Monster Hunter Wilds has become Capcom's fastest-selling title with over 8 million copies sold in just three days, but players and critics are highlighting a significant disconnect between the game's ambitious open world design and its surprisingly restrictive early gameplay experience. While the game eventually opens up to deliver the franchise's signature depth, some argue the initial hours might be turning away newcomers before they can experience what makes Monster Hunter truly special.
A Tale of Two Experiences
Monster Hunter Wilds presents players with dramatically different experiences depending on their progression. The game's Low Rank portion, which serves as both tutorial and story introduction, has been criticized for its surprisingly linear approach. Unlike previous Monster Hunter titles that allowed for more experimentation early on, Wilds funnels players through a series of on-rails story sequences, limiting the freedom to explore its intricate systems. One critic described it as feeling less like hunting and more like being fired from a plot cannon, suggesting that Capcom might have overcompensated in its attempt to make the series more accessible to newcomers.
The Hidden Depth Problem
The restrictive nature of Low Rank creates an unusual problem: Monster Hunter Wilds actually hides much of its complexity and depth until after players complete the main story. Only in High Rank does the game fully embrace the traditional Monster Hunter progression system, offering greater variety in armor skills, more decoration slots for build customization, and the full implementation of the new season cycle and seamless hunting features. This design decision risks giving new players the impression they've experienced most of what Monster Hunter has to offer when they've barely scratched the surface of its systems.
An Impressively Connected World
Despite criticisms of its progression structure, Monster Hunter Wilds delivers on creating a truly immersive and connected open world. One player demonstrated this by sharing a remarkable 9-minute Seikret (the game's mount) journey across multiple zones with only a single loading screen. Starting in the Windward Plains and traveling through various biomes to reach the game's later areas, the journey showcases how seamlessly the different environments connect. This level of world design represents a significant technical achievement for the series and creates a more immersive hunting experience once players reach High Rank.
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| A warrior character surveys a vast and rugged landscape, reflecting the immersive and connected world of Monster Hunter Wilds |
The Payoff After Credits Roll
For players willing to push through the more restrictive Low Rank experience, Monster Hunter Wilds eventually delivers on its promises. After completing the main story, which culminates in what many describe as a killer climax fight, the game transforms into the expansive monster-hunting sandbox veterans expect. With approximately 140 hours of gameplay reported by some reviewers, the vast majority of time spent with the game occurs after the credits roll, allowing players to finally experiment with different weapons, explore hidden areas, and engage with the game's numerous interconnected systems.
Finding Balance Between Accessibility and Depth
The contrast between Monster Hunter Wilds' guided early experience and its more open late-game highlights the ongoing challenge Capcom faces in making the notoriously complex series more approachable while retaining its depth. Steam achievement data from Monster Hunter: World reveals that less than half of players completed even the Low Rank story over six years, suggesting that accessibility remains a legitimate concern. However, critics argue that Wilds' approach of delaying much of what makes Monster Hunter special until after the main story might not be the ideal solution.
Looking Forward
With Monster Hunter Wilds' first Title Update scheduled for April, players can expect additional content to further expand the experience. Meanwhile, the community continues to discover new aspects of how the game's systems interact within its impressively designed open world. For those just beginning their journey, numerous guides are available to help navigate the game's multiplayer features, weapon types, and other systems that the game itself doesn't fully explain. Despite its early-game limitations, Monster Hunter Wilds ultimately delivers the depth and complexity longtime fans expect—it just requires some patience to reach it.