Monster Hunter Wilds a hunt worth joining (Capcom)The follow-up to Monster Hunter: World is finally here and its easily the best in the series so far, with an expanded open world and improved combat.Monster Hunter celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and it seems fair to say its never been so popular. Its always been big in Japan being almost single-handedly responsible for the success of the PSP handheld console but ever since the aptly named 2018s Monster Hunter: World its been popular everywhere else as well.Theres always been a fairly arbitrary distinction as to what is and isnt a mainline entry and while Wilds is being positioned by publisher and developer Capcom as the true successor to World, it also takes some influence from 2021s Monster Hunter Rise which started off as a Nintendo Switch exclusive.The Monster Hunter series relies on slow evolution rather than sudden change but by the standards of the franchise Wilds is a big step forward in a number of areas, even if its key pleasures, and most obvious faults, remain the same as always.A lot of the new features have been added following discussions with fans, about what they want to see added and changed, but were not sure many of them were desperate for Capcom to spend much time worrying about the storytelling. Previous games have had very little plot, but Wilds purposefully has a lot more cut scenes than usual, even if the characters are still paper thin and desperately uninteresting.The problem with having too much story in Monster Hunter is the same as in the Pokmon games, where trying to justify a society based almost solely on capturing, or in this case killing and resource-mining, wild animals all starts to seem a bit distasteful. Sensibly, Wilds tries not to dwell on that too much, but its story of lost civilisations and previously unknown monsters is not terribly gripping.The story segments dont even look particularly good, when theyre not pre-rendered, with background characters teleporting in and out of scenes and an ugly dithering effect straight out of a Switch game. This is strange because the wider game world, and the monsters, look fantastic and are easily the best the series has seen.While Worlds was open world, Wilds expands the concept further so that the village hub that you return to at the end of a hunt is now a part of that world and not some separate, dislocated location. Not only that but the various biomes are all persistent, so if you bring down a rock formation or farm one area for smaller creatures, they dont suddenly reset back to their original state if you leave and come back.How does Monster Hunter Wilds work?If youre not familiar with the series, the main gameplay loop for Monster Hunter is very straightforward even if the implementation is not. Although there are now story missions that can focus more on exploration and unique set pieces, generally each one sets you the goal of defeating a particular monster, whose carcass you can then butcher for resources needed to make new armour, weapons, and other items (the game is entirely bloodless, which you could argue is somewhat hypocritical, given what youre doing).Often, monsters have to be tracked down or coaxed into the open, and most will end up running off multiple times in a battle. You always enter combat with a bipedal cat-like creature called a Palico, which can offer some assistance in terms of healing items and acting as a distraction, but ideally you want to be playing with up to four people in online co-op, which is where much of the games popularity comes from even though you can also play on your own and with computer-controlled allies.All of this is the same for Wilds but the one benefit of the new focus on storytelling is a wider range of bespoke missions where its not simply go here and kill this. A lot of the plot involves searching for a long lost expedition, which leads to unique set pieces where you werent initially on the hunt for monsters but they suddenly turn up anyway.At the same time, some missions are investigations to find where a particular monster is on a map, for later reference, while creature can have different statuses, such as frenzied monsters and tempered monsters (that have survived multiple battles) which are tougher but make the process of fighting the same creature again and again in order to gain enough resources to craft items a lot more enjoyable. They also help to alleviate inevitable veteran complaints that Wilds is too easy. The Seikret come in very handy (Capcom)There are two main reasons Western gamers were put off of Monster Hunter for so long, the most obvious being the lack of robust online options, which Worlds fixed. The other is the games continuing problem with accessibility. Press the Start button and suddenly the full user interface is revealed, and it looks like the control panel for a jumbo jet.Wilds makes a much better effort than before with tutorials, many of which pop back multiple times when the game thinks you might have forgotten something which is very useful. But as shallow as Capcom try to make the learning curve its still huge and asks an awful lot from completely new players.Another long-standing point of contention has been that while there are 14 weapon types (surprisingly there are no new ones this time round) the vast majority are very slow and unwieldy to use, the absolute opposite of what youd expect of a Capcom action game. This always used to be a stumbling block for us, in appreciating the series, but over the years weve come to enjoy the unique pace of the game and how it forces you to consider every attack and wait for your moment.That said, Wilds introduces a new Focus mode which revolves around using a more direct, over the shoulder camera view that lets you target already injured body parts and is very satisfying when you get a direct hit on a weak point. You dont have to do this though and while the array of options may take a while to learn youve got a great deal of freedom in how you take monsters down, depending on the weapons you use, the various traps and potions at your disposal, and how you organise your teamwork with other players.The idea of tricking monsters into fighting each other is also expanded upon, with the game making it more obvious that some are the prey of other creatures, which helps to bring them out into the open and/or soften them up. Theres generally a lot more monsters on screen at once too, with an attempt to portray herd behaviour when theyre both moving and under attack, with the monsters able to roam the whole open world map just as easily as you.Wilds introduces a new mount named Seikret, which is a chocobo type creature that will move towards your target automatically if you let it. They can also be ridden in combat and can carry a second weapon for you to swap to if you need it, which reduces the chance of you being stuck with the wrong tool for the job.This helps to make traversal a lot easier and quicker, especially as you still have the grappling hook style slinger from World, which as well as being used to grab items can also trigger rock falls and the like from a distance.More TrendingThere is probably no way to make Monster Hunter instantly accessible, in the way some non-believers would like, without removing most of the depth and peculiarities that are at the heart of its appeal. It can still be frustrating, when you forget how a particular system works or struggle with the slow wind-up of many of the weapons, but the game has to be that way or thered be no satisfaction in getting it right.Wilds isnt a breakthrough like Worlds, but it is a better game and by a fairly clear margin. If it had been made brand new today, as the first in the franchise, theres no way it would be this complex and esoteric. But its long lineage, and less instinctive elements, have become part of a very welcome legacy, that helps to retain the series distinctiveness and protect it against the ravages of execs trying to make it more streamlined and instinctive.Monster Hunter is what it is and hopefully that will never change, especially as Monster Hunter Wilds is the best the series has ever been.Monster Hunter Wilds review summaryIn Short: An excellent follow-up to Monster Hunter World, which expands the formula in a number of useful and exciting ways, without streamlining the heart out of the franchise.Pros: The new style of open world works great and new features such as the Seikret are welcome. Focus mode is very satisfying to use and the core combat and co-op action is as enjoyable as ever.Cons: Being the most accessible Monster Hunter ever doesnt really mean that much. Predictably poor storytelling and a lack of new weapon types is surprising.Score: 9/10Formats: PlayStation 5 (previewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: 64.99Publisher: CapcomDeveloper: CapcomRelease Date: 28th February 2025Age Rating: 16 Some weapons are more difficult to wield than others (Capcom)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.ArrowMORE: Games Inbox: Is Mario better than Astro Bot?GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy