MeinMMO editor Leya was able to visit the Capcom studio in Japan (Osaka). There, she played 7 hours of the beginning of the full version of Monster Hunter Wilds. She particularly noticed the strong contrasts in the action RPG.

Already on the plane to Japan, I am thinking about what to write in my preview. For MeinMMO, I will be playing the full version at the studio with other journalists at the invitation of the publisher. After the free beta, I already make the judgment: Monster Hunter Wilds will be a strong candidate for Game of the Year 2025.

For me, the story feels globally told up to the release. I become nervous about not being able to tell you anything new after my visit. However, that changes abruptly when I play the full version and notice something that I didn’t perceive in the beta.

This is what we were able to try out: We have a total of 7 hours to play the beginning of Monster Hunter Wilds as it will ultimately exist in the full version. This includes the desert area Windebene, which was already present in the beta, and the Karminwald. The forest, which is infused with red everywhere, is open for us to enter for the first time.

The monsters we chase during this time are Chatacabra, Lala Barina, Quematrice, Congalala, Balahara, Alpha Doshaguma, and Uth Duna. You can find them all in our monster list.

We can also look at crafting and create some weapons and armor from the monster parts we’ve hunted.

We were able to record our gameplay, and you can watch a 20-minute compilation of it here:

With Lala Barina, I understand what makes this Monster Hunter special

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in the beta that we could only play the desert map here. I just can’t stand the desert anymore. The other areas look so much more exciting!

I am even more excited when I enter the Karminwald. 

Because it is visually something completely different than the vast desert. There are vertical landscapes, interesting-looking plants, and water. However, a red veil stands out, giving the forest its memorable name. The given quest leads me to the monster Lala Barina, which resembles a spider and seems to wear a giant tutu.

And this is where it gets really interesting. Each monster is introduced with a small cinematic scene that aims to showcase the character of the monster. With Lala Barina, I suddenly feel like I am facing a Lovecraft horror monster. A very unusual design for Monster Hunter that drifts a bit into science fiction. 

The battle with the spider is quite dynamic. Lala Barina moves quickly around you with its long, thin legs. What makes the battle particularly nasty are the red, pollen-like clouds that the monster leaves behind everywhere and that damage you. A small tip on the side: You get the opportunity to forge a weapon with the fire element before the fight, which is very practical against these red clouds.

Suddenly, I notice how contrasting Monster Hunter Wilds becomes. 

Because the quest before Lala Barina leads me to Quematrice, which looks like a giant fire rooster and acts accordingly. The cinematic scene here makes me laugh hard. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you and won’t go into too much detail. But imagine a group of hyper cute Palico cats carrying a gigantic steak and defending it with their lives against the rooster. 

From the super funny battle with Quematrice, it goes directly into a horror scenario with Lala Barina. The more I think about it, the more contrasts I notice in the setting. It fluctuates strongly between the fantastic, humorous, and a natural look. 

Of course, humor has always been a part of Monster Hunter, but in Wilds, it seems even more extreme to me. After the horror spider Lala Barina, it directly goes back to the farting monkey Kongalala. 

After the gameplay session, we can talk with the three chief developers of Monster Hunter Wilds. Since I notice the contrasts while playing so strongly, I bring it up with them.

We always have a humorous thread that runs through our games. The designers try to make it so that our game is not always funny or just super dark. There has to be a balance that shows different facets or sides of things. There is not just a dark character or just a funny character. I believe every character can have these sides, and that applies to the world, where one of the main concepts is that nature has such a wonderful side but also a dark, ruthless side. 

I hope that when you play the entire game, you see that we have maintained that “Monster Hunter” balance, where it occasionally gets a little looser so that it never gets too dark. But yes, whatever individual people find funny, I think that depends on individual humor. It’s good to hear that the humor of the designers apparently aligns with that of the players.

I think one of our intentions is – I don’t know right now if the word caricature has a positive connotation in English or German – but, you know, to try to characterize the emotions that we want to show so that they are easily understood while playing the story. So, that you quickly understand the feeling that the developer intended. I believe they will be pleased to hear that in cases where it was intended to be a nice, funny moment, it has come across.

From the interview with Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, Director Yuya Tokuda, and Executive Director/Art Director Kaname Fujioka

Although contrasts have always been normal for the franchise, this time they stand out particularly for me.

Elements become more important for fighting than previously thought

Alongside the strong contrasts, I have noticed things again that I found quite cool in the beta. Monster Hunter Wilds comes with a new wounding system. You can inflict wounds on the monsters at various places on their bodies. 

If you use the new focus mode, the wounds light up red, and you can specifically target them. Each weapon has a special cool move to inflict a lot of damage stylishly. These moves fully embrace the power fantasy, making me feel like the fiercest hunter of all time.

Another feature is that with the new secret mount, you can now carry two weapons. Already in the beta, specific secondary weapon metas established themselves: bring the hunting horn, which gives you buffs through musical performances, or a ranged weapon like the bow. With the bow, you can currently easily inflict wounds on the monsters and target them.

Since I also lack any fantasy in thinking of something other than the obvious options, I casually asked the developers for recommendations for a secondary weapon.

To address the hunting horn, right after the beta, I believe it is too powerful as an emergency weapon for solo players. We will rebalance that. It will naturally still be useful, but we don’t want it to be the obvious choice for the secondary weapon that outshines all other weapons directly. That’s something we will change.

As for the combos, I believe many haven’t thought about elemental properties yet because we had a limited selection of weapons in the beta, and most also didn’t have enough time to think about it in detail. But as soon as you are able to carry two weapons that have elemental properties, even if they belong to the same weapon type, that opens up a lot of potential to choose creative weapon combinations. Sleep and paralysis, for example. This kind of elemental stuff will also play a role in focused mode when inflicting wounds. As an example, there are monsters where you want to bring a non-elemental weapon to inflict basic damage. And then, when the monster gets angry, you might find that a specific element works really well against that angry state.

Or another monster: For normal attacks, take a non-elemental weapon. And once the wounds are opened, there may be an element that has a strong effect on it. So even if you have, for example, a great sword, you could carry two of them and choose the right one for each situation. And I believe that will open up a lot of potential combos, and everyone will enjoy discussing to figure out what the best choice is for a particular battle or monster.

From the interview with Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, Director Yuya Tokuda, and Executive Director/Art Director Kaname Fujioka

That makes this whole weapon combo thing even more exciting! I can already imagine how the forums and YouTube will be full of strong elemental combinations and the community trying to figure out what works most efficiently against which monster.

Although I am not a min-maxer in my builds, I love to experiment with builds that are fun for me personally and not necessarily the most efficient. And a paralysis-sleep combo with two hammers sounds like something I would enjoy.

More story, but everything stays the same

Classic RPG fans among you will surely be pleased to hear that there is more story in Wilds than in previous Monster Hunter installments. I won’t spoil anything here, don’t worry.

However, it should come as no surprise that the focus will again be on a monster causing an anomaly that disrupts everything. This time, however, there are more elements with characters that seem to have more background and help advance the story. 

The cutscenes are more detailed and longer, bringing more emotions with them. Here it also helps that the player’s character can now speak, making the story feel more immersive. 

However, do not expect a super detailed story where you can completely empathize. The focus is still on grinding and beating monsters. But it is definitely a nice touch that the world becomes increasingly immersive overall.

Monster Hunter Wilds is getting really exciting

My opinion hasn’t changed even after playing the full version. Monster Hunter Wilds remains a strong contender for Game of the Year 2025.

However, after the preview, I understand better what makes this Monster Hunter particularly strong. For me, it is clearly the contrasts present in the game, leading to some very unusual monsters. There is an interesting balance between some very fantastic themes and a natural atmosphere that fits Rathalos and Rathian as well.

Thanks to the information that elements will play an important role in the new wounding system on monsters, my curiosity about the battles and the dual weapon system has increased.

I can hardly wait for the release.

However, there is one thing I must complain about: Because you were mean to the Rompopolo in Monster Hunter Wilds, it made its designer sad, and that’s not okay