Monster Hunter Wilds Review (PC): A Monstrously Good Time That Won’t Disappoint

Monster Hunter Wilds opens the door to a new frontier for returning fans of the franchise as well as newcomers to the series. From high-flying to gritty, limb-slicing combat, Wilds has gone above and beyond from the previous entries in the series. You can now slice and dice monsters faster and more smoothly than ever before and then wear your trophy around for all to see. Not only has the series gone through a major revamp with the combat, but the visuals are absolutely stunning, the narrative speaks volumes, and customization has never looked better than when I am rocking my fur-covered kicks. 

A breathtaking, forbidden land with lots of character

Monster Hunter games from my experience often feel slow. They hold your hand through the beginning, making the games feel monotonous for the first several hours. This exact issue made me almost give up on Monster Hunter World. I am pleased, nay, grateful that this trend has been broken in Monster Hunter Wilds as you embark into the windswept sands of the Forbidden Lands. Wilds opens you up to the world with intense action–something I didn’t expect, and it thrust me quickly into combat against various beasts. It became clear from the beginning that this isn’t the normal Monster Hunter I was used to from World and Rise.

It didn’t take long to meet the research team from the empathetic new handler Alma, to the passionate smithy Gemma–the two main characters that you interact with throughout the campaign. More so than in other Monster Hunter titles, I found myself focusing on the campaign and getting invested into the many characters. Before, it was easy to get frustrated with the story thanks to a handler that would consistently get into trouble, forcing you into a situation where you needed to save them. Now, the story has shifted to returning a lost boy named Nata to his people and saving the newfound ecosystem.

During my journey, I met many colorful side characters from the enigmatic Werner, the honorable and inspired villager Y’sai, and the bewildering Wud Wud Rove. Each of these characters stood out with smaller side stories that made the campaign that much more enjoyable. There wasn’t a moment that I didn’t enjoy watching the beautiful cutscenes and I hung onto every word the large cast of characters spoke. Not only that, but the unique environments of the Forbidden Lands along with the different cultures living within them made the stakes feel that much greater come the end of the campaign.

Fierce combat, ferocious beasts, and lands to explore

What Monster Hunter has always excelled in is combat against giant foes that make you feel almost godlike with your ability to slay them. The combat in Monster Hunter Wilds takes this to new heights, to the point where I kept referring to it as “Monster Hunter World on steroids”. Capcom went above and beyond making sure the combat felt smooth and that there is a wide range of options to choose from.

In total, there are 14 weapons to choose from, with some of them being slightly similar to others, but most of them have unique movesets with multiple upgrade paths and slots to attach skill gems to. This adds a strong depth to the crafting system, but not enough that it would confuse the average player. The armor functions in a similar manner, where you can upgrade various pieces that you craft from the hides of the beasts you’ve slain. The only downside to this system is that Capcom went out of its way to make sure the menu is confusing to navigate with different sub-menus required to learn more about the armor and weapons you’ve crafted to the point where it feels unnecessary.

After equipping myself with the latest and greatest monster hunting equipment, I set out into the field in search of some behemoths to slay. It does not take long to track down monsters as you can freely explore the open biomes or simply ask Alma to give you a quest. My go-to weapons of choice were the bow and switch axe–though the charge blade was also a strong contender for favorite weapon. Each of these had a unique playstyle to them that felt intuitive but with an added depth that made the weapons greater the more you played around with combos and learned additional mechanics. No weapon that I tried felt overly complicated and each one had its own special properties that made it difficult to decide what weapons to stick with.

After experiencing the beta, I thought I was prepared for the rest of the biomes in Monster Hunter Wilds; I was taken aback by the level of detail in each of the lands. From scorching deserts and magma-filled caverns to icy caves and lush forests, there is a little bit of everything to experience and Capcom spared no expense making each new biome better than the last. Every new location was a treat to experience with tons of items to discover, plantlife to collect and turn into items to use for hunting, and monsters to track down.

Give me a better connection

The one area that Monster Hunter Wilds fails to impress is the online mode. This is because the whole system feels so complicated. You first need to go through the process of adding a friend to your squad. After this, you are hit with a barrage of different invite types to play online in different ways. Jumping through these hoops ultimately makes the online feel annoying and less optimized than it should be. It would be nice to play online with a friend and not have to re-invite them to the fight every time there is a cutscene.

The whole system feels like it could be simplified, and it turned me off from playing online. A better system that allows the entire squad to stick together and play through the campaign without all the breaks would have made the experience of playing with friends a lot better. At least this time, the campaign fights count for everyone who is involved, and you don’t need to replay them.

The verdict

Capcom went above and beyond to make most of the Monster Hunter Wilds experience as enjoyable as possible. I went into the game wanting it to be a slight increase from Monster Hunter World and was surprised by the revamped weapons, environmental depth, and enjoyable cast of characters. Gone are the days of wishing the handler would get eaten by a Ratholos. Monster Hunter Wilds may have a few issues with online play and menu navigation but they are more than outweighed by the addictive combat and customization. My Palico looks like a dynamic warrior and I couldn’t be happier.

Monster Hunter Wilds was reviewed on PC with a code provided by Capcom. It is also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

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