First Impressions: Monster Hunter Wilds Dominates the Gaming Scene

GameSpot’s hands-on preview of Monster Hunter Wilds includes video of the series’ largest maps to date and herds of monsters.

By Blair Marnell on August 22, 2024 at 4:49PM PDT

Monster Hunter Wilds, the next installment in Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, won’t be arriving until next year. However, GameSpot was invited to a hands-on preview during Gamescom, and senior producer Jean-Luc Seipke is sharing their Monster Hunter Wilds experience in our video overview. And there’s a lot for fans to look forward to.

The first thing that fans may notice is that Monster Hunter Wilds has a much bigger map to explore than previous titles. The Monster Hunter camp site is also directly connected to the map this time, and a further sense of community can be found while going on four player co-op hunts. Players are also allowed to pick secondary weapons, which dramatically changes combat in the game.

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Now Playing: We Played Monster Hunter Wilds And It Rules Hands On Preview

Monster Hunter Wilds introduces a new focus mode in its combat system, allowing for more precise weapon control. This mode highlights the weak points on a beast’s anatomy in glowing red, signaling where players should strike to effectively incapacitate the monster. It facilitates better coordination among teammates during the hunt.

The gameplay demo featured frequent lightning storms signaling the arrival of formidable lightning dragons, a challenge that Seipke was unable to conquer. These storms significantly altered the visibility within the game environment. Moreover, the demo version has removed the traditional quest board, enabling players to select their quests more seamlessly.

There were some bugs in the demo, including a lagging frame rate and an occasional crash. But these aren’t uncommon for games that haven’t been finished. We expect those flaws to be corrected by the time the game hits stores, and the rest of the experience more than made up for the few hiccups that occurred.

Monster Hunter Wilds will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC in 2025.

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