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For fans of beating up big ol' creatures and exploring a thriving world, Monster Hunter Wilds is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2025, and after only half an hour playing, it's even convinced me – a total Monster Hunter newbie – that it's not one to miss.
Aside from giving the free trial of Monster Hunter Rise a whirl on Switch, I've never actually given the series a proper go. But while I didn't have any massive expectations of my own, the reputation of the series alone means Wilds has a lot to live up to. Ever since its reveal, it's looked gorgeous, and 30 minutes into the game I can safely say that, yes, slashing and smashing monsters is – believe it or not – fantastic fun.
My hands-on demo at Gamescom began right from the start of the game, allowing me to choose my appearance, and perhaps most importantly the appearance of my Palico (mine looked like he had a moustache, in case you were wondering). After that, I was more or less thrown right into the action. I'm given a brief introduction to Alma the Handler, along with local smithy Gemma, before spotting a young girl and her Seikret being chased down by a horde of angry monsters. Obviously, the plan is to save her, and doing so calls for a chase sequence in which I've got to shoot at the girl's (and now my) pursuers until reaching safety.
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This hero work is only the beginning, though, as once rescued, the girl lets me know that her brother is in danger, kickstarting the first main mission. At this point, I'm given some time to try out the action-RPG's different weapons. The demo was timed, so I didn't spend an enormous amount of time doing this, but I gave the Great Sword a whirl on a training dummy before switching to the speedy Dual Blades, which let me feel the difference between the heavy, hard hits and fast, fluid slashes of the two respective loadouts.
While you are free to pick from the different weapons, you can also let Alma give you recommendations by answering a few quick questions about what sort of playstyle you like, which seems absolutely perfect for newcomers like me. I decide to trust her judgement and see what she thinks will make a good fit for me, and she certainly delivers. After determining that I prefer being fast and agile, she suggests that I try out the Dual Blades, and they're entirely my jam, so I take them along for the demo's final challenge.
My target is a monstrous Chatacabra – a turquoise, frog-like foe who hunters will meet for the first time in Wilds. After hopping onto the back of a Seikret, who I could set running automatically in the direction of the objective, I soon crossed paths with the big guy, and promptly began tearing into it. Combat feels very fluid and responsive, and I didn't notice any performance issues such as frame rate drops - even during the most frantic parts of the battle. My choice of weapon of course contributed to making everything feel extra fast, but tearing into a bad guy with enormous slashing moves, clinging onto it to stab it repeatedly, and inflicting enormous damage by targeting wounds was so satisfying.
When the demo ends, all I wanted to do is go back for more. I'd have loved to spend hours testing out the different weapons and their moves, as well as get the chance to explore the world, which I wasn't able to do in such a short amount of time. Certainly from a fresh perspective, Monster Hunter Wilds is looking promising – here's hoping that the final product will be able to deliver for series veterans, too.
GamesRadar+ is in Cologne playing the most anticipated new games of 2024, and speaking to the developers bringing them to life. For more of our hands-on previews and exclusive interviews, visit the Gamescom 2024 coverage hub.
