Summary
The nextMonster Hunterhas been announced asMonster Hunter Wilds, and fans are eagerly awaiting its 2025 release. Even with the mobile titleMonster Hunter Nowfollowing the end ofMonster Hunter Rise Sunbreak’s post-launch updates, another year is still longer than one might have expected to wait for the next installment. Fortunately,Monster Hunter WorldandRiseare content-complete on all modern platforms, making now the perfect time to replay them or get into the series for the first time. OnceMonster Hunter Wildsis ready, it should be greeted by plenty of seasoned hunters.
Capcom has encouraged this surge in popularity, particularly forMonster Hunter World. Around the time ofMonster Hunter Wilds' reveal, Capcom began a“Return toWorld” event for theMonster Huntercommunity, pointing players towardsWorldin particular due to its similar aesthetic, and possibly design sensibilities, toMH Wilds. New and old fans of the series have been preparing forWildstogether, though some newcomers are learning the hard way thatMonster Hunterhas trouble giving a good first impression. On top of whatever else it changes,Monster Hunter Wildsshould give its tutorials another pass.
Tutorials Are The Bane Of The Monster Hunter Franchise
An old saying in theMonster Huntercommunity is that the series has no tutorials. This is not true in a literal sense, as eventhe original PS2Monster Hunterbegan with a tutorial, but it’s sadly accurate in practice.Monster Hunteris so mechanically dense that it’s difficult to explain what to do with all of its systems, and fan-made guides have had to pick up every game’s slack so far.WorldandRisewent as far as dumping text boxes filled with pointers and control lists onto the screen for several hours straight, which only made absorbing their myriad details even more frustrating.
Monster Hunter’s Best Learning Is Through Experience
Practically speaking, there is no way to fully tutorializeMonster Hunterwith player discovery and improvement being at the core of its identity. Soaking in the relatively easy Low Rank quests and Expeditions, as well asspending time withMonster Hunter’s accessible co-op multiplayer, will help somewhat, but there will always be things players may never learn without a guide. It may not be possible to fill in all ofMonster Hunter’s informational gaps, but future games likeMonster Hunter Wildscan at least make the necessary tutorials more helpful and less frustrating to deal with.
What Monster Hunter Wilds Can Do To Improve Its Tutorials
Removing as much annoyance from its learning process as possible should beMonster Hunter Wilds’ first priority. Making tutorial popups less frequent than they were inWorldandRiseis a good first step, althoughWildsneeds to ensure that the remaining tutorials are set within the first hour of gameplay toavoid repeatingWorld’s worst sin. Prioritizing the most relevant information and keeping it digestible should be the focus, with some lip service paid to avenues that players can pursue to learn more. In general,Monster Hunter Wildsneeds to anticipate player desires and questions, and address those quickly to build positive momentum.
How MH Wilds’ Possible New Format Could Affect Tutorials
Giving players just enough freedom to learn for themselves will be even more important ifMonster Hunter Wildsgoes open-world. A quest system and some sort of hub should still be present for the sake of multiplayer, meaning there will probably be a physical center where players can expect tutorials. Even so,MH Wildscan’t hold players up there, or scatter its tutorials too far into its world. Small, instanced maps made for staged hunts may strike the best balance by guiding players through live gameplay without overwhelming amounts of text.Monster Hunter Wildshas the chance to freshen upMonster Hunter’s tutorials, and it needs to make that count.
Monster Hunter Wilds
WHERE TO PLAY
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.
