Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest entry in Capcom’s long-running multiplayer beast-slaying series, and a return to home consoles after the Switch-focused release of its predecessor, Monster Hunter Rise. Taking more inspiration from 2018’s Monster Hunter World, with its greater focus on narrative and spectacle and the return of many gameplay mechanics left out of Rise, Monster Hunter Wilds feels like a fantastic refinement of the direction that the series has evolved over the past few years. While not all series veterans might take to the more cutscene-heavy direction, the actual monster hunting is better than it has ever been.

Monster Hunter Wilds takes place in the Forbidden Lands, a mysterious unexplored region to the east thought to be uninhabited. After a young boy named Nata is found on the border claiming that his isolated village was attacked by an unknown species of monster, the Guild launches an expedition into the Forbidden Lands to forge a relationship with the locals, learn more about the region’s unique wildlife and ecosystem, and uncover the mystery behind Nata’s home and the mysterious monster that has been preying on the Forbidden Land’s apex predators. Your hunter is part of the Avis unit, alongside your handler Alma, blacksmith Gemma and researcher Erik.

The first major diversion from Monster Hunter tradition (aside from the game having much of a plot to begin with) is that your player character is fully voice-acted in cutscenes. They aren’t exactly fleshed out; don’t go in expecting extensive BioWare-style dialogue trees or anything. Still, it was a step in the direction of your hunter being an actual character, rather than a blank avatar for the player as they embark on hunting quests. Fortunately, the player character mostly keeps their mouth shut during actual hunts, with your Palico companion (who now speaks full English sentences) taking over the role of announcing during hunts when the target monster is weakened or about to move to a new area. If you prefer your Palico stick to unintelligibly meowing all their lines, this can be toggled in the options menu.

I’m not against the notion of adding more of a plot emphasis in a Monster Hunter game, and it isn’t so all-consuming that it takes away from the gameplay too much. That said, particularly in the early game, I did feel that the focus on the plot slowed the pacing down as the game would force the player to slowly roam through the environment following NPCs as they monologue at you while I was eager to start fighting something again.

Fortunately, when it comes to gameplay, Monster Hunter Wilds doesn’t deviate too far from the formula. Players still go on quests to slay or capture a large monster, and then craft better gear using the materials acquired from their quarry. Many mechanics that were present in Monster Hunter World, such as the Hook Slinger and a larger open world in which the player can set up and travel between numerous camps, have come back. The tutorial messages in the top right corner of the screen explaining the controls for each weapon have also made a welcome return.

The most striking gameplay addition is the Seikret, a large blue Chocobo-like avian mount that the player can ride, replacing the Palamutes from Monster Hunter Rise. On the back of a Seikret, the player can scale large walls and utilise special shortcuts, as well as access additional inventory space and swap to a secondary weapon at the press of a button.

That last change in particular was particularly impactful. Unlike in previous games, where I would focus on a single weapon category, being able to swap between two mid-fight incentivises becoming familiar with more of Monster Hunter Wilds’ expansive arsenal. Players can now pull off more complex strategies, like weakening a target with ranged attacks and then switching to the slow but powerful hammer to finish off the monster when it is stunned.

The biggest change to how the combat overall feels is the implementation of wounds; by attacking a monster in the same area multiple times, you have the chance to apply a glowing red wound to that area of its body. By then engaging Focus Mode and pulling off an elaborate special attack on that wound, you close up the wound but deal a substantial amount of damage to the enemy. These attacks range from firing a number of homing arrows into the air with your bow, to flying into the sky and sliding down the monster as a whirling tornado of death with the dual blades equipped.

Weather and terrain effects now have a more substantial impact on hunts. In addition to needing to account for hot or cold climates, areas are now subject to the Forbidden Lands’ seasonal changes. These seasons, including the Fallow, Sandtide and Plenty, impact the number and behaviour of the monsters on the field, as well as the availability of resources and the potential for environmental hazards to get in your way. I thought this was a great addition to throw in more variables, making each hunt feel more unique and giving me more challenges to prepare for.

Other new features are overall more minor, but appreciably improve the game’s flow. Players can not only use their Slingers to fire projectiles and remotely trigger environmental traps, but can now collect Herbs and other collectibles from the environment at a distance. Once the target monster is slain or captured, you can conclude the hunt at the press of a button rather than waiting the full minute for the victory screen to display, which was convenient. The emphasis on initially tracking down your quarry, already downplayed in Monster Hunter Rise, has been essentially stripped out now. Your target not only shows on your map from the start of the hunt, but your Seikret will also automatically direct you towards it if you allow it to. This last change is particularly desirable considering the vast areas in which the player can explore; I am glad that did not have to spend half of the hunt’s time limit trying to find the enemy to begin with.

For those who enjoyed Monster Hunter Rise’s tower defence-style Rampage quests, those have not made a return. In fact, Monster Hunter Wilds doesn’t really have any substantial deviations from the usual Monster Hunter quest type, which was a little disappointing. I appreciate that Capcom has attempted to experiment with the series over the years, with mixed success; while I don’t think anyone wants to see Monster Hunter Tri’s aquatic hunts reintroduced, it would have been nice to have some variation to the formula, such as the Siege quests in Monster Hunter World in which the player would fend off a colossal monster with cannons and traps.

Fortunately, Monster Hunter Wilds makes up for it with some interesting new monsters. While the fearsome wyvern on the game’s box art understandably gets a lot of attention, I was particularly a fan of the game’s more unique beasts which varied from the familiar dragon or land mammal inspirations of the majority of the rest of the cast. Probably my favourite of the menagerie of new monsters was the Nu Udra, a mid-game large monster with a unique cephalopod design; learning the attack wind-ups from the erratic flailing of its tentacles became a fun exercise, as was nailing the timing on attacking when its vulnerable mouth was exposed. The way it can squeeze through small cracks, not unlike real-life octopi, also added tension to not knowing when or how it would enter or leave an area.

Monster Hunter Wilds uses the same modified RE Engine that Monster Hunter Rise and Devil May Cry V used, and it looks better than ever. The game obviously benefits from the more powerful hardware of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with an emphasis on spectacular dynamic weather effects to make certain hunts especially memorable. The dramatic lighting and booming cracks of lightning strikes add a tremendous amount of flair to these encounters, with some added gameplay variables like lightning strikes being able to stun unwary monsters (or hunters!).