Posted by Now that I’ve cleared most of what Monster Hunter Wilds has to offer, relatively speaking, and its first title update is just around the corner, I’m better able to share my overall thoughts on the game. I won’t be covering the high rank story since it’s rather barebones and serves as a mechanism for unlocking more monsters and game mechanics, so fair warning that from this point on I’ll be discussing the entire roster and all mechanics present in the game.
Monster Hunter Wilds is very fun. The combat feels incredibly smooth, and all of the fights are super fun. Each monster feels unique and engaging. For the most part. I have some gripes with the monster roster that I’ll dive into later. As for combat, focus mode and the wound system are both awesome additions that I thoroughly enjoy. The ability to have a second weapon equipped also makes a serious difference. I main bow as my weapon of choice, and it’s been super fun picking up and using dual blades more. While using bow, focus mode is always active, and I really appreciate some of the changes and leniency it adds, such as allowing dragon piercer to be aimed 360* instead of the more restricted 90* or so of past games. I can only assume that the other weapons have received similar changes that make them all feel even better and more satisfying to use. The wound system is also incredibly satisfying, allowing you to visually weaken parts of a monster before popping it to deal massive damage, and sometimes even stagger or knockdown the monster. Overall, combat is arguably the best it’s ever been in the series.
Another area where the game excels is with the roster of monsters, for the most part. The roster feels incredibly diverse with each fight feeling unique and like its own. Gone is the issue of the samey and forgettable fights of Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise (the two games I’m familiar with). No monster feels wasted in this game (for the most part). The one area where the game falters in this regard is with the size of the roster. The game boasts 29 different large monsters. That’s a disappointingly small amount when compared with other games in the series. Similarly, elder dragons–the pinnacle of challenge and strongest monsters in the series–are noticeably absent as well. While the lacking elder dragons is more of a frustration than a real complaint, their absence definitely impacts some of the approaches to endgame buildcrafting. The total roster size is also misleading seeing as of the 29 monsters, three of them are palette swap variants of monsters already in the game, bringing the uniqueness of the roster down to 26. Sure these variants have their own gear, but they’re still basically palette swaps, even if thematically appropriate ones at that. In addition, the final boss of the game’s story can only be fought once, further reducing the effective roster size to 27 (there’s actually another monster that can only be fought but it’s also a variant so it’s not as big of a deal). That’s really disappointing, especially because the final boss is awesome and could have had such cool gear. Now, part of me thinks the roster size wouldn’t have been as disappointing if Capcom hadn’t revealed 21 of those monsters ahead of time through teasers and trailers. Knowing over 2/3 of the roster before going in really sucks, kinda like when a band drops a ten song album, but half of the songs were released ahead of time as singles. Furthermore, of the eight monsters not revealed ahead of time, three are the palette swap variants. One of the unrevealed monsters was also Rathalos, which frankly doesn’t count because it’s Rathalos–the face of the series that’s present in every single game. That means that only four monsters weren’t revealed, and one of them was the final boss. That’s incredibly disappointing in my opinion. I’m seriously hoping that the title updates, and especially the first one, are able to help flesh out the roster a little more.
All that being said, the roster is the biggest weakness with the game. Everything else is fantastic, at least once you beat the low rank story and have the game open up to you. The low rank story railroading is definitely annoying, but once it’s done it’s done.
Turning to buildcrafting, it’s serviceable. Sure it has some issues and limitations, but the eventual DLC will solve those problems down the line. Given the state of the game and its difficulty right after release, it’s fine. We don’t need these crazy godmode endgame builds yet, so it makes sense that the game doesn’t give us those options yet. Though it is disappointing that there are only a few armor sets of the highest rarity; the ability to upgrade every weapon to the highest rarity is fantastic though, as is the return to unique and interesting weapon designs. Similarly, the return of RNG decorations, while less than ideal, is still way better than it was in World. Now, any high rank monster drops decorations, and you can craft level ones and twos at the elder melder. That means that only level three decos are RNG, which is a lot easier to deal with given the scarcity of level three deco slots. Even at that, the game offers plenty of ways to get those decorations anyways.
Also returning from World are tempered monsters. Tempered monsters are stronger versions of the game’s roster; they deal more damage, have more health, and so on. They come in three tiers, and drop endgame material of the associated quality. I actually really like the return of tempered monsters. They make sense in the context of the game being monsters that have survived harsh conditions and grown more powerful as a result. As for the endgame materials, the new system is crafting Artian weapons. Artian weapons are reminiscent of the Safi’jiva weapon system from World mixed with other weapon crafting components. The central strength of Artian weapons is being able to craft the perfect weapon that you want to make. It’s honestly a super cool system that I really look forward to exploring and messing around with.
Overall, I really like Monster Hunter Wilds. It’s a fantastic game in spite of its flaws. The game isn’t perfect, and that’s ok. I wholeheartedly expect future updates to fix elements of the game, such as adding in a room you can customize with endemic life you catch out in the world. There are also plenty of other quality of life features, such as looting materials from a distance and being able to end quests immediately, but I’m not knowledgeable enough to comment on every nitty gritty advance the game has when compared with older ones. If you’re new to Monster Hunter or a returning hunter, I highly recommend giving Wilds a try.
Broad Scope Entertainment 