Title (JP): モンスターハンターワイルズ
Title (EN): Monster Hunter Wilds
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform: PS5, PC
Release Date: 28 February, 2025
Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest installment in Capcom’s long-running Monster Hunter series. Following the global success of Monster Hunter World, Wilds attempts to push the franchise forward with some new features and mechanics. However, while the game offers some interesting new additions, it ultimately falls short in key areas, feeling shallow and lacking what made World and direct predecessor Rise so compelling.
Monster Hunter Wilds does mostly deliver on the visual front, with the PS5 version doing a good job with high-fidelity graphics that bring the game’s environments and creatures to life. Additionally, quality-of-life improvements like faster item gathering, cosmetic settings for equipment, and some shortcut options do make the game a bit better.
The biggest addition, however, is focus mode, which lets you aim your attacks and do things like rotate a great sword strike mid-swing, which makes targeting specific parts of monsters far easier, and making the slower weapons, which traditionally missed more, far more powerful.
The roster of new monsters also adds variety to the game, and many weapons get cool new moves, giving a fresh spin to familiar weapons.
Despite its visual fidelity, however, Wilds frequently falls short in terms of overall graphic design. The weather system, which introduces environmental changes, can make many areas appear dark and washed-out, and this is the default during much of the main story. This makes the game’s environments feel less vibrant compared to World and Rise. It does not help that one of the environments feels horribly washed-out to begin with, with basically everything being grey. And while the game does have a few moments of big spectacles, they don’t really come anywhere close to the ones seen in World.
In terms of gameplay, too, Wilds feels like a step backward, particularly when compared to Monster Hunter Rise. The Seikret mount, intended to improve mobility, is a huge step backward compared to Rise’s Canyne mount, feeling extremely cumbersome in comparison.
Additionally, while the game clearly seems to be trying to be more accessible to newer players to the franchise with a significantly lower difficulty level and narrative focus, many of the core systems- like figuring out where to get certain materials for crafting, or some aspects of menu navigation, or even just figuring out your weapon’s move list- are still a confusing mess, remaining poorly explained, and can be hard to figure out even by returning players who have not touched a Monster Hunter game in some time, let alone newcomers.
The aforementioned significantly lower difficulty also makes the overall experience feel shallow. The action no longer has the same degree of excitement or challenge seen in previous entries, and when combined with less movement options, the combat just feels less dynamic and fun than it was in Rise. The fact that Wilds remains easy all the way through to the High Rank content is very disappointing: This reviewer completed all the story content available on release without any trouble, only dying twice the whole time, which speaks volumes about how the game lacks the difficulty curve that has historically defined the series.
The story, which the game pushes at the player harder than ever before in the series, also fails to impress. It’s clear that an effort to inject more narrative into the game was made, but the results are far from satisfactory. The story feels meandering and far too drawn out, with unlikable characters who constantly talk (and they talk a lot), but almost never have anything to actually say.
While the game does not feel incomplete at launch in the same way Rise did, with its ending being clearly missing, it is worth noting that Capcom tends to add significant post-launch content to Monster Hunter games, and Wilds is no exception, with updates adding new monsters already announced. It is also highly likely that additional story content and a more substantial final boss will be added in future updates. But while Wilds does not feel like it is missing critical content at launch the way Rise did, it still does come off as rather shallow nonetheless due to other factors.
Ultimately, Monster Hunter Wilds fails to live up to the standards set by its predecessors. While it introduces a few new features, they fail to do anything to elevate the game above what was already accomplished by World and Rise. The lack of depth, lackluster story, and unbelievably easy difficulty make it feel like a huge letdown. For fans of the series, it may still be worth checking out, but we have to say that Wilds misses the mark in one too many critical areas.
The Good: Decent graphic fidelity, new monsters adding variety to the roster, and refreshing new moves for weapons
The Bad: Boring story filled with annoying characters who talk a lot but have nothing to say. Lacks the spectacle or depth of World, and the gameplay feels like a step backward from Rise. Very easy difficulty.
Conclusion: Monster Hunter Wilds, judged on its own merits, is not a bad game. However, it fails to live up to the potential set by World and Rise. Its shallow gameplay, lackluster story, and overly easy difficulty prevent it from being a truly compelling entry in the series. That said, post-release content has the potential to improve the experience and add depth to the game.
