Introduction
Monster Hunter Wilds is a 2025 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom. A successor to Monster Hunter: World (2018), the game was released worldwide for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S, with support for cross-platform play, on February 28, 2025.
As with other Monster Hunter games, Wilds has the player control a hunter that is part of a guild assigned to explore the Forbidden Lands, a nearly uninhabitable area with multiple biomes and dangerous storms. During their exploration, the hunters are assigned quests to fight large monsters that threaten their group, either by killing or capturing them. The hunter can then collect resources from their victories, as well as from gathering in the field, to synthesize new weapons and armor with better attributes that
Allow the hunter to fight stronger monsters. The player has an option of using fourteen different weapon types in combat, each with different combat maneuvers. New to Wilds is the ability to carry up to two weapons into the field using their mounted bird-like Seikrets to swap gear, the ability to set up pop-up camps within the game’s open world to create a more seamless hunting experience, and a wound system that allows the player to target weak points on a monster to inflict more damage. The game can be played as a single-player experience, or online with up to three additional players during quests. Wilds is the first in the series to support cross-platform play between all versions.
Gameplay
Similar to its predecessor, Wilds is an action role-playing video game played from a third-person perspective. In Wilds, players take on the role of a custom hunter character who travels to the “Forbidden Lands,” a distant, unexplored landmass with an ecosystem filled with unique monsters. As with previous games in the series, the player’s hunter tracks and fights monsters, either capturing or slaying them, from which they gain rewards in the form of monster parts and other resources. Along with
Other resources collected in the game world, the player can then craft new armor, weapons, consumables, and other gear, which allow them to fight more difficult monsters. The game world features several biomes, each of which is a large open world for players to freely explore. In Wilds, players can seamlessly move between the larger world and their hunter village where they can cook food, replenish their supplies, and craft new gear. Quests can also be started whenever players locate their targets in the wilds.
The game introduces a type of mount called a Seikret which aids player exploration and directs them towards their current objective, and can also be ridden while in combat. The Seikret allows the player character to carry two distinct weapons while hunting monsters, though armor can only be changed in the village.
All 14 types of weapons from World return in Wilds, though new moves and actions have been introduced. The Slinger also returns in Wilds with new features added, allowing players to grab items from afar and trigger environmental hazards. The game features a “focus mode,” enabling players to launch targeted attacks against specific body parts of a monster. Wounds on a monster can be further exploited to deal extra damage. Monsters in the game will interact with each other, with
All 14 types of weapons from World return in Wilds, though new moves and actions have been introduced. The Slinger also returns in Wilds with new features added, allowing players to grab items from afar and trigger environmental hazards. The game features a “focus mode,” enabling players to launch targeted attacks against specific body parts of a monster. Wounds on a monster can be further exploited to deal extra damage. Monsters in the game will interact with each other, with
Plot
A group of explorers led by former hunter Fabius finds a boy named Nata in the wasteland. Nata claims to hail from the Forbidden Lands, a harsh, uncharted region of the Old World that has been isolated for over two thousand years and presumed to be uninhabited. Nata claims that his people, the Keepers, were attacked by the “White Wraith”, a monster previously thought to be extinct. Fabius summons a recently promoted hunter and their palico to investigate the White Wraith and escort Nata
back to his home, despite there being no information about the Keepers. The hunter, palico, and Nata are joined by Alma, a guild handler, and Gemma, a blacksmith, forming the Avis Unit. Also on the expedition are the Astrum Unit: Olivia, a veteran hunter, Athos, Olivia’s palico, Erik, a botanist, and Werner, a guild engineer. The Guild gradually explores the Forbidden Lands, finding and assisting the native people against aggressive monsters, and abnormal weather conditions. Along their travels, they have several encounters with White Wraith, revealed to be an albino wyvern with chain-like appendages that is killing apex predators by absorbing their life energy.
After consulting the Keepers and the Allharken, a Wyverian sage, Avis Unit confronts Zoh Shia, with the hunter slaying it to protect the ecosystem. Afterwards, Nata becomes an apprentice hunter, with the Avis Unit later discovering an Arkveld egg, showing that the species has been reborn.
Later, Zoh Shia is found to have mysteriously returned. The hunter is sent to slay it once again, after which the Guild theorizes that Zoh Shia is capable of fully reviving itself from even a fragment with a suitable energy source present. The Guild decides that while shutting down the Dragontorch will prevent the return of Zoh Shia, it will cause more problems for the region. Instead, the hunter is assigned to watch over Zoh Shia’s nest and slay the monster whenever it returns, while the Guild continues to study the Dragontorch.
Development
Wilds was developed by Capcom, using their internal RE Engine. Following the large influx of players from Monster Hunter World, the developers spent more time on research and development to determine what features they wanted to include to meet the wider range of players anticipated for Wilds, according to art director Kaname Fujioka. By 2024, Wilds had been in development for at least five to six years.
The team strove to create a realistic ecosystem and simulate a natural environment in the game. According to Yuya Tokuda, the game’s director, players can observe the life forms in the game as they live out their life cycles, and watch how monsters interact with each other. Monsters do not stay in a single location on the map and will instead move around freely. Predators follow prey, and the state of the world is persistent. Players can use the changing environment to their advantage, but the effects of their
Actions cannot be undone even if they quit the game or return to the settlement. The team also decided to move away from the “excursion” model of previous games and introduce a larger, more seamless world to encourage players to interact with the game’s various gameplay systems. To further increase immersion, the player-controlled character, as well as their feline companions (known as a palico), are fully voiced. The team listened to feedback from players of World and Rise, and decided to make exploration more accessible for players through the introduction of mounts that automatically guide players to their target.
Downloadable content is planned for the title, though according to Tsujimoto, these will remain as only cosmetic items such as layered armor gear, and will not be “pay-to-win items.” Free content updates, referred to as ‘Title Updates,’ are planned to be released free of charge in the future, as with previous Monster Hunter games, with the first releasing in April 2025, with further updates planned in the future. These updates add new monsters with associated gear to craft, new quests and events,
And expand the game, such as the addition of a multiplayer Grand Hub to interact with other hunters online, and challenge arena quests. Limited time seasonal events bring further special quests for acquiring new gear associated with the event. As with past Monster Hunter games, limited-time collaborations with other Capcom properties have been introduced, starting with Street Fighter VI during a May 2025 event. A collaboration with Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV is planned as part of a September 2025 update which sees the Final Fantasy series superboss Omega added as a new monster players can battle, as well as a Chocobo mount.
Reception
Critical response
Monster Hunter Wilds received very positive reviews from critics. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows versions of the game received “generally favourable,” based off 104 and 45 critic reviews, respectively, whilst the Xbox Series X version received “universal acclaim,” based off 14 critic reviews. OpenCritic determined that 95% of critics recommended the game. In Japan, four critics from Famitsu gave the game a total score of 39 out of 40, with three critics awarding the game a perfect 10.
Reviewers were mixed on the perceived decrease in difficulty present in Wilds; IGN’s Tom Marks described the game as “light on any real challenge,” and stated that he’d only “fainted two times total across dozens of hours,” comparing the experience to far more challenging encounters in the base game of Monster Hunter World. Marks, however, did note that “the easier turning will probably get more people through the door.” Harte referred to the game’s campaign as “easy, but not boring.”
Eurogamer’s Matt Wales also noted that, whilst noting he was a series veteran, he had “still haven’t failed a quest forty hours in,” pondering if the game’s “aggressive streamlining” was “robbing the series of some of its distinctive personality.” Edge criticized the post-credits gameplay as not having “the same self-sustaining impetus” as other games in the series, attributed in part to the game’s streamlining.
Many reviewers positively noted Wilds as having a greater focus on its story and narrative; Destructoid’s Kristina Ebanez (who gave the game 9.5 out of 10) referred to Nata’s story as “captivating,” whilst Game Informer’s Charles Harte (who rated the game 8.75 out of 10) was “pleasantly surprised” and said the story “kept me invested throughout the campaign.” Conversely, Wales stated “the story campaign isn’t an entirely terrible way to spend 20 hours” but generally bemoaned the large number of cutscenes.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PS5: 88/100 Win: 88/100 XSXS: 90/100 |
| OpenCritic | 89/100 |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 9.5/10 |
| Edge | 7/10 |
| Eurogamer | 4/5 |
| Famitsu | 39/40 |
| Game Informer | 8.75/10 |
| GameSpot | 8/10 |
| GamesRadar+ | 4.5/5 |
| PC Gamer (US) | 85/100 |
| PCGamesN | 9/10 |
| PCMag | 4/5 |
| Push Square | 9/10 |
| Shacknews | 9/10 |
| TechRadar | 4.5/5 |
| Video Games Chronicle | 5/5 |
| VG247 | 5/5 |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Japan Game Awards | Award for Excellence | Won | [65] |
| Golden Joystick Awards | Console Game of the Year | Pending | [66] | |
| The Game Awards 2025 | Best Role Playing Game | Pending | [67] |
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