If Monster Hunter World was the first big and notable development in the long-running series, Wilds is shaping up to be a clear and exciting progression that takes many of World’s surprising changes even further. Where World had individual zones within each region, Wilds removes loading screens between each region and its base city, now located directly on the map itself; where World allowed you to eat and change gear at camp, Wilds also lets you pitch a portable tent; and where World introduced voiceovers for its human companions, Wilds gives voices to the Felyne Palicos. I learned all this and more during a closed-door hands-on demo and interview with Monster Hunter Wilds developers at Summer Game Fest.
As is tradition, the hunt I watched started in town, where you can eat, manage your inventory, and craft weapons and armor with the encouraging new smithy, Gemma. However, this village was created In the hunting ground of the windswept plains with no loading screen separating it from the action. In fact, the entire 30-minute demo, from getting ready in town to defeating a monster and exploring, went completely smoothly.
While still in town, the Hunter mounted his Seikret – a new small-bird wyvern-type mount that the presenter says is particularly useful because the Wilds cards are twice the size of those in previous games. Considering the vastness of the locations in World, this seems huge to me.
The hunter then headed to another small village in the Plains. The people here specialized in growing cheese and breeding herbivores for livestock, among whom was a cheese maker. After purchasing some of his goods, the NPC said, “That will see gouda use.” Personally, I’m happy to see classic Monster Hunter puns still in the dialogue rotation, although I understand that some might find it a bit cheesy.
Ingredients in hand, the next step was to find the monster to hunt. The map in the menu now shows the elevation of the area in a sort of 3D rendering rather than the flat illustrated maps we’re used to, and in scanning it our hunter has chosen a target for his Seikret to find and track. scent. This is a more automatic approach that doesn’t seem to require much action on the part of the hunter. The Seikret can even avoid herds of monsters on its own during its journey.
During these trips, the hunter showed off a new portable tent. The temporary structure allows you to change equipment and eat like in the classic tents dotted around the map. He also prepared a custom meal in the field, using the cheese purchased earlier and some meat. Ready for the hunt, he continued on his way.
The hunter targeted an Alpha Doshaguma within a herd of beasts. The Alpha’s larger size and redder fur differentiated it from the others, and the Hunter would don a Ghillie Mantle to approach unnoticed and initiate battle with a sneak attack. (So the coats are back – at least this one!) Hitting the monster multiple times automatically triggered the start of a quest to defeat it.
Trying to fight a large monster in a herd seemed a bit chaotic but also cool, and the Seikret allowed the hunter to lure the crowd to a nearby narrow ravine. There, a Bahalara quicksand trap quickly dealt with the filling Doshagumas, sucking them into a presumably sandy grave. Unpredictably, once the Hunter and Doshaguma were back in the open, a new monster appeared to shake things up. This was the “peak” of the plains – the new wyvern featured in the most recent Summer Game Fest trailer. Usually this lightning-wielding flying wyvern (presumably) appears with a storm, but the presenter said that this time it appeared a little early. To attack, this yet-to-be-named wyvern leans on the ground and “closes” its plate-like horns into a pointed formation to direct a beam of electricity. It’s an attack that requires some preparation and looks particularly impressive, and while it didn’t happen in my demo, I heard that it has the ability to one-shot a unsuspecting (or unwary) hunter.
The thunderstorm that followed impressed me – the images of lightning crashing into the sand and flashing in the background were fascinating. At one point, the hunter recalled a tent located on a cliff and looked into the distance, where the storm was brewing amid a peculiar environmental structure.
Eventually, the Hunter was able to escape the new threat and take on Alpha Doshaguma with the help of some NPCs called by an SOS Flare, a mechanic that allows you to “summon” other Hunters seamlessly and at will in your current hunt. Online, it would of course be other players.
Although the Monster Hunter series has tried to become more cinematic with World and even Rise, Wilds really takes advantage of the effect that the camera’s field of view can have to create additional drama and tension in battles. During a Power Clash, where the Hunter fought the Doshaguma with a large sword stuck in his mouth, the camera zoomed in so that the fierce jaws of the Hunter and the monster encompassed most of the screen, adding stress at the time.
Executive director and art director Kaname Fujioka said that while they weren’t trying to make Monster Hunter Wilds like a movie, they were working on using camera work to “serve what we want players to focus on.” visually concentrate and to increase their immersion.
Here are some key moments and additional details from the demo:
- Director Yuya Tokuda said that the fact that Palico now has a voice helps the player understand what is happening, as there are a lot of “environmental changes” and “things that happen in real time.” For example, the Palico spoke and said, “The shock trap is down and ready for you” in the demo. I can definitely see the audio cues being useful when it’s difficult to read text in the middle of the action, but Tokuda-san assured me that you can unmute the voice back to the familiar cat meows if you want. .
- You can now pick up and reposition barrel bombs.
- Wounds will appear on the monster when you fight it. This is a system tied to Focus Mode, which allows you to specifically target attacks and guards where you point the cursor. When you enter Focus Mode, Scoutflies will highlight injured areas in red. Specifically attacking these wounds, whether in or out 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 connecting a monster to you indicates when a monster is chasing you.
- Each biome in these “Forbidden Lands” has different environmental phases, and different materials will only be available during certain periods. For example, the Windward Plains experience dry and abundant phases, punctuated by sandstorms accompanied by violent lightning. Great Lightnings only appear on the plains during these storms.
- If you are patient, you can watch endemic life go through its life cycle. For example, a bird builds a nest, hatches its eggs and feeds its young. Fujioka said his goal with the Monster Hunter series has always been to allow players to feel immersed in a living ecosystem, just like a real natural environment, and intends to further this concept in Wilds.
- The Hunting Horn returns to its World style, but with a few additional changes.
- The Light Bowgun and Heavy Bowgun have “received some of the most extensive action changes” of any weapon type, Tokuda said.
- Tokuda said that they made multiplayer play much more convenient in Wilds than in World, but you won’t be able to play perfectly together and in sync throughout the story because there are certain story elements that you will need to play together and in sync throughout the story. be witness. solo before going back. “We introduced new features to the game so that in the background you are always connected,” Tokuda explained. “…So as soon as you’re able to jump into a quest, it gets to you quickly and you can easily jump back into the multiplayer game.”
Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds looks particularly promising at this first glance. It looks stunning on current hardware and seems to take full advantage of technical capabilities by introducing concepts like herds of large monsters and dynamic, changing environments. Of course, I can’t wait to see more, and I’m especially eager to learn more about the finer tweaks and additions to the gameplay that will make Wilds new and unique. As the start of the sixth generation of the beloved Monster Hunter series, it has high expectations to meet!
Casey DeFreitas is IGN’s Assistant Guides Editor. You can catch her discussing monsters on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD