Monster Hunter’s Logical Destination Is Becoming a Boss Rush Game Series – But Is That What We Want?

Seikrets sic on monsters and can get the hunters automatically to the desired destination while they prepare their equipment for the next melee. This is the sort of addition that’s awesome for a traditional open-world game, but I fear it might render the more involved exploration of past games a bit pointless once you’ve charted the new zones once. Sure, we’ve yet to see how the whole game flows and how these new elements are integrated into the loop, but even if I’m going to welcome any QoL change that makes the grind a bit less painful, I’m also worried about the rougher edges of Monster Hunter becoming too polished little by little.

I’m betting on Wilds’ new, more agile ‘hunt loop’ coming together beautifully in the end. Everything I’ve played so far doesn’t suggest otherwise. However, as I’ve gotten older and started to appreciate what surliness can do for games when applied in the right doses, I’ve also found myself second-guessing many changes made to onboard newbies (and thus more consumers). Recent live service failures have shown us that chasing bigger playerbases often ends in disaster as properties end up forgetting why they became popular in the first place. While Monster Hunter isn’t an example of that, there’s a faint connection between veteran series that got lost in those woods and Capcom’s current crown jewel chasing infinite growth. Its soul somehow remains untouched for now, but will it stay that way forever?

Wilds director Yuya Tokuda and producer Ryozo Tsujimoto have an excellent track record, so I shouldn’t be too worried about the series’ future at this stage, but after so many wins, you start to wonder when and how it all could start going south. What I’m describing and theorizing about here wouldn’t even be noticed by most players. It’s an abstract sort of thing, closer to what the games say than what they do. It’s often hard to convey such thoughts and feelings when dealing with gameplay-first video games, so excuse me if this all sounds like the ramblings of a madman.

The funny thing is that Monster Hunter needn’t stick to strict rules and a single series of games. We’ve already gotten the Stories spinoffs and Now is seemingly doing great on mobile. There’s plenty of space for growth and experimentation. More casual-friendly endeavors could be the perfect gateway to the main series for more players. Capcom should continue to push in that direction while letting the main Monster Hunter titles remain savage and the right amount of arduous.