Can Monster Hunter Wilds be your first game in the series? Devs answer

Monster Hunter Wilds is nearly here, but if you’re not familiar with the franchise, you might be wondering how this title serves as an entry point. We discussed how newcomer-friendly the game is with Executive Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and Director Yuya Tokuda.

Monster Hunter Wilds is the newest entry in a storied franchise that dates back more than 20 years. Long-time fans know the series’ iconic weapons and savage Monsters like the back of their hand.

Of course, with recent efforts like Capcom’s #ReturntoWorld campaign and spotlights from major streamers like Asmongold, this next title has the potential to draw in a tonne of first-time hunters. Given the series’ long history and its reputation for complexity, prospective newcomers might be a little tentative.

In a preview event for the game, we spoke with Executive Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and Director Yuya Tokuda about how they’ve tackled induction for new players. So, can Monster Hunter Wilds be your first game in the series?

Monster Hunter Wilds devs have prioritized accessibility for new players

The team behind Monster Hunter Wilds knows this will be the first time many players are stepping into a well-established. As a result, they’ve put a lot of time and energy into the onboarding processes of the game.

“We’re always thinking about first-time players, especially for Monster Hunter Wilds. That was always a focus,” Tsujimoto assured us. Their primary method of figuring out how to ease newcomers into the tangle of systems that make up the game was through a data-driven approach.

“We were able to do certain things after analyzing the data from Monster Hunter World. We were able to see where certain players were getting stuck and where they were having so much difficulty that they wanted to quit the game and not continue,” Tsujimoto explained. “We’ve been focused on ways to avoid this and accessibility is important for us in Monster Hunter Wilds.”

The drop-off is a known phenomenon amongst Monster Hunter players. Monster Hunter World specifically is famous for its lack of handholding and while player discovery is still central to the series’ identity, Director Yuya Tokuda wanted to make sure that this learning process wouldn’t turn newer hunters away.

“The big essence of Monster Hunter is that you fight Large Monsters and you enjoy the fight sequence that you have against it. Learning its patterns, dodging its moves, and finding windows to attack,” Tokuda elaborated. “We noticed that people who were struggling with Monster Hunter World, they weren’t even getting to that point because they were leaving before then.”

“In order for people to reach that section and really enjoy the essence of Monster Hunter, they need to reach that segment without much stress so we’ve focused on ways to achieve that.”

One of the primary ways they’ve done this is by reducing the tedium in the game’s opening hours by eliminating mandatory Small Monster hunts. They’ve also set up a system that better explains the 14 weapons that players can choose from.

Where Monster Hunter World just tells you to pick one without any context, Monster Hunter Wilds offers a survey courtesy of your Handler Alma. Identifying which weapons are fast, which ones are slow, and which have the simplest combos helps to offer new hunters a comfortable playstyle from the get-go without so much trial and error.

“Also in Monster Hunter when you encounter a Large Monster for the first time, you might not know how to fight it and be intimidated. We’ve added new cues for recommending SOS flares and our Hunting Companions as a way to help. This was all decided on after reviewing the Monster Hunter World data,” Tokuda concluded.

A first-timer’s perspective on Monster Hunter Wilds

During the same preview event in which Dexerto spoke to the game’s developers, we had a member of our team who was brand-new to the series take on Monster Hunter Wilds. Despite being a fresh face to the hunting scene, they were able to make it all the way into the Oilwell basin and take on the fearsome Rompompolo.

After going over their experience as a first-time hunter, they explained that getting to grips with the basic elements of the game and dealing with Large Monsters felt accessible to them. The caveat here is that Monster Hunter’s trademark web of menus, crafting, and preparation could feel somewhat overwhelming.

The game and its predecessors require an excessive amount of time investment and on-the-job learning so to speak. In a preview environment with limited time, it’s easy to see how that part of the experience might be lost.

At the very least, even without the full scope of mechanical interplay, Monster Hunter Wilds does allow an easier time grasping the core Monster Hunter experience which is what the devs appear to have hoped for. Whether or not that experience is for you specifically is another matter.

Monster Hunter as a franchise can be viewed somewhat similarly to FromSoftware’s unique take on the action RPG genre. The idea is to take on challenging enemies and best them by learning their specific patterns and weaknesses; and by using your own mastery of the game’s combat mechanics and other systems.

As cliche as it feels to say, Monster Hunter Wilds may serve as this franchise’s Elden Ring in terms of its potential to draw new players into that gameplay loop. The open world-adjacent approach allows players to move at their own pace; while the ability to summon AI companions to help recalls something like Spirit Ash Summons.

These new tools will certainly help take first-timers of the series further along than previous games, but eventually, you will need to engage with some of the more overwhelming aspects of preparation and gear management.

You’ll be able to find out whether or not Monster Hunter Wilds is truly for you when the game launches on February 28, 2025.