To the Forbidden Lands: Monster Hunter Wilds Review

Wilds is set in the Forbidden Lands, a place thought to have been devoid of human life. But when a young boy is discovered, the player is sent on an expedition to reunite him with his tribe and investigate the region. You slowly unravel the truth about the land as you tackle weather and environmental anomalies, battle monsters, and discover its history. Although the Monster Hunter franchise isn't really known for its strong story, Wilds is enjoyable and digestible enough. There are strong themes surrounding the delicate balance of nature, community, and finding our place in the world.

Making the player character an established (fully-voiced) hunter makes you feel like you have more agency in the story, rather than simply nodding along during cutscenes. A fun tidbit was when you recognised the tell-tale signs that an Ebony Odogaron, a fearsome, quadrupedal monster, was nearby.

The biomes designed for Wilds are nothing short of breathtaking. Every corner feels alive. Small critters and herds of peaceful creatures walk and skitter about; Weather obscures your vision and impedes your movement; Villagers fetch water and carry supplies; Monsters–big and small—engage in combat.

The game’s open-world concept sounds good in practice, but unfortunately, for the first few hours, you aren’t incentivised to explore this handcrafted expanse. A lot of the time, you’ll be on the back of your avian mount, the Seikret, automatically moving toward the quest target. Your slinger enables you to collect materials and ammunition as you move along, so there’s no reason for you to get down. Furthermore, during the storyline, you won’t be able to deviate from the path before the NPC (non-playable character) calls you back.

There’s also lot of missed potential in not letting monsters visibly roam from zone to zone. Additionally, because of how everything is happening in the background, you are bombarded by an incessant number of notifications, which sometimes makes it frustrating when you’re trying to access the menu. My only wants—player housing, a gathering hub, a place to display the endemic life we’ve caught, and costumes for Poogie—will eventually come sooner or later in future title updates.

The removal of the clutch claw from World is a welcome one. Before, you needed to tenderise a monster’s weak point to do any meaningful damage. This severely cuts down any momentum or intensity. In its place is a handful of new mechanics that seamlessly tie into each other.

Focus Mode allows you to better target the weak points, and continuously attacking these points inflict wounds. Attacks deal bonus damage to these wounds, and a burst of damage “consumes” it, resetting the cycle all over again. 

There are also Offset Attacks, which reward you for counterattacking at the right time; Power Clashes, an intense, hype-inducing moment where you come face-to-face with the jaws (or arms) of a monster; and Focus Strikes, a special attack on exposed wounds. There’s a lot more room for skill expression, as all weapon types gained new tools, combos, and mechanics. I immensely love timing my counterattack as Lance and sliding across the floor with Sword and Shield. It’s fluid and dynamic. 

In addition, your Seikret allows you to switch to another weapon while out on a hunt. Just like World’s Tailriders, you can perform mounted and jumping attacks from its back, sharpen or reload your weapon, and heal. Your trusty Palico is also a utility Swiss army knife, able to heal and cleanse you, deploy traps against monsters, or save you if you get hit by any nasty status effects.

Wilds gave hunters even more tools than before to succeed, but without compensating monsters in kind. For example, Focus Strikes let you inflict repeated stuns and downs, which, in addition to the potency of status effects, lead to hilarious situations where the monster is simply unable to do anything in return. A small bump to their total health pool, or granting them a resistance to successive downs, would make this less overtuned.

Ailments don’t feel as debilitating as before; monster attacks, even those from tempered ones, don’t bring the same level of pain. One would have to actively sabotage themselves by using lower-level gear or leave behind their Palico and Seikret.

These factors—greater weapon accuracy, damage, status effects, and Seikret mobility—lead to significantly shorter hunt times. While this certainly has its advantages (cutting down farming time, for one), it may leave veterans wanting more than just Arkveld or Gore Magala hunts. 

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Wilds’ greatest strength is, without a doubt, its monsters. While Rise monsters generally drew inspiration from Japanese traditions, the designs in Wilds appear to be gruffer and grislier, as though in response to the tumultuous conditions. Two of my favourite additions are Rey Dau, a wyvern with horns that channel electricity into a high-powered railgun, and the arachnid Lala Barina, whose skittish movements and rose motifs made me feel both fascinated and unsettled. The introduction of Cephalopods—Nu Udra and Xu Wu—was also exciting to see. I especially liked, for example, how Nu Udra would hide inside a small crevice when its health is low, reflecting the behaviours of real-life octopuses.

Splitting offensive and defensive decorations between weapons and armour was an interesting concept, but parts of its implementation had me scratching my head. For example, some Lance and Insect Glaive weapons are slotted with Critical Draw. The limited number of decoration slots also means missing out on Guard or Guard Up, which are important for shield users. The intention behind it is good–-players can no longer slap on powerful offensive boosts, and it encourages them to lean more on defensive and utility bonuses. A lot of it feels awkward and misplaced, but overall a step in the right direction.

Looking good while hunting is another major factor for both experienced players and newcomers alike. Crafting high-rank armour now unlocks the corresponding layered armour set. And in a series first, the player can now mix and match both male and female armour versions, unlocking way more options for customisation. However, I do wish that they retained World’s method of letting you apply both the armour and layered armour in one loadout.

Wilds is not a perfect game by any means. There are its optimisation issues, bloated user interface, and quality-of-life features that seem missing or half-implemented.

But the game truly shines where it matters—the tried-and-tested gameplay loop that fans of the series know and love. While the combat may feel slow or clunky to beginners, once it ‘clicks’, it becomes an extremely satisfying and exhilarating experience. There are dozens of weapons, builds, and monsters to experiment with, and before long you’ll have unknowingly sunk in hundreds of hours without noticing. The moment the thrills of Monster Hunter sink its jaws into you, it won’t let go—nor would you want it to.

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