As a seasoned Monster Hunter veteran who’s traversed countless landscapes and vanquished countless beasts since the days of Freedom Unite, I can confidently say that Monster Hunter Wilds left quite an impression on me at Tokyo Game Show. It was like revisiting an old friend who’s grown up and learned some new tricks – and let me tell you, these aren’t your grandpa’s hunting horn or gunlance!
Without a doubt, Monster Hunter Wilds was among the most impressive games showcased at Tokyo Game Show for me. Even if something unexpected were to happen, this game was destined to stand out – and while I’m cautious about its technical aspects, especially after Dragon’s Dogma 2’s performance this year, it doesn’t detract from the game’s strengths or its potential to shape the future of the franchise positively.
If you’ve played Monster Hunter World and read my impressions for Wilds from Summer Game Fest, you’re already familiar with most of what this game offers. I won’t go into detail about the specific changes and additions because they were adequately explained then. However, I am excited about the improvements made to Gunlance and Hunting Horn, as these were my weapons of choice during my brief playtime at Tokyo Game Show. Since I only faced weaker monsters, I can’t comment on how it feels to take on more challenging beasts, but overall, Wilds maintains the same great gameplay experience as World.
One detail that wasn’t clear to me before trying it out, is how multiplayer matchmaking operates; when you complete a fight with a monster in a village, you don’t instantly get sent back to base – instead, all members of the party are free to leave whenever they want, and you can start another hunt by focusing on a specific large monster. After enough damage has been inflicted, that monster becomes your next target, notifying everyone else in the party as well.
In a sense, the gameplay loop in Wilds is distinct from World. Although you can embark on expeditions for endless hunting within a zone, the way quests operate in Wilds offers a unique twist. It blends elements of the existing two gameplay styles, and I must admit, it’s not something I dislike – at least so far. It seems somewhat similar to how monster hunting functioned in Iceborne’s Guiding Lands, and I believe this similarity wasn’t accidental.
Regarding Iceborne, I previously mentioned that Focus Mode had a resemblance to its tenderize mechanic; now having tried it out, I stand by my statement that it’s essentially another approach to the same concept. In Iceborne, players were often encouraged to use the clutch claw to grab monsters and perform various actions such as softening specific body parts for increased damage, propelling them into walls for extra harm and a knockdown, or gathering additional slinger ammo as a reward. While Focus Mode operates differently in execution, it seems like an evolution of the same fundamental mechanic.
When you engage in combat with an adversary, they will acquire scars and injuries on particular body areas. The Focus Mode allows you to direct targeted attacks towards specific body parts, and if you strike the highlighted areas, not only will your Focus Mode assaults inflict additional damage – but they can trigger a chain reaction on these wounds, resulting in a burst of extra damage and a stumble. In summary, it combines all the key features of the clutch claw, but in a much more convenient form. Unlike the somewhat awkward poses monsters would adopt in Iceborne, there are no specific signals to use it. Moreover, using Focus Mode is a smoother experience that doesn’t interfere with the hunt.
Initially, I didn’t encounter any significant issues grasping the concept of clutch claw, but it seems to be a more suitable fit for the Monster Hunter series based on our brief experience. Moving forward, though, let’s discuss the other major topic: game performance.
In previous discussions, we hinted at some issues, yet the demo we experienced displayed truly astounding performance and graphics that left us amazed. While the fundamental resources appear well-designed, it was evident that the game struggled to keep a consistent frame rate. The framerate is unlimited – you’ll notice the game reaching 60 FPS in certain tents – but outside of those menus, the performance is extremely inconsistent. To make matters worse, the Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA) technique that Capcom employs for upscaling seems to create a blurry mess instead of improving the image quality. Hopefully, it will improve on PS5 Pro if they decide to support PSSR, and PC users should benefit from DLSS. However, the current state doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in console performance. I can only imagine how the game might perform on Series S as well.
It seems that some games, like Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Monster Hunter World on base PlayStation 4, have had performance issues in the past. Maybe this is because many recent games are marketed with a 60FPS performance mode, which might lead to higher expectations. If you’re planning to play Dragon’s Dogma 2 on consoles, it would be wise to adjust your expectations accordingly.
As a fervent enthusiast, I’m positively buzzing about Monster Hunter Wilds. It appears set to be one of the most thrilling RPGs in 2025, and I’m absolutely itching for more details! Fingers crossed that the final game lives up to the hype when it drops on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam) on February 28, 2025.
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2024-09-28 08:25