Monster Hunter Wilds PS5 Review
Summary: Monster Hunter Wilds is a worthy sequel to 2018s Monster Hunter World that adds enough new things to keep the formula feeling fresh while being as deep and engaging as it ever has been.
4.5
Hunt this down!
The latest entry in the venerable Monster Hunter series has arrived in Monster Hunter Wilds. I spent some time with this follow-up to 2018’s Monster Hunter World, on PS5.
Monster Hunter World was where the series branched off from the colourful and light aesthetic that it had built up over the years, taking a grittier, more realistic turn when compared to earlier titles in the franchise. MH Wilds continues along this path, taking MH World as a foundation and building on it with the power of the ninth-generation consoles.
The leap to newer, far more powerful hardware has allowed for the series to go open world for the first time, with the entire map being accessible without loading. Previous entries had the world cut off into smaller sections that had to be accessed individually, each generally being a separate biome, with its own flora and fauna, as well as a distinct look. Each of the biomes can still be fast travelled to once appropriate camps have been unlocked and set up, which makes getting around far quicker.
Another new addition that goes hand in hand with the open world, is the arrival of a mount. These not Chocobos, somewhat resemble a velociraptor and can be called at will with the single press of a button. Interestingly, this is also used quite extensively in combat. Anyone even vaguely familiar with Monster Hunter will be able to confirm that it’s an animation-heavy game series, rigidly locking the playing into any action once it is started. Jumping onto your mount mid-fight serves to free up the player’s movement somewhat while performing tasks such as healing, or using a whetstone to re-sharpen your weapon, the latter of which traditionally has you planted firmly in one spot for several seconds at a time.
It isn’t an unwelcome addition, but it does take some of the tension out of fights knowing that at any time you can mount up and essentially be immune from consequences. You see, while mounted up the player is effectively unable to be harmed. It’s still possible to take a hit, but the chances are so low thanks to the AI that controls the mount.
With that said, the core combat experience is as thrilling and engaging as it has ever been. The loop of taking down a monster, harvesting materials from it once defeated, crafting new gear, and moving on to the next challenge is a simple one, but ultimately one that feels rewarding to engage with. Returning to a monster that caused a problem several hours ago, with new weapons and upgraded armour, then subsequently dominating them with ease rarely gets old. Admittedly, I haven’t put the hundreds of hours into Wilds that is typically required to get the most out of the endgame, but Wilds feels somewhat less grindy than previous instalments on the road to the endgame.
This is perhaps due to the increased focus on the story this time around. There’s a surprisingly strong, albeit linear campaign attached to Wilds. As it progresses, you’re sent to new and interesting places, generally tasked with taking out whatever creature is causing problems in the area. This then opens up side missions and contracts to repeatedly take down the different monsters, for materials and rewards.
My one gripe with the campaign stems from its implementation of mounts into things. Upon starting a hunt, there’s usually a lengthy hike to wherever the monster lies. This commute is usually filled with NPC dialogue, small conversations that serve to flesh out the narrative. By default, your mount will automatically follow the path to your destination, with minimal (if any) player input required. It’s reminiscent of the long stretches on horseback doing nothing in the Red Dead Redemption games. You can wrestle control away of course, but even then, there’s not a great deal to do other than hold forward. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, but I found the lack of agency at times to be a little disappointing.
The move to next-generation consoles has brought next-generation graphics, in theory anyway. By no means a bad-looking game, environments are filled with detail. Jungles are lush with plants and undergrowth; the desert sands shift and shimmer in the light and camps are rammed with objects and NPCs. Several modes have been implemented to tailor the experience. Firstly, there are resolution and performance modes, and each of these can then be split into several sub-modes. These vary based on whether the game is set to resolution or performance, and if connected to a 120Hz screen, but typically offers up various framerate caps, 30fps, 60fps, and uncapped. With a balanced option for 120Hz display owners.
Resolution mode offers, as you might expect, the best image quality. However, performance suffers because of this. Setting the framerate to 30fps offers the most stable experience, however, it’s rarely fixed to this and frequently dips below. The performance mode takes a massive hit to image quality, leaving a very soft, shimmering image that doesn’t resolve detail particularly nicely. In much the same way that resolution mode at 30fps didn’t hold steady, performance mode at 60fps also suffers with dips to the framerate.
Neither mode is unplayable by any means, and both hover around their targeted framerate much of the time, but it’s something to be aware of.
I found the audio to be a little weak in Monster Hunter Wilds. Not the void acting or the score per se, they’re both mostly very well done, the mixing however, especially dialogue mixing felt very strange. Dialogue frequently sits very low in the mix and necessitates some tweaking of the options to get it to sound half-decent.
Final Thoughts
Monster Hunter Wilds has introduced enough new things to the formula to make it feel like a sequel rather than the same game with a new coat of paint. The few minor annoyances I had with the game like the audio mixing or the fact that the colour palette is very muted and subdued, are all offset by how vast and complex a game it is.
It’s easy to lose hours in MH Wilds crafting new gear, wandering around the landscape looking for something new to hunt, and collecting all the different armour sets. It’s a world that, if you let it suck you in, will get you lost inside of it for a very long time thanks to the sheer wealth and depth of content that’s available.
It’s far from perfect, the UI and systems are as impenetrable for new players as ever, but once you’re over that initial hurdle of figuring out how everything works, there’s a lot to love here. Capcom has a history of providing good post-release support to the Monster Hunter series, so this one should keep you entertained for a very long time.
Related Posts
Sorry We’re Closed Review (PS5) →
Split Fiction PS5 Review →
It Takes Two PS5 Review →
