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Monster Hunter Wilds: Open Beta Review — Should I Buy the Full Version?
The Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta Test has expired, and we have gathered some meaningful insights to help you decide whether or not to wait for the full release. First things first, if you have been following Capcom’s Monster Hunter series like us, you will quickly relive your old memories. This new addition to an already huge series takes all the good stuff from its previous iterations and polishes it to keep up with the next-gen standards.
Even though we only got limited gameplay that lasted for about 2 hours, we took the extra time to explore the game from different perspectives. From the insanely detailed character creation to the easy-to-master combat mechanics, this game surely deserves to stay in the spotlight for a while. However, Monster Hunter Wilds Beta did come with a few issues, but that’s no surprise, as it is still a work in progress. Let’s jump into our Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta Review, what we loved, what needs to improve, and whether or not you should wait for the full release:
Blogs Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta Review
The new Monster Hunter Wilds starts off slow with some backstory and a somewhat basic tutorial like every other game from the series. However, the game quickly changes boots, and you end up fighting the first monster, Chatacabra Alpha. This hunt lasts for about 5 minutes before you get to meet Nata and learn more about how the mysterious disappearances of its Village Keepers. The rest of the Demo revolves around this concept while helping you explore all the different mechanics included in the new game. Here is a breakdown of everything we saw in this limited-time Beta before the official launch in February 2025.
Blogs Monster Hunter Wilds Lore
The Forbidden Lands have been considered to be uninhabitable for thousands of years as monsters rule this part of the world. The Elite Monster White Wraith regularly raids the Keepers’ Village and kills its inhabitants. However, everything changes when a child named Nata is saved by a mysterious Hunter during one of his investigations. With this new development, the Guild has now authorized further investigations into the Forbidden Lands to search for the White Wraith.
Players will take the role of a prestigious Hunter and utilize all possible resources, be it weapons, knowledge, or sacred skills, to explore the restricted territory. The goal is simple, slay different kinds of monsters, extract invaluable information from their corpses, and use that knowledge to improve their gears until they face the White Wraith.
Blogs Improvising Some Key Mechanics
Once you complete the character creation menu, the game throws you into the Forbidden Lands with very little information about your objectives. After the first Monster Hunt, you are left free to explore the huge landscape and interact with almost everything within your reach. This straightforward gameplay mechanic is on par with all other Monster Hunter games, so you won’t feel alienated if you are a veteran. Apart from this core mechanism, Monster Hunter Wilds goes in a different direction than all previous titles.
The game now includes RPG mechanics and gives the players the freedom to explore and take multiple quests, much like The Witcher 3. Instead of going after one monster at a time, players can choose multiple expeditions from the town quest board and complete them in any other. As a result, the Monster Hunter Wilds has evolved into a fully open-world game, unlike its predecessors. Oh, and our Hunter and his companion can now speak freely even outside the cutscenes, blowing life into our characters.
Secondly, the game has narrowed the separation line between towns, villages, safe zones, and the outside monster world. You won’t feel separated from the human settlements even when you step outside the safe zones. Unlike Monster Hunter Worlds, you don’t have to return to the quest board to select a new monster expedition. Instead, you can track any available quest from the quest journal, much like the Elder Scrolls side quests. Even though this concept takes away the essence of the original arcade style, it does feel ingenious as it gives you complete freedom to explore however you like.
Blogs Dynamic Weather
In our opinion, the new Dynamic Weather system in Monster Hunter Wilds makes the world feel alive and growing all the time. It feels like the world outside the village is alive and growing, and it sustains a whole ecosystem even when you are not around. There are tons of monsters in the outworld, humungous trees, ever-changing weather, and an ecosystem that changes with the weather conditions.
Also, you won’t be able to catch and defeat any monster on your list at any time, even if you have the quest in your journal. Instead, you must wait for a specific time of the day and weather conditions and wait patiently at the right location. The monsters are systematically generated in the world whether or not you are around. So, you must track down every monster after learning its spawn time, point, and whereabouts.
From what we saw in the Open Beta, there are active day and night cycles, sandstorms, lightning storms, sunny days, and clear sky nights filled with stars. However, this is just the beginning, as we may get a snowy season in the full release. It seems like the MH Wilds takes most of its inspiration from the MH Worlds but at a bigger, grander scale. Oh, and of course, we now have our Seikret Mount to ride and glide across the huge open world. Overall, the Beta only gave access to the Windward Plains region, but it was enough to give a glimpse of what to expect from the full game, and it is Lit!
Blogs Weapons and Combat
As mentioned earlier, Monster Hunter Wilds takes a lot of inspiration from its predecessors. We got the ecosystem details from Monster Hunter Worlds but its combat mechanics and move sets weren’t quite satisfactory by today’s standards. Fortunately, Capcom has extracted the weapon animations, combos, move sets, and combat mechanics from Monster Hunter Rise and some from even older titles like Monster Hunter Frontier.
Similarly, the game now offers 14 unique weapons that you will gradually unlock through steady progression. Instead of the traditional restrictions, players are now free to switch weapons at any time, even when mounted. This scheme, combined with the new Focus Mode and Wound System, makes it easier to aim at the monster’s weak points without compromising on mobility. However, it took us a while to master the new controls as they are a bit different from previous Monster Hunter games.
Also, we loved the new larger Dung Pod, a throwable item that disperses large packs of enemies. In our pursuit of the Doshaguma monster, we used this Dung Pod to scatter the large pack and focus on the primary target. When the monster got away, we quickly called our Feathered Mount to decrease the distance before switching back to the Seikret for some mounted attacks before slaying the beast.
Blogs Problems and Issues in the Monster Hunter Wilds Beta
Capcom was very clear about potential issues that players might face during the Open Beta; it was a test release, after all. Right out of the box, we noticed massive FPS drops as the game was literally trying too hard to maintain a steady 60 FPS. This wasn’t the first time, as we had pretty much the same experience with Monster Hunter World and even Dragon Dogma 2. However, it didn’t compromise our gameplay experience that much, as the game is playable even at a steady 30 FPS.
One thing that really got us frustrated was the online-only requirement, even though it is a single player game. We got kicked out of the servers about 8 times during our encounter with Doshaguma; maybe it was due to the new co-op Flare feature that we discussed in our Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta details guide. Secondly, the monsters would sometimes tip off the edges of the sand dunes, but this issue will most likely be fixed in the final release.
Lastly, the game crashed, like a lot! Personally, my game crashed around 5 times in a single playthrough. However, it is quite unclear whether it was a performance related issue or something wrong with my internet connection. Also, the battle was over whenever a player from the party got disconnected, unlike Monster Hunter Worlds, which switched to single player mode almost seamlessly. Apart from these issues, the game ran quite smoothly despite its early release, so that’s a thumbs up to Capcom for their efforts.
Blogs Final Thoughts
We can’t believe that we are getting a new Monster Hunter game this soon after the previous release. Judging from the first impressions, the new Monster Hunter Wilds is going to be a massive hit once the Devs are finished polishing its edges. Also, the game is a treat for MH veterans as the story and gameplay mechanics feel like a welcome back rather than a welcome to the game experience. Overall, we can’t wait for its full release on 28th February 2025, and the game is really worth every penny!
