When it comes to Monster Hunter, I have to admit I’m relatively new to the party. For years, I skipped out on the series mainly because the games were stuck on handhelds that I had no interest in, and honestly, they didn’t look too appealing performance-wise.
Everything changed with Monster Hunter World—it was my gateway into the series, and before long, I was completely hooked. Fast forward to today, and I’ve clocked in over 24 hours on Wilds. I dove straight into the main campaign, putting sidequests on the back burner, and I have to say—it left me underwhelmed.
Monster Hunter campaigns aren’t exactly renowned for their riveting stories or clever plot twists. They typically serve the purpose of walking players through the many layers of tutorials about the systems and mechanics you’ll be mastering over the next hundred hours or so. Essentially, they’re a guided tour of the game’s wildlife and environments.
These campaigns generally follow a well-trodden path: Your team is hot on the trail of a mysterious creature whose appearance is throwing the world into chaos. Along the way, other monsters keep derailing your progress until you finally catch up to the original beast, blah blah blah. You have your epic showdown, the main story wraps up, and that’s when the door to High Rank content swings open—freeing you to dive into the heart of Monster Hunter.
In broad strokes, Wilds’ campaign is a mirror image of World’s. However, the intricate details make all the difference—one offers a captivating journey, while the other barely makes an impression.
What set World’s campaign apart was its focus. Zorah Magdaros, a beast of unprecedented size, posed a significant challenge requiring an entire village to even attempt to slow it down. This lumbering giant was so vast that several fights could take place on its back, all while more space remained.
This massive endeavor was a bold move from the developers—an attempt to innovate and expand the classic Monster Hunter experience. Despite the mixed reception, I personally found the Zorah Magdaros segments refreshing; they broke the monotony of the campaign and laid out a broader narrative journey as it trailed through various landscapes.
Each relocation of Zorah Magdaros wasn’t just another waypoint; it unlocked new areas, offering a palpable change to the ecosystem and leaving players in suspense regarding its true motives. The pursuit added a driving force to the story and a shroud of mystery that kept my curiosity piqued.
Switch gears to the Wilds campaign, and there’s no equivalent to Zorah—a looming, massive threat is notably absent. Arkveld, the game’s star monster, makes fleeting appearances that mystify more than threaten and disappears only to reappear ages later. Surprisingly, it’s not the final boss—this is reserved for a slumbering behemoth you barely know until right before your showdown.
The camaraderie, the collective urgency of diverse factions uniting against a common threat, is missing. Some monster introductions don’t seem to harmoniously weave into the story but rather awkwardly force themselves into missions, making confrontations feel a tad out of place.
It feels like there once was an intended storyline connecting the different character factions that’s now mysteriously absent. NPC conversations and some snippets in cinematics hint at a deeper narrative but never fully deliver it.
Even the backstory of an ancient civilization and its downfall due to weather-manipulating technology fizzles out, coming across more like scattered lore and less a key piece of the plot.
Wilds’ campaign mirrors the broader issues in the game: in its effort to streamline and create broad appeal, much of the series’ distinctive charm is lost. While we’ll soon be shifting our focus to the highs and lows of the overall game, I can’t help but wonder what might have been if we’d received a true sequel to World’s narrative adventure.
