The Monster Hunter franchise includes a collection of fantasy-themed action role-playing games that kicked off 20 years ago on the PlayStation 2. And along the way, the series has featured enormous weapons, gigantic monsters and king-sized hack-and-slash battles. But the latest high-def entry, Monster Hunter Wilds, promises fans bigger and better, uh, everything!
Frankly, those past monster-hunting games have focused far more on the details of mashing beasties and building better equipment than worrying about a background story. But the newest entrydoes some heavy lifting in the narrative area, too.
This go ’round, the story begins with a group of explorers piloting their airship over the Forbidden Lands. They’re trying to keep track of any potential dangers that might slip out of that foreboding and deadly place. But soon they spot an unconscious boy in an uncharted region that they had believed quite uninhabitable by humans.
After rescuing the youth, whose name is Nata, they learn that not only are there indeed hidden, ancient tribes in the jungles and wastelands of the Forbidden Lands, but the boy’s village was attacked by something called a White Wraith, a monster previously thought to be extinct.
There seems to be no choice but to summon a recently promoted Hunter (you) to send out as Nata’s guardian. The Hunter will gather a team of experts—a cat-like Palico companion; a guild handler named Alma; Gemma, a skilled blacksmith; and several other hunter veterans—to escort Nata home and investigate the dangerous White Wraith sighting.
Let the hunt begin.
The gameplay in Monster Hunter Wilds features an incredibly detailed character creation system. It’s something that these Capcom games have become known for in the past. And this one pulls out all the stops as you create, literally, any protagonist look you desire: from a skimpily dressed and statuesque beauty to fully armored Samurai, just to describe a couple of options.
Then it’s all about interacting with Forbidden Land natives. You’ll determine which parts of the broad open maps to explore; gather materials to craft weapons and armor; and getting your monster-hunting gear in order.
Gamers have 14 different types of massively potent weapons at their disposal, all tied to new moves and action sets. The AI companions join your quests to heal you, set traps, warn you about incoming attacks and leap into battle with you.
Oh, and all of that firepower is quite necessary, since the monsters in this game are incredibly huge and powerful creatures. How huge and powerful, you ask? Well, let’s just say that each of them can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to beat. Regarding their appearance, these creatures look like freakish blends of everything from roosters and dragons to gorillas, lions, tigers and bears, oh my. No matter how enormous your blade or hammer is, it sometimes feels as if you’re barely giving this mountain-sized beasty a hangnail as you whale away at it over and over.
On that monstery front, there is also a new “wounding” mechanic in the hunting mix. When you hit an enemy repeatedly in the same place, its hide will start to show scratches and then open gashes. That open wound then racks up more damage points when struck, and it can cause the monster to limp or flinch.
The gamealso features a new “Focus Mode” that gives players the ability to specifically lock in and target monster body parts. This helps gamers avoid whiffing over and over as they swing their eight-foot-long blades.
Monster Hunter Wilds also has a very elaborate multiplayer and co-op system for online gameplay. Players can log into an online link, for instance, that will “quest call” random players or friend battlers into action during a monster engagement. Crossplay between Xbox, PlayStation and Steam PC is possible and automatically enabled. Gamers can also play offline in solo mode with NPC assistants.
If you relish the idea of chasing down gargantuan ice dragons and outlandishly bizarre monsters to save small villages of defenseless people, this is your game. (The ancient tribes have for some reason never developed weapons to defend against these roving monstrosities.)
The game’s milieu is visually lush and detailed. (Though it’s been reported that older, lower-spec gaming PCs have struggled to render these immersive visuals.) And the battling mechanics are smooth and relatively easy for Monster Hunter beginners to slip into.
Truth be told, despite the increased story focus, Monster Hunter Wilds is still all about the battles. And many players will skip past the character interactions as quickly as possible because of that.
Gamers wield enormous swords, hammers, axes, bows and other specialized contraptions to bash away at dragons, spider monsters and dinosaurs. Amid the screeching bellows and explosive impacts, blood spatters and wounds open up on creatures’ hides.
The monsters also have a variety of deadly attacks that include slashing claws, spewed toxins and huge sharp-toothed maws. One large, boar-like creature, for instance, turns its backside to its attackers and batters them with large bursts of brown, cloud-like gas. Another tries to lick its foes to death with a huge slavering tongue. Monsters defecate and urinate.
Also, some female characters regularly display cleavage and lots of eye-catching toned flesh.
If you’re into the idea of battling building-sized beasties in lengthy campaigns with buddies or random strangers, Monster Hunter Wilds could well be the battler you’re looking for.
Just keep the T-rated peril and goop in mind before you or someone in your family logs on.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
Our weekly newsletter will keep you in the loop on the biggest things happening in entertainment and technology. Sign up today, and we’ll send you a chapter from the new Plugged In book, Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, that focuses on how to implement a “screentime reset” in your family!
