Monster Hunter sleuths think Wilds is the open-world game we've been waiting for

Some Monster Hunter Wilds fans are convinced the new game has a fully open-world design, a big departure from the Capcom series' usual formula.

Capcom has finally unveiled Monster Hunter Wilds, and it looks every bit like the Monster Hunter World follow-up I've been hoping for for years now. However, the game's reveal trailer has caused some fans to speculate that it might take Capcom's series into the open-world realms for the first time.

Comment from r/MonsterHunter

There are plenty of comments agreeing with the sentiment above but arguing that it could cause a major headache for the developers at Capcom. "open world fits for this franchise, but at the same time, open world is a massive challenge for developing and tends to cause the quality of other aspects of the game to decline," adds one commenter.

We're unsure what the user means when they say "decline" regarding game design. "Maybe it's not open world but more guiding land open world? We probably can accept more than one quest then we will go to these big open worlds to hunt them," posits another Reddit user.

It's worth pointing out that Monster Hunter is a series geared towards differing climates and biomes alongside the beasts that inhabit them. This is why Monster Hunter has always had separate map regions in different climates rather than one big open world, and it would probably be a "massive challenge" for Capcom's developers to blend them all into one map.

Elsewhere, though, others think the game could be primed for bigger areas than before if not a fully open world. The screenshot below shows a colossal map sprawling out below the player character, but of course, this isn't necessarily representative of what we'll be playing when Monster Hunter Wilds eventually rolls around. 

Looks like Monster Hunter Wilds is a VERY LARGE departure from what we used to. from r/MonsterHunter

"Honestly, I'm glad Capcom simply didn't get comfortable after World's success and still tries something different," writes one Reddit comment underneath the post above. "I thought World was already a massive departure from series standards, but now this seems like an even bigger departure."

Elsewhere, Monster Hunter Wilds fans are in love with a new Pangolin that can seemingly conduct lightning. Maybe there's a big overhaul in store for the little helpless creatures, as well as a big shift in design with an open world.

Check out our recap of The Game Awards 2023 for a full list of all the major announcements from the event.