to escape the new threat and tackle the alpha Doshaguma with the help of some NPCs called upon by an SOS Flare, a mechanic that allows you to “summon” other hunters seamlessly at will into your current hunt. When online, these would be other players, of course.
Though the Monster Hunter series played with getting more cinematic with World and even Rise, Wilds really takes advantage of the effect the field of view the camera can have to create additional drama and tension to battles. Upon a Power Clash, where the hunter fought off the Doshaguma with a Great Sword rammed in its mouth, the camera zoomed in so that the hunter and monster’s ferocious jaws encompassed most of the screen, adding stress to the moment.
Executive director and art director Kaname Fujioka said while they’re not trying to make Monster Hunter Wilds like a movie, they are working on utilizing the camera work to “service what we want players to focus on visually and to increase their immersion.”
Here are some more key moments and details from the demo:
- Director Yuya Tokuda said the Palico now having a voice helps the player understand what’s happening, as there are a lot of “environmental changes” and “things happening in real time.” For example, the Palico spoke and said, “Shock trap’s down and ready for you” in the demo. I can definitely see the audio cues being helpful when it’s difficult to read text in the middle of the action, but Tokuda-san assured me you can change the voice back to the familiar meows of cat-speak if you choose.
- You can now pick up and reposition barrel bombs.
- Wounds will appear on the monster as you fight it. This is a system related to Focus Mode, which allows you to specifically target attacks and guards where you aim the cursor. When you enter Focus Mode, Scoutflies will highlight the wounded areas in red. Attacking those wounds specifically, either in or outside Focus Mode, will eventually destroy them and couse damage. There are even special moves for each weapon designed to destroy wounds more quickly.
- A red line from a monster to you notes when a monster will chase you.
- Each biome in these “Forbidden Lands” have different environmental phases, and different materials will only be available during certain times. For example, the Windward Plains has dry and abundant phases, punctuated by sandstorm weather events that have severe lightning strikes.. Great Thunderbugs only appear in the plains during those thunderstorms.
- If you’re patient, you can watch the endemic life live out their lifecycles. For example, a bird building a nest, hatching eggs, and feeding its young. Fujioka said their goal with the Monster Hunter series has always been to make players feel immersed in a living ecosystem, just like a real natural environment, and intend to deepen that concept in Wilds.
- The Hunting Horn is returning to its style from World, but with some additional changes.
- The Light Bowgun and Heavy Bowgun have “received some of the most kind of broad action changes” of all the weapon types, Tokuda said.
- Tokuda said they’ve made playing through the story in multiplayer a lot more convenient in Wilds than in World, but you won’t be able to play perfectly together in sync throughout the story as there are some story elements you’ll have to witness solo before matching back up. “We’ve introduced new features in the game so that in the background, you’re always connected,” Tokuda explained. “...so as soon as you’re able to go into a quest, it matches you up quickly and you can seamlessly go back into multiplayer gameplay.”
Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds looks especially promising at this key first glance. It’s beautiful on current hardware and appears to be taking full advantage of the technical capabilities by introducing concepts like herds of large monsters and dynamic, changing environments. Of course, I’m excited to see more, and am especially eager to learn more about the finer tweaks and additions to the gameplay that will make Wilds fresh and unique. As the start of the loved Monster Hunter series’ sixth generation, it has big expectations to meet!
Casey DeFreitas is IGN's Deputy Editor, Guides. You can catch her chatting about monsters on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD
