MONSTER HUNTER WILDS

With Wilds, Monster Hunterflaunts new storytelling chops

- Lincoln Carpenter

I've never needed much story from Monster Hunter. Each game's plot follows a predictable pattern: something is upsetting the ecology, and you need to battle a few dozen frenzied lizards until you and the Hunter's Guild uncover what never-before-seen creature is responsible for the turmoil.

But Monster Hunter never suffered for it. Its megafauna are majestic enough, its combat climactic enough, its cast of pun-slinging NPCs charming enough that even a barebones narrative could suffice. After playing through the first five hours of Monster Hunter Wilds, however, I'm just as excited to see more of its storytelling as I am for indulging in its latest iteration of dinosaur swordfights.

In late November, I visited Capcom's headquarters in Osaka to spend a few hours with the game and speak to its lead developers. Considering the Wilds open beta didn't inspire confidence in how well it'll run on PC when it launches in February, I arrived in Osaka wondering primarily about performance.

My preview session was running on a PlayStation 5, which is only so useful to compare with my experience in the Steam beta. However, while the beta's PS5 version might not have featured the origami monsters players encountered on PC, PS5 beta players reported their own framerate stumbles. Compared to those descriptions, the updated build I played in Osaka, locked in the quality-focused Resolution Mode, was smooth.

Where the open beta prescribed two prepackaged hunts with premade equipment, my Osaka demo session covered the first five hours of the finished product. From character creation through introductory quests and story-driven hunts in the game's Windward Plains and Scarlet Forest regions, I was free to hunt - with all that entails.

FANCY FOOTWORK