Monster Hunter Wilds Extended Hands-on Impressions
We got to play 6 hours of Monster Hunter Wilds. Here's what we think.
Monster Hunter Wilds carries the weight of enormous expectations. As the direct follow-up to Monster Hunter World—the game that propelled the franchise into mainstream success, Wilds has a high bar to clear. Fortunately, after spending six hours with the game during a hands-on session in Bangkok, it’s clear that Capcom isn’t just aiming to meet expectations—they’re looking to surpass them.
Our time with Wilds gave us an in-depth look at what makes this new entry feel both familiar and groundbreaking. From hunting specific set of monsters, testing out new traversal mechanics, more streamlined crafting system, to even getting a peek at what seems to be the most story-rich MH entry to date, the session showcased a game that feels like an evolution of World in all the right ways.
Lookin’ Wild
Monster Hunter games have always been hitting the home run when it comes to their setting. No matter the hardware, Capcom has always managed to create some of the most inviting, fascinating, and fleshed out environments in gaming. Aside from the incredible gear and monster design, it’s the lived-in biomes that breathes so much life into Monster Hunter games. And Wilds is looking no different. In fact, it’s hitting different.
One of the main things our hands-on session focused on was to show how seamless everything is now. No more loading screen from the safe hubs to the hunting areas, you just venture out and go on your hunt. No pauses. It’s genuinely impressive, and it does all of this with incredible visual fidelity.
We played on PS5, but it still looked and played beautiful. I never experience significant frame drops even when everything is in motion. Imagine the most intensive weather effects, vegetation swinging left and right, multiple monsters (big and small) on screen, and it still ran buttery smooth for the most part.
The only real drawback is when you switch the game to performance mode. While it is infinitely more stable, the graphical strength takes a significant nosedive. You’ll notice more blurry textures, especially when it comes to monsters that have more hair on them. Environmental density and character models also become a bit more pixelated. The RE Engine is definitely being put to the test here in all the right and wrong ways.
Hunt showdown
If Monster Hunter World was a massive leap forward for the series, Wilds feels like the natural evolution—taking everything that made its predecessor great and refining it into an even smoother, more immersive experience. The gameplay is more fluid than ever, with subtle but meaningful improvements that make every aspect of the hunt feel polished. Movement, combat, and preparation all flow together seamlessly, ensuring that players spend less time fumbling through menus and more time doing what they love most.
The biggest game-changer? The Seikrets. These trusty mounts aren’t just adorable companions you’ll want to shower with pats—they’re also incredibly useful in both traversal and combat. Their utility goes beyond just carrying you across vast open areas; they’re fully integrated into the flow of battle. Need a mid-hunt restock? No problem—the Seikret carries extra supplies, meaning you can replenish items without heading back to camp. In a pinch? With a quick command, your Seikret can swoop in and dash you away just before a monster lands a devastating attack, saving you from a potentially brutal cart. And perhaps best of all, the auto-track feature lets you sit back and enjoy the stunning environments while your Seikret instinctively leads you toward your target.
Combat in Wilds builds on the rock-solid foundation of Monster Hunter World, enhancing the series’ signature action without straying too far from what makes it so satisfying. Every weapon archetype—whether melee or ranged—feels weighty, powerful, and incredibly rewarding to use, thanks to insane animations and top-tier sound design. The familiar flow of learning a monster’s patterns, timing your attacks, and executing well-earned combos remains intact, but now with a handful of new mechanics that spice things up in all the right ways.
One of the most exciting additions is the new focus targeting system. When you deal enough damage to a specific monster part, you can toggle a focused attack mode, allowing you to land a series of devastating blows on the injured area. Land enough hits, and you’ll unleash a spectacular finishing combo that delivers massive critical damage. There’s nothing quite like perfectly timing a Greatsword swing to a monster’s skull, launching into an aerial assault from a cliff or even your Seikret—Shadow of the Colossus style—or weaving between attacks in a relentless flurry of strikes. Monster hunting has never felt better.
Monster Hunter games have always been great multiplayer experiences. Taking down seemingly impossible odds with a group of hunters, all trying to get lucky with a rare drop will never get old. Wilds introduces an offline system wherein you can fire out an SOS flare to call in AI hunters to help you out. While fantastic in theory, I found that the execution felt a little bit over tuned.
AI companions love to just go at it with the monster, hitting every critical spot possible. This means that they also get most of the aggro… so, the monsters barely pay you any mind anymore. And with 3 other fully equipped hunters just headbutting their way through the target, sometimes a hunt would end before I even had a decent foothold. Nevertheless, it is an optional feature, but I do hope that this gets balanced a bit more considering how it felt like a crutch mechanic with how overpowered it is.
After 6 hours of Monster Hunter Wilds, I was bound to notice things that I would consider to be gripes but I never felt like they’d overpower all that sense of fun and wonder I had jumping into this new world Capcom created. Monster design, character models, and a thriving ecology. What more could I ask for? Monster Hunter Wilds is going to make a lot of noise when it comes out.
Monster Hunter Wilds is set to release this Feb 28, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S and Microsoft Windows.