Monster Hunter Wilds Hands-On Preview: Into the Forbidden…

While Monster Hunter has always been popular, the 2018 release of Monster Hunter World launched the franchise to new heights. Capcom is looking to follow that up with Monster Hunter Wilds in 2025, and so far, it seems like it might break even bigger numbers. Monster Hunter Wilds' recent open beta peaked at nearly half a million players, suggesting that many and more will be ready to dive in on its release date: February 28.

Capcom is currently working on all the final tweaks and polishes it needs for launch, including a few weapon changes, but it honestly feels ready to go. The Best War Games recently visited Capcom in Osaka, Japan, playing Monster Hunter Wilds for roughly 5 hours. Not only did we get to explore The Forbidden Lands and hunt a handful of monsters, but we got our first real taste of the story. Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds appears ready to not just meet MH World's stride but even surpass it.

Monster Hunter Wilds is still in development and content may change by launch.

Monster Hunter Wilds: The Thrill of the Chase

During our time with Monster Hunter Wilds, we completed most—if not all—of the first chapter. This included learning more about The Forbidden Lands and its people, but it also saw us hunting some of Monster Hunter Wilds' various monsters such as the Chatacabra (the main tutorial monster), Quematrice, the Lala Barina, the Congalala, the Balahara, the Alpha Doshaguma, and Uth Duna. Each hunt was rooted in a story reason, but obviously, the gameplay mattered most. After the Chatacabra, we found ourselves enjoying the tactics of each monster. Encountering the Lala Barina in the Scarlet Forest gave the monster a daunting vibe to it, as hunting a massive arachnid-like creature with a fitting red/black color scheme in a damp, almost-gross forest made it feel even more monstrous. It is loosely based on a ballerina, and that can be felt when fighting it. It was more agile than anything we fought to that point, and while it wasn't necessarily harder to hit, we were worried about it more often because of its fluid movement and thin legs.

Meanwhile, the Congalala was hilarious from the moment we encountered it, and we found ourselves laughing at its behavior, its use of noxious gas, and its tendency to flee. It ran back and forth so many times that it perfectly bordered on the hilarious and even made us question if it was a small bug, but either way, it perfectly fit into the Congalala monster gameplay of Monster Hunter Wilds. The Balahara was speedy, while the Alpha Doshaguma was fittingly big, bold, and daunting. For the latter, we had to separate it from its herd before it was a fair fight, ensuring no two hunts this far into the game felt the same.

During the Alpha Doshaguma hunt, we also experienced our first seasonal tradition from the Fallow, a period defined by hungry predators and lacking resources, to the Plenty, which enrichens the land. It was more volatile than someone would think of a seasonal change, as our hunt was interrupted by a worsening storm. Hunting an Alpha while the environment seemed ready to strike and kill players itself was an unforgettable experience.

And this was far from the first time that a hunt was influenced or interrupted by the environment. Perhaps the most memorable came about during a random Chatacabra hunt (to test how much stronger we had gotten since the tutorial) in the Windward Plains. As we approached the monster in the desert region, it was swallowed by quicksand, forcing us to travel through a nearby cave and under the desert to find and finish the hunt. The two biomes we encountered were the Windward Plains, which has grassland, desert, and savannah-like features, and the Scarlet Forest, which was a damp, swampy forest. The two ensured that, during our five hours with the game, nothing grew repetitive. If anything, it helped keep us our on toes because it seemed like some form of environmental effect could trigger at any time.

Monster Hunter Wilds' Focus Mode and Wound system also adds plenty of accuracy for accruing damage and hitting certain monster parts. It's a simple, but effective, addition to the game.

Our preview time came to a close with one last story hunt: the Uth Duna. Without going into spoilers, it presented a major threat to some of our allies in Monster Hunter Wilds, but it had also been hurt and weakened by the time we fought it. The result is this massive leviathan in Monster Hunter Wilds saw its threat reduced, forcing it to act more sluggishly than the serpentine creature normally would. Between its initial attack and our hunt, the creature had been severely diminished and weakened, but was still incredibly powerful compared to a human. As it grew weaker over time (though still capable of sending massive waves at us), it was kind of sad to put it down. But we didn't do that, and the ending made a strong case for us to keep playing into Chapter 2—if only Capcom had let us.

The Story Gives Us a Little Pause

If any area gave us pause during the entire preview, it was the story. Monster Hunter games are not necessarily known for having deep, involved stories, but there's no mistaking that Monster Hunter Wilds is the most story-driven adventure yet. It was less "go hunt for X goal" and more like micro-goals delivered via story and fulfilled via gameplay. We obviously didn't see the entire story and it did have its moments, like the end of the Uth Duna hunt, and we enjoyed most of the characters we met. But it does seem the story wouldn't hold up to much scrutiny, really stretching our suspension of disbelief during these brief encounters.

For example, the premise of the Forbidden Lands is that no one goes there because there's no life. Except, after being told that, we are immediately introduced to plenty of monsters and a hidden coven of humans. Once we're through the tutorial, we learn that it's not only a hidden coven, but there's at least one full village. We also encountered more intelligent life, although they weren't humans; instead, it was a clan of Lynians known as Wudwuds. These Wudwuds could perhaps be best described as "if Ewoks spoke like Jar Jar Binks." While their encounter was humorous, they felt more like a caricature of native life than genuine survivors of the dangerous Scarlet Forest.

And what shocked me the most was the fact that the humans welcomed us with practically open arms. Only one villager was remotely wary of us, but we easily converted him into our biggest supporter. This village was surprised we could kill monsters and, in fact, had never heard of a weapon in their entire lives, calling ours "tools." While how the village is protected from monsters is also explained, somehow that has never failed during all the seasonal changes of Monster Hunter Wilds' setting until the one we are present for. In the grand scheme of things, it just feels like it works out super cleanly for what amounts to a first contact between cultures.

Perhaps that could be explained away by the fact that we are there, genuinely, to help. We lead this hunt to find and kill the White Wraith in Monster Hunter Wilds and to hopefully reunite Nata with his family. That's simple enough. Except that explanation also gets murky when the Guild also expresses interest in the material that Nata's necklace is made of, with no further explanation. The story could turn out fine since we've only had a taste of it so far, but it just feels a little neat and clean for the themes it's working with. And, of course, this is a franchise where story comes second to gameplay, and the gameplay of Monster Hunter Wilds is top-notch.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Weapons, Weapons, and More Weapons

During our time with the preview, we wanted to check out as many weapons as we could. Because it was an in-development build, it's very possible that some of our experiences will change by Monster Hunter Wilds' February release date. It's already known, for example, that Capcom is working on the Lance and Switch Axe following fan feedback. As such, we swapped between Longsword, Dual Blades, Hammer, and Bow. The latter was perhaps most effective when giving chase to a Monster, which was expected, but we found it hard to consider any of the other three weapons our "main."

Each weapon obviously operates differently, complete with different movesets, animations, and actions, and we found each weapon we played with to be appealing. The Dual Blades didn't do a lot of damage, but they were fast, appealing to our rogue/assassin sensibilities. The Hammer hit hard, appealing to our inner barbarian. The Longsword felt appropriately threatening, despite typically being seen as a "standard" weapon in other media. With each Monster Hunter Wilds weapon, our favorite combat moments were the special actions we could perform in certain scenarios. For example, with the Long Sword, we could launch into the sky and come shooting down with our blade aimed at the enemy. For Dual Blades, we could basically do acrobatic tricks on its back, stabbing it several times in the process.

Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds is one of the most anticipated games of 2025 for a reason, and this preview only reinforced that. It's impossible to say, for now, whether Monster Hunter Wilds will be able to surpass Monster Hunter World, but it'll likely be a close race nonetheless.

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