Summary
- Monster Hunter Wilds introduces the Forbidden Lands, challenging assumptions about the Old World.
- The Forbidden Lands hint at a larger, more populated Old World, offering rich lore and diverse gameplay possibilities.
- The series' future is now likely going to be focused on exploring civilizations and narratives, changing the Hunter's Guild's role to diplomat.
Since its inception, Capcom's Monster Hunter series has repeatedly taken players back to the same world, though its various installments have explored different regions and continents throughout that world. Monster Hunter lore has always suggested a shared universe where the Hunter's Guild oversees monster research, hunting regulations, and expeditions into uncharted territories. However, each entry introduces new locations that often have little direct connection to those featured previously. Unlike almost every other installment apart from Monster Hunter: World, Monster Hunter: Wilds explicitly references a brand-new world for players to explore, separate from the established regions seen in previous entries.
Whereas Monster Hunter: World was set in the New World, though, Monster Hunter Wilds is set in the Forbidden Lands, a region within the Old World, where the series was always set prior to Monster Hunter: World. Unlike the New World, the Forbidden Lands have been isolated for over a thousand years, suggesting a long-lost or hidden region within the established Monster Hunter world. This inadvertently opens the door to massive possibilities regarding Monster Hunter's future.
Monster Hunter Wilds' Combat System Feels More Cinematic Than Ever
Monster Hunter Wilds pulls out all the stops to ensure its gameplay isn't only engaging, but also achieves a level of unprecedented spectacle.
What Monster Hunter Wilds' Forbidden Lands Mean for the Series' Future
The Forbidden Lands' Indigenous Civilizations Challenge the Hunter's Guild's Assumptions About the Old World
Until Monster Hunter Wilds, the Hunter's Guild was the leading group of experts on the Old World, with knowledge spanning generations useful for providing hunters with the information they need to protect the world and its inhabitants from harm. Monster Hunter Wilds' Forbidden Lands changed that narrative, however, as not only were the lands itself left unexplored for thousands of years, but they were home to thriving civilizations, challenging the Hunter's Guild's assumptions about the Old World.
Unlike the New World, the Forbidden Lands have been isolated for over a thousand years, suggesting a long-lost or hidden region within the established Monster Hunter world.
The discovery of the Forbidden Lands in Monster Hunter Wilds and the indigenous civilizations within it carries weighty implications about just how far the Old World extends. Ultimately, its existence suggests that the Old World is much larger and more populated than the Hunter's Guild previously believed, therefore hinting at a rich history yet to be uncovered and potentially even brand-new, unfamiliar regions beyond the confines of their knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, while the role of the Hunter's Guild has always been to explore and study uncharted territories, the civilizations housed within the Forbidden Lands urge them now to navigate diplomatic relations with unfamiliar peoples.
Monster Hunter Wilds' Forbidden Lands Offer Unique Opportunities for Future Games
The lore implications of Monster Hunter Wilds' Forbidden Lands are clear. Firstly, future Monster Hunter games will now have a chance to explore even more diverse regions than the Old World has ever allowed, or the New World, for that matter. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the Forbidden Lands suggest that there are entire civilizations out there just waiting to be discovered. This not only opens the door for unique characters to be introduced in the series moving forward, but also fresh mechanics and gameplay systems that are relevant to each region.
The Forbidden Lands also suggest a chance for the Monster Hunter series to have much deeper and more complex narratives in the future, as the Hunter's Guild attempts to navigate relations between cultures and even conflicts.
The introduction of Monster Hunter Wilds' Forbidden Lands not only expands the known boundaries of the Old World but also redefines the Hunter’s Guild's role — no longer just as explorers and protectors, but as diplomats navigating isolated civilizations. More importantly, this shift suggests that Monster Hunter's future is no longer going to be just about discovering new monsters, but also about uncovering the world’s hidden history, its civilizations, and the deeper mysteries that have long remained unseen.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
