Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Previews » ‘Monster Hunter: Wilds’ Is A Huge Swing For A New Audience

‘Monster Hunter: Wilds’ Is A Huge Swing For A New Audience

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez06/15/20244 Mins ReadUpdated:02/10/2025
Monster Hunter: Wilds
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Hunt monsters, get materials, get better gear. It’s a simple gameplay loop and one that has made Monster Hunter a core franchise in Capcom’s history. Beloved by many, the latest in the franchise, Monster Hunter: Wilds, is shaking things up and swinging the doors wide open for new players to step into the world of, well, monster hunting.

That said, Monster Hunter: Wilds feels like an evolution of previously explored concepts in the franchise. Combat in Monster Hunter: Wilds is representative of previous core gameloops. Stepping into the wilds of the world isn’t just something to be done here and there; it is the core of the game. Walking out into the world is seamless, with no load screens. Instead, we see the small villages give way to beautiful and vast landscapes.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

You are allowed to move between both village areas and individually placed camps. The only difference is that each personally built camp can be destroyed by monsters and weather events. What could have been an easy port can turn thorny when you need to rebuild. This keeps the player engaged with their environment. However, the true reality beauty of Monster Hunter: Wilds is that the Wilds are as much a character as you or the monsters are.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Dynamic weather events and a day-night cycle all impact how you hunt. More importantly, things like lightning storms can change the environment into something more treacherous. It can strike the player and the monster alike, which you can use as an advantage depending on the monster you’re hunting. But where you can exploit the weather and even interact directly with your environment using sinkholes and collapsable rocks, the ever-changing environment is also something you have to be prepared to adapt to.

While we only saw a 30-minute demo of the Hunt loop, we saw the importance of using your environment. Whether that was crashing rocks on your prey or using other animals to harm it, the environment is a must-use element of gameplay. It is also a way to tempt your own fate. Lead a monster onto a sinking den of a burrowing sand creature? It can help you, or you can make a wrong move and fall prey yourself. Monster Hunter: Wilds may not be the first to introduce every aspect, but it is making it bigger and more immersive.

The environment also doesn’t just impact your community. It also impacts the townspeople you meet. During our demo, we saw a sandstorm rolling in, and with it, the townspeople hunkered down. Additionally, the NPCs don’t remain in one spot. Instead of heading to the same spot to deliver quests, you need to find where they are. With a live world, Monster Hunter: Wilds is pushing play and adding more to the gameplay loop itself.

That said, the developers did make it a point to explain that the game is not open world. Instead, the biomes are twice that of the previous game, Monster Hunter: World. Expansive, yes, but not endless. That said, isn’t that all you need?

Monster Hunter: Wilds

Monster Hunter: Wilds is as expansive as it is immersive. It’s beautiful to look at, and although I didn’t get too hands-on, the combat keeps the pace of previous entries. Only now, the area that you have to explore and track your Hunt across is bigger, more interactive, and also not always on your side.

What is on your side is cooking. While I couldn’t find a natural way to interject this game element, the cooking animations are stunning. Mouthwatering and detailed, we watched the developers make a steak, and it looked so good that you could reach in and take a bite yourself. A simple piece of a larger puzzle, the animators who worked on the food deserve the loudest of applause.

Ultimately, Monster Hunter: Wilds has every chance of becoming a game-of-the-year contender. More importantly, it is doing so by honoring the franchise installments that came before it and also adapting to current player needs, opening the doors to the iconic Capcom franchise and ushering in new players.

Monster Hunter: Wilds is set to release in 2025.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous Article‘Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo’ Provides Off The Wall Nostalgic Fun
Next Article ‘Battle Aces’ Opens The RTS Genre To New Audiences
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Digimon Story: Time Stranger

‘Digimon Story: Time Stranger’ Is A Treat, Full Of Tactics And Time Travel

09/08/2025
Pokemon Legends Z-A promotional still from Nintendo

‘Pokemon Legends Z-A’ Puts Dynamic Encounters First With Real-Time Combat

09/05/2025
STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions

‘STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions’ Promises Playful Shenanigans and Community Goals

09/05/2025
Switch 2 Upcoming Releases

Borderlands 4, Kirby Air Riders, And More Awesome Switch 2 Demos We Played

09/05/2025
Skate Skateboarder But Why Tho

Skate. Feels Like Free-To-Play Done Right

08/31/2025
Outer Worlds 2 Hero But Why Tho

‘Outer Worlds 2’ Delivers A Strong Opening Chapter In Our Hands-On Preview

08/27/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Gojo Jujutsu Kaisen - But Why Tho (2) Features

Everything To Know About Satoru Gojo

By Kate Sánchez09/07/2023Updated:02/16/2025

Satoru Gojo is the heart of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — now, heading into Cour 2, here is everything you need to know about the character.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here