Monster Hunter World was one of those games where everybody around me seemed to love it, and I just couldn’t find the hook. I did try. I played for around half a dozen hours at launch before my patience ran thin, and I was forced to conclude it just wasn’t for me. I uninstalled it and haven’t touched it since.
So, heading into 2025, it’s fair to say that Monster Hunter Wilds was not especially high on my gaming wishlist. But, just like with Worlds, seeing all the hype and anticipation surrounding the next mainline installment in the uber-popular franchise had me itching to give Monster Hunter another try.
I was fortunate enough to get early access to the game, and have spent the last couple of weeks totally falling in love with Monster Hunter Wilds. It’s gone from a title I was curious (but pretty reserved) about, to easily my early pick for my personal Game of the Year for 2025. It even ranks ahead of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which is some feat as I have a lot of love for the medieval RPG.
It’s perhaps a little surprising, as Wilds doesn’t really do anything radically different compared to Worlds, but it’s proved to be the right game, at the right time. Here’s why I’ve become obsessed with Monster Hunter Wilds completely against my own expectations.
Approaching things differently
Curiously, I don’t actually think the biggest reason why I’m enjoying Wilds in a way that I never did with Worlds comes down to any radical differences between the two games. Wilds is very much an iterative sequel, taking the foundation from Worlds and making small (but still pretty meaningful) adjustments and improvements. What’s changed this time is me.
A person can change a lot over seven years, and with Monster Hunter Wilds, I’m taking a very different approach. When I played Worlds, I sped between objectives, and rarely spent time at base camp. I felt as if I wasn’t hunting monsters every moment I was playing, then I was doing something wrong.
That approach led to me being woefully unprepared and under-leveled for even some early-game encounters and resulted in plenty of frustration. In Wilds, I’ve found the joys in fully gearing up ahead of fights, making sure I’ve crafted the best items I can, cooking up meals that give me additional buffs, and restocking my consumable pouches to make sure I have what I need.
Just taking a moment to slow down, and engage with the game’s intricate series of upgrade, item and equipment menus has greatly aided my overall enjoyment. It’s also made the actual fights with monsters feel even more exciting as they come after a careful period of proper preparation.
Never slay alone
One new addition in Wilds compared to World is the inclusion of Support Hunters. These are NPC characters that you can assist you out in the field.
This might seem a small addition on paper (and I believe the feature originated in Monster Hunter Rise), but it’s made a huge difference. Playing Monster Hunter solo is sort of dull — it’s just you whaling on an oversized beast for minutes on end — but when experienced with other players, there’s a real sense of camaraderie, and also potential for synergizing your load-outs.
Of course, playing with other humans online is preferable, but when those aren’t available (or when the servers were sparsely populated during the review period), I’ve found the NPC hunters to be more than adequate.
Plus, as it’s always the same NPCs, I’ve started to build an attachment to them. Rosso has become my trusted sharpshooter, and Olivia once came in clutch to distract a towering monster when it was about to take a lethal swing at me.
Spoils of the hunt
Another aspect of Monster Hunter Wilds that has fueled my current obsession is that after every single mission, I always feel like I’m suitably rewarded for the effort.
I can definitely recall heading back to base in Worlds and not having enough materials to craft anything substantial. But in Wilds, even as I approach the end of the story, I haven't encountered the same friction.
Whenever I return victorious from a hunt, there’s always been some way for me to approve my character, upgrade my gear, or just craft a new weapon.
The loop of crafting cool gear to hunt monsters to craft even cooler gear has always been Monster Hunter’s bread and butter, but it’s been polished to a fine sheen in this latest entry.
All these elements add up to create an experience that I simply don’t want to put down. At the start of the year, I would have thought it unlikely to see Monster Hunter Wilds among my GOTY picks, but now, I’d be shocked if it doesn’t rank near the very top.
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