“Have you seen the Monster Hunter Wilds demo?”
That was the refrain at Summer Game Fest as news spread of Capcom’s behind-closed-doors showcase of the next big Monster Hunter title.
The demo, which as of this writing Capcom has no official plans to release footage, was such a hit that people kept sneaking back to see it again.
Opened at Hunter’s Basecamp on the Windward Plains. Similar to previous Monster Hunter titles, much of the game’s personality is packed into areas outside of the monster fights themselves.
Palicoes prepare food, count peanuts, and generally congregate around camp. Even as the Monster Hunter series grows, that level of lightheartedness remains. We asked series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yuya Tokuda if this was key to Monster Hunter itself.
“That is very important,” Tokuda replied. “No matter what we did with the game design or how impressive in scale we made the game, the one thing we never want to hear is that it didn’t feel like Monster Hunter anymore.
“These lighter touches and signature elements keep the series unique and give it a flavor that’s different from any other action game in the industry.”
This is clear when we stock up on goods from a local merchant – who is known for selling a brand of cheese – and she replies “cheese and thank you”.
There were no loading screens or pauses of any kind once we were on our way to hunt the beast. We were right on the hunt, tracking our target.
The game map now allows players to see where certain items or monsters will be depending on the time of day. The game has a full day and night cycle as well as a dynamic weather system that has a major effect on which monsters will spawn.
When we finally found the monster, we got the first few shots before taking a step back. Combat is similar to Worlds, but expanded in virtually every way. New weapons, new traps and new environmental hazards to use against your prey.
After taking some serious shots at our target and causing some of his thick skin to tear, the weather suddenly changed. A bright, sunny day was replaced by a violent storm.
“After we got a few serious shots at our target and caused some of his thick skin to tear, the weather suddenly changed. A bright, sunny day was replaced by a violent storm.”
“One of the main new concepts is the extremes of weather in the world. Suddenly, in an instant, everything can change. Monsters form packs or herds. Some monsters only appear under certain conditions,” Tokuda said.
At this point, the rather terrifying beast we were chasing was shown quite substantially by the flying monster crashing to the ground. With a thunderclap, he unleashed a devastating attack, destroying the health of our original target. We were told that if we got hit by one attack from a flying thunder beast, we would be finished.
These turf wars are one of the keys to Monster Hunter Wilds. While 1v1 turf wars existed in previous Monster Hunter worlds, they are far more prevalent in this game and form the basis of many game strategies. While the other monsters are dangerous, they are also an incredible tool to destroy your main target.
That’s not even to mention the monsters lurking beneath the surface of the sand that caused a great chasm to open up beneath our feet and send our target and his packmates into the pit. While our target was too strong to be absorbed, his friends were, just as we would be if we weren’t aware.
In some previous Monster Hunter titles, the world felt like a random arena where you could fight one specific fight. There was very little gameplay and it was somewhat difficult to have fights that actually looked cool. Monster Hunter Wilds wants to make you the best person in the world.
The world feels alive. You don’t bid your way into fights, you just run up to what you want to hunt and the mission begins.
“We approach each title on its own terms,” Tsujimoto said. “We’ve progressed with the times since the days of split maps – now the base area and the fields themselves are smoothly traversable.”
When we finished the demo, we couldn’t help but smile that Capcom had done it again. It’s silly to bet against it now, but even the best developers have a chance. Monster Hunter Wilds is definitely not it. We asked about the feelings at Capcom as the company enjoys this unprecedented success.
“We have an unwavering desire to create great titles that make players happy,” replied Tsujimoto. “We never want to discount what’s going on in business. We never lost sight of that spark.
“I think Capcom’s culture is something that users appreciate. Players play our games and think only Capcom could do that.”
It’s hard to argue. There is probably no developer today that has so many of its franchises at the absolute top. Resident Evil is on a roll, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a Game of the Year contender, and from what we’ve seen, Monster Hunter Wilds will be no exception.
We left the demo with a rant that it wouldn’t be out for another year, although with Capcom holding hands-on events alongside Gamescom later this year, we had to check flight prices to Germany.
Just before we left, we asked about bringing the series back to Nintendo, perhaps on more advanced hardware. Hearty laughter filled the room.
Maybe a question for another day.