I'm not saying Monster Hunter Wilds will be GOTY, but your custom character hits the legendary anime Akira slide on a giant bird and I don't see any other games doing that

Monster Hunter Wilds Seikret bird mount walking in plains — (Image credit: Capcom)

Far be it from me to make Game of the Year predictions for 2025 when we haven't even wrapped up 2024 – here comes the big but looming over that statement – but I don't see other games letting you drift giant birds like the Akira motorcycle, so Monster Hunter Wilds at least has a head start by my count.

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GameSpot shared a few minutes of new campaign and hunt gameplay from Monster Hunter Wilds this week, and the best detail is right at the front, as Reddit user Qtip_Factory spotted. The demo's custom-made hunter, a greatsword-wielding woman with hair that stays luscious even in sweltering desert sands, rides her Seikret mount alongside the guild's sand-ship, yanks her greatsword out of the ground after beloved smithy Gemma hurls it overboard, then immediately slams the handbrake on that Seikret for a picture-perfect Akira slide while staring down the camera. Absolute cinema.

This section of the intro has come up in multiple Monster Hunter Wilds trailers. Just today, Capcom released an extended beginner's guide which shows the same sequence – but, tragically, cuts out the most important part: the Akira slide. Beginners need to know this is in the game, Capcom. It is vital information.

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The Akira slide, as you may have deduced, comes from the 1988 classic animated cyberpunk film Akira. It's appeared in countless anime, games, cartoons, and live-action films and TV shows over the decades, featuring everything from motorcycles and bicycles to giant bugs and animals. It's not about the vehicle; it's about the spirit, the camera angle, the telling trail of dust. There's a great YouTube video collecting dozens of examples. I probably should've expected this from Monster Hunter Wilds after Monster Hunter Rise built an entire game around giant dogs that you can also drift, but the Seikret slide is even better than I could've imagined.

Monster Hunter Wilds PC system requirements are frankly terrifying – we might be in for a repeat of Monster Hunter World's GPU-melting launch.