Wilds is finally here, and I've been chewing on it like a Well Done Steak.
This is just going to be my initial impressions, before I'm even done beating the game. This is a live service game, obviously, so expect a few of these articles before I'm done writing about it. I have an opportunity here to try out a more casual, frequent form of blogging; let's see how it pans out.
Where to start? I've seen a lot of people complaining about this game— myself included— and I want to say that my fears were unfounded. This game is great. When I was posting about possibly not getting the game at all, I was worried that the small monster pool would make the game feel bad to play, and I was frustrated that Capcom didn't have a roadmap to address that and the lack of a gathering hub.
Two days later, they announced that the first title update would have more monsters and a gathering hub.
So that was cool.
Now that I've gotten my hands on the game, it doesn't feel like nearly as much of an issue. There are still central hub areas, and having them as fast travel points instead of shoving everything into one location isn't the worst thing in the world. And as for monster variety, good god, there are a lot of different kinds of monsters. Gone are the days where Bird Wyverns and Brute Wyverns ruled the world. We now have a Monster Hunter game where there's actually a serious amount of variety in the base game. And I suppose it makes sense, doesn't it? It would take longer to add different monsters with different animation rigs, as opposed to a game with more monsters that all look and act the same.
I've heard that the Wounds mechanic is overtuned. I do think that it's accessible, but I wouldn't call it "free" or anything like that. Monster Hunter has been expanding on the idea of permanently damaging monsters since, well, the first game. I think that people forget about the Clutch Claw far too easily— how annoying it was to break through bulky, armored monsters by grabbing onto them one part at a time. Wounds, on the other hand, are simple. A simple, straightforward mechanic like this is good. You don't have to worry about micromanaging them, but they add a layer of skill and strategy to beating the stuffing out of a monster. Weapons like Hammers can still get leverage out of attacking a wound on a tail, or vice-versa for Dual Blades.
I also think that this system is very conducive to multiplayer. Wounds feel like a resource rather than a mechanic; I've already seen players calling out in real time that they "need that wound," which goes to show how well they've been implemented into the core gameplay. We saw a strong implementation of Wirebugs back in Rise, but they weren't a limited resource, and players had no ability to share. One of the reasons that I fell off with Rise was how isolated even multiplayer felt, where each player was locked into speedrunning the fight on their own terms. Wilds is a breath of fresh air in that sense, too.
Seikrets are obviously an extension of Rise's Canynes, but I like them a lot more. For one, Canynes never felt like they had a place in the core loop of the game. I spent most of my time in Rise with two Palicoes, and used the Wirebugs to get to the monster instead of riding on "dogback." I think that again, this is one of the reasons that Rise didn't stick with me. Speed was the name of the game. If Wirebugs could keep up with Canynes, and having two Palicoes was better than one, why would I ever use a Canyne? What purpose did they serve?
Wilds answers this question, and so many more questions, by making Seikrets auto-path to their destination. This has been a very controversial choice. If I had to give Monster Hunter autopathing, then this is probably the best way to do it, but I agree that the game probably doesn't "need" it. However, I think that Seikrets balance out the expansive nature of the world, make exploration less of a chore, and are generally much more useful than their Fanged Beast counterparts. And, unlike Canynes, they serve a unique function in hunts as well. It feels good to have them swoop in to save you while you're down and out— contrary to what I've heard other people say— and it's much easier to have a "mobile base" for healing and switching weapons than it is to force the player to contstantly backtrack through the open world.
Speaking of World, I really like how this game expands on the idea of fast travel and base camps. With the exception of story missions, I rarely felt the desire to "fly" back and forth between fast travel points to get things done. I also enjoyed the exploration a lot more with the Pop-Up Camps than when each camp was a mandatory goal that needed to be paid in materials. It's like always having the game at your fingertips, but there are still benefits to settling down and combing through every little secret area like I used to. Again, Rise oversimplified this, making each map a "jungle gym" of buffs and shortcuts that pushed the player to memorize every route. I like this slower, more methodical sense of exploration. I like that it's optional. And most of all, I like that I don't have to resign myself to a loading screen every time I want to tackle it.
I think we all know where this is going.
Monster Hunter Wilds runs like shit. Yes, worse than Rise on the Switch. Yes, worse than World on the PS4. I was consistently disappointed with the game's overwhelming desire to be the Next Big Graphical Wonder, when Rise proved that a simpler style was more desirable. It really does kind of suck.
To anybody who develops a game in the future: I'd like to point out that if your game has Really Good Graphics, but it doesn't play well on any major devices, then your game doesn't actually have good graphics. The version of Wilds that runs well on Xbox Series X is ugly, sluggish, and boring. And even then, it stutters. World, in a practical sense, is a much, much prettier game— a game that came out seven years ago, and could run well on absolutely ancient hardware!
Optimizations are obviously on the way, but for console players, we are once again stuck with the fact that games aren't made to run on consumer hardware anymore. I'm so frustrated with the industry on this point that I'm probably going to write multiple articles about it. What is the point, exactly, of developing a game that nobody can play? What is the point of building computers that nobody can buy? AI is choking the industry, Nvidia is choking the industry. I want Wilds to run like a PS4 game. I want Wilds to be a good game, and fucking hell, it is, but who can I recommend it to? Who has enough money to shell out for the next big graphics card, when the world is already going to shit?
But I digress.
My god, they actually made a good story with this one. I can see why people were so careful about spoiling things in their reviews!
I'll also take a conservative approach here, and save my full review of the story for when I've actually completed it. In the meantime, I'll say that we finally get some answers that Monster Hunter loreheads have been waiting to see for years, that Nata is my favorite Monster Hunter character, and that I want to see more of this story explored in the future. If the next Monster Hunter game is also a follow-up to World and Wilds, I will be very happy. I really, really don't want to go back to Rise after watching this.
Monster Hunter Wilds is good. It promises to continue to be good into the future. And while I'm increasingly bitter towards the games industry, and increasingly starting to think that it might not have a future at all, Wilds is a reminder that I fundamentally love games. I want to play games. I want to play Wilds! Even writing this, I want to run over to my TV and start playing it.
I am wary of future title updates and how they will affect the experience, just as I am with any other live service game. I want Wilds to have a good, comfortable G-rank expansion— unlike World, where the Clutch Claw steered the game in a very different direction from what it was before.
Right now, though, I'm happy. I'm excited to see where this goes. And I'm glad that I get to write about it and share my thoughts with others. Here's to another generation of hunters! May we all have a good time exploring this new world.