Capcom's upcoming action role-playing game Monster Hunter Wilds seems to be fantastically full of horrific beasts and unexplored land, and that's all great. But what's really important is the fact that you can, apparently, bend great dragons to your will. Game director Yuya Tokuda talked about it in an interview with the Japanese gaming site Automaton, though he doesn't seem as excited about it as I am.
"We designed [Monster Hunter Wilds] so that other playstyles will become available as you progress," Tokuda said, "such as being able to have [flying wyvern] Rey Dau follow you and round up whole herds [of fanged Doshaguma]."
The hulking and spiky-winged Rey Dau is an apex predator in Monster Hunter Wilds, capable of wielding lightning and eating just about anything. I'm intrigued by the idea of this unbreakable beast following me around like a puppy picking up sticks. Except, instead of sticks, it corrals hairy monsters for me to attack mercilessly. I hope reading Eragon as a child prepared me for this.
If not, Monster Hunter Wilds offers other kinds of symbiosis for us to enjoy.
"The overall concept of the game is to fully depict nature — its threats, abundance and its relationship with humankind," Tokuda said. That's why Capcom is introducing those monster herds Tokuda mentioned, because they feel threatening and true. "We had to revise the AI of the monsters themselves a lot in order to create natural-feeling herd-like behavior," he said, "while still allowing them to move individually to a certain extent."
You can become one with Monster Hunter Wilds' nature once the game releases on February 28, 2025.
