Sure, I feel like I say this every time a new game in the series comes out, but Monster Hunter Wilds really is going to be the best game to get started with in the series. Broken record? Not really, I'm simply observing a very favorable trajectory that just goes to show how in tune Capcom is with its core experience: hunting monsters with friends. You can develop the greatest behemoth battler ever made but what good is it if players don't show up? Capcom knows how to get them in the lobby.
Yet, the developer is also keen to make sure long-time fans (Monster Hunter just celebrated its 20th anniversary, after all) are well served by Monster Hunter Wilds as well. Handily, director Yuya Tokuda doesn't sweat the difference too much. "I think both types of fans are basically similar in what they want from the Monster Hunter experience," he shares. "But the difference would be in how they get on board with the game. If you're a veteran since the old days, then you kind of already know right from the start how to play the game, and you can jump right on board."
Hunter gathering
Giving newcomers that helping hand up to the same perch requires some planning, though. "If you're a relatively new player, I think that it's our job to give you a story that helps you learn how to play Monster Hunter as you go along and follow the quests," Tokuda continues. "What we want you to reach is the same point as existing veteran fans, which is the really rewarding and challenging gameplay cycle and the massive amount of content volume that you can enjoy later on in the game."
What's key is ensuring there's no split in where they ultimately end up, in order to keep the player base unified. "It's really about getting two different types of people to the same place, rather than trying to cater to two completely different fan bases who want different things," says Tokuda.
Online co-op is vital to Monster Hunter Wilds. But it isn't everything. "I would say that you don't need to feel like you have to jump straight online if you're new to Monster Hunter. It can take a while to get comfortable with the feeling of playing in a group of up to four people," says producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. "Don't rush it, and take advantage of the support system that we have built in with the AI characters who can join you on a solo hunt when you're playing offline."
These 'support hunters' don't just make the huge open areas in Monster Hunter Wilds feel alive, as they hunt the monsters that freely and naturally roam the gorgeous environments. They also emulate the experience of playing alongside others online. "That's a great way for beginners to play sort of fundamentally solo, but get a feeling for what it means to have other hunters in the map with them," says Tsujimoto. "They're quite intelligent characters, and they'll do things like, you know, maybe distract the monster for you, or lure it to a different place, or help you trap it. And when you see what the support hunters are doing for you, that will give you an idea of what to expect and also what you should want from your fellow players."
They can act as prompts for how to play, and even what you can do. Capcom doesn't want to make any assumptions about player skill level jumping in. "Because if it's your first time, maybe you weren't aware it's possible, to say, trap a monster," notes Tsujimoto. "So when the support Hunter does it, you go, 'Oh, right, yeah, that's a good idea. And whenever I'm playing online later, maybe I'll try to do that to be helpful." Strategy, after all, is important when stalking your prey, and Capcom is mindful about not letting the series devolve into something mindless. "That it isn't just four players acting as if they were solo and bashing away, there's a certain amount of interaction and strategy that you need to have," he says.
New chapter
Storylines in the series have often been light touch, a reason to throw you into a series of boss fights as a ladder to get to an endgame of even bigger boss fights. In Monster Hunter Wilds, though, it's a bigger focus, providing a chapter-by-chapter journey through its tale.
"The concept that I had from the start of the game was humanity as part of the ecosystem, and realizing that humans weren't something on the outside of it looking in, they were part of it, and they had an effect on it," says Tokuda. "That naturally led to an increased focus on story. Because the storytellers, the humans, are actually right in there amongst it. It just made sense to me to have the story more upfront than in past titles."
I can't help but compare the approach to being like some more traditional RPGs. Tokuda acknowledges the comparison, but calls the approach more of a "natural evolution" of implementing a "learning curve" that introduces players to the game. "I think a chapter structure just makes a lot of sense, because it's easy to follow, and players can understand more generally which chapter they're in right now, how far along they are," says Tokuda. "The result was, it looked like, as you said, 'Oh, are you trying to go for RPG players by imitating that structure?' But really it was just, again, it was a natural outcome of our other decisions that hopefully makes sense to players."
Importantly, Monster Hunter Wilds is a game for everyone. The series' console co-op journey has been a long and storied one, but even though past entries have been a bit intimidating – there's immense depth to the hunt – the goal has always been for players to play together. Paving the way for players to jump in, and reach a point where they comfortably join forces is just another weapon in the series' arsenal that's been honed over time. In Monster Hunter Wilds, that winning edge is now razor sharp.
When you jump online, who knows, maybe you'll end up playing with the devs? The director of Monster Hunter Wilds was sneaking around the beta: "There are players out there who'd have no idea to this day that they were actually playing with the director"
