If Monster Hunter World was the first big, notable evolution of the long-running series, Wilds becomes a clear, exciting progression that takes many of World’s surprising changes a step further. Where World removed separate zones in each region, Wilds removes loading screens between each region and the home base, which is now located directly on the map itself; where World allowed you to eat and change gear at camp, Wilds additionally lets you set up a portable tent; and where World introduced voiceovers for his human companions, Wilds provides voices to the Felyne Palicos. I learned all this and more during a behind-closed-doors hands-off demo and interview with the Monster Hunter Wilds developers at Summer Game Fest.
Traditionally, the hunt I watched began in town, where you can eat, manage your inventory, and craft weapons and equipment with the encouraging new forge, Gemma. However, this village was founded inside the Windswept Plains hunting location with no loading screens separating it from the action. In fact, the entire 30-minute demo, from getting ready in the city to taking down a monster and exploring, was completely seamless.
While still in town, the hunter mounted his Seikret – a new wyvern-like mount for small birds that the presenter mentioned is especially useful as the maps in Wilds are twice as large compared to previous games. Considering how vast the locations in World felt, this sounds huge to me.
The hunter then left for another small settlement in the plains. The people here specialized in growing cheese and breeding herbivores for livestock, including a cheese farmer. After purchasing some of her wares, the NPC said, “We’ll 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 was finding the monster to hunt. The map in the menu now shows the elevation of the area in a sort of 3D view instead of the flat illustrated maps we’re used to, and as we looked through it our hunter chose a target for his Seikret to find and track by through scent. This is a more automatic approach and didn’t seem to require much action on the part of the hunter. The Seikret can even avoid monster herds on its own while traveling.
During those trips, the hunter showed off a new portable tent. The temporary structure allows you to change gear and eat, just like in the regular tents that are barely on the map. He also cooked a custom meal in the field, using the previously purchased cheese and some meat. Ready for the hunt, he continued his way.
The hunter targeted an Alpha Doshaguma within a herd of beasts. The Alpha’s larger size and redder coat set him apart from the rest, and the fighter donned a Ghillie cloak to approach undetected and begin the battle with a sneak attack. (So cloaks are back – at least this one!) Hitting the monster a few times automatically triggered the start of a quest to defeat it.
Trying to fight a large monster among a herd looked a bit chaotic but also cool, and the Seikret made it possible for the hunter to draw the crowd into a nearby narrow ravine. There, a Bahalara’s quicksand trap quickly filled Doshagumas and sucked them down into a suspected sand grave. Unpredictably, as soon as the clashing fighter and Doshaguma were back in the open, a new monster seemed 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 fast Flying Wyvern appears (presumably). of a storm, but the presenter said it seemed a bit early this time. To attack, this yet-to-be-named wyvern braces itself on the ground and “locks” its plate-like horns into a pointed formation to direct a beam of electricity. It’s an attack that requires some build-up and looks extremely impressive, and while this didn’t happen in my demo, I heard it had the ability to one-shot an unsuspecting (or careless) fighter.
The storm that followed made an impression on me; the images of lightning crashing on the sand and flashing in the background were fascinating. At one point, the hunter called back to a tent on a cliff and looked into the distance, where the storm was rumbling among a peculiar environmental structure.
Ultimately, the hunter was able to escape the new threat and tackle the alpha Doshaguma with the help of some NPCs summoned by an SOS Flare, a mechanic that allows you to seamlessly “summon” other hunters at will to your current hunt. When you’re online, these are of course other players.
While the Monster Hunter series played to become more cinematic with World and even Rise, Wilds really takes advantage of the effect the camera’s field of view can have to create extra drama and tension in battles. In a Power Clash, where the fighter fought the Doshaguma with a Great Sword in his mouth, the camera zoomed in so that the ferocious jaws of the fighter and the monster took up most of the screen, heightening the tension of the moment.
Executive director and art director Kaname Fujioka said that while they are not trying to make Monster Hunter Wilds like a movie, they are working to use the camerawork to “serve what we want players to focus on visually and increase their immersion. ”
Here are some more key moments and details from the demo:
- Director Yuya Tokuda said that the Palico now having a voice helps the player understand what is happening, as there are many “changes in the environment” and “things happen in real time.” For example, the Palico spoke up and said, “The shock trap is disabled and ready for you” in the demo. I can definitely see the audio cues being useful when it’s hard to read text in the middle of the action, but Tokuda-san assured me that you can change the voice back to the familiar cat-speak meow if you want.
- You can now pick up and move 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 point the cursor. When you activate Focus Mode, Scoutflies will highlight the wounded areas in red. Targeting these wounds specifically, both inside and outside of Focus Mode, will eventually destroy them and deal damage. There are even special moves for each weapon, designed to destroy wounds faster.
- A red line from a monster to you indicates when a monster will chase you.
- Each biome in these ‘Forbidden Lands’ has different environmental phases, and different materials will only be available at certain times. For example, the Windward Plains experience dry and abundant phases, interrupted by sandstorm weather events with severe lightning strikes. Large thunderstorms only appear in the plains during those thunderstorms.
- If you are patient, you can watch the endemic life go through its life cycle. For example, a bird builds a nest, hatches eggs and feeds its young. Fujioka said that their goal with the Monster Hunter series has always been to give players the feeling of being immersed in a living ecosystem, just like a real natural environment, and that they plan to deepen that concept in Wilds.
- De Jachthoorn returns to the style of World, but with some additional changes.
- The Light Bowgun and Heavy Bowgun have “received some of the broadest action changes” of all weapon types, Tokuda said.
- Tokuda said that they have made playing the story in multiplayer a lot more convenient in Wilds than in World, but you won’t be able to play together in perfect sync throughout the entire story as there are some story elements that you have to witness are. solo before backing up. “We’ve introduced new features to the game so you’re always connected in the background,” Tokuda explains. “…so once you’re able to start a quest, it’ll quickly match up and you’ll be able to jump back into multiplayer gameplay seamlessly.”
Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds looks extremely promising from this important first look. It’s beautiful on current hardware and seems to make the most of its technical capabilities, introducing concepts like herds of large monsters and dynamic, changing environments. Of course I’m eager to see more, and I especially want to know more about the finer tweaks and additions to the gameplay that will make Wilds fresh and unique. Kicking off the sixth generation of the beloved Monster Hunter series, the series has great expectations!
Casey DeFreitas is IGN’s deputy editor, Guides. You can see her talking about monsters on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD