Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds is on track to be the series' breakout moment, even more than its two incredibly successful predecessors. Following years as a relatively niche franchise in Capcom's stable of IP, Monster Hunter experienced a massive boost in popularity with 2018's Monster Hunter World, which only continued with 2021's Monster Hunter Rise. The recent release of Monster Hunter Wilds sees the franchise's latest entry arriving at what's ostensibly the perfect "lightning in a bottle" moment, and it kicks off its proceedings with a bang that far outshines the opening hours of the two previous games that set it up for success.
For years, the Monster Hunter games have notoriously gotten off to a bit of a slow start, shepherding players through some lower-stakes quests taking out smaller monsters, collecting materials, or coming to grips with the game's myriad systems. Comparatively, Monster Hunter Wilds takes players out of the proverbial frying pan and throws them into the fire, starting with a thrilling chase sequence and immediately following up with back-to-back large monster hunts that cleverly fold in tutorials without holding players' hands. It's a thrilling beginning to a title that appropriately bears the word "Wilds" in its name.
The Unwritten Rules of Monster Hunter Wilds Explained
Monster Hunter Wilds may be the most accessible entry in the franchise to date, but players should still adequately prepare before they set off.
How Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise Kicked Off Their Main Quests
Both Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise were able to immediately wow players with their impressively large biomes and quality-of-life updates to the series' tried-and-true gameplay loop, but their opening quests were admittedly a bit slow to start. In Monster Hunter World, players' first foray into the Ancient Forest is mostly a cleverly disguised tutorial, with the opening hunts boiling down to slaying two different kinds of small monsters (Jagras and a Kestodon) to help acclimate them to their weapon of choice and the game's many new mechanics in comparison to prior entries.
Monster Hunter Rise is similarly tame in its opening hours. Before even getting to slay any monsters, players must progress through two different gathering quests that acclimate them to some of Rise's new traversal options, like the Wirebug or the Palamute. Once players actually do get to participate in a hunt, Rise follows in World's lead by tasking players with taking out a small handful of relatively harmless Jagras. Ultimately, both Rise and World slowly guide the player through an hour or more of tutorials and intro sequences before they're able to engage in a proper hunt against a large monster.
Monster Hunter Wilds Pulls No Punches Dropping Players Right Into the Action
Comparatively, Monster Hunter Wilds' opening hour is a rollercoaster ride when stacked against the more relaxed beginnings of its two predecessors. Following the cinematic chase sequence that kicks off the main story, players immediately head straight into a rescue mission that puts them face-to-face with their very first large monster hunt against the toad-like Chatacabra. For most returning players, this fight serves as a sort of welcoming back to the series, meaning it's likely to segue directly into the next major large monster fight against a Quematrice.
The first hours of Monster Hunter Wilds shuttle players through a thrilling series of back-to-back large monster hunts without ever requiring them to go on fetch quests for material gathering or hunting swarms of small monsters. It's a fitting opening salvo for a game that fully embraces having "Wilds" in its name, granting the game a sense of momentum that, ultimately, contributes to Monster Hunter Wilds having perhaps the most satisfying pacing of any modern game in the franchise.
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- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
