The open beta of Capcom’s most anticipated games, Monster Hunter Wilds, is finally here! Read on to learn everything we know, our review of the demo, and more.
Everything We Know About Monster Hunter Wilds Beta
Monster Hunter Wilds Beta Plot
For over a thousand years, the Forbidden Lands have always been thought to be uninhabited until a lone child survivor, Nata, was saved by the Hunter during an investigation. With this new discovery, the Guild authorizes the investigation of the Forbidden Lands and the search of the White Wraith, the monster that attacked the Keepers’ village, Nata’s people.
The Hunter is tasked with leading their crew into the unknown and finding Nata’s missing people using all of the tools, weapons, knowledge, and skills necessary to explore uncharted territory and find the secrets of the Forbidden Lands.
Monster Hunter Wilds Beta Gameplay
With a choice of 14 unique weapon types and a massive roster of different monsters to hunt, Monster Hunter Wilds delivers the same action-packed monster hunting experience as it has always had over the years. Sporting brand new massive hunting grounds and dynamic weather changes, Monster Hunter Wilds introduces even bigger changes than it ever had before.
Being the sixth mainline game of the series, Monster Hunter Wilds has continued to implement most of the designs that it had with the previous iteration, Monster Hunter World, and combines some of the different movesets that were refined in Monster Hunter Rise. While many combat elements have changed, the core gameplay loop remains the same: take quests, hunt monsters, take materials, craft stronger equipment, and repeat.
Monster Hunter Wilds Beta Release Date
Monster Hunter Wilds will be released on February 28, 2025 for PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The game will have an Open Beta Test with Crossplay for all platforms on October 31, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. PT till November 3, 2024 6:59 p.m. PT. PS Plus subscribers will have even earlier access to the beta, as they will be able to access it three days earlier.
Monster Hunter Wilds Beta Review (Demo)
A Sneak Peek at the King of Monster Hunting Action
Many have tried to emulate the design and gameplay of Monster Hunter, yet time and time again, the original just can’t be beat. With the anticipation of the latest release in the series at an all-time high, Capcom has decided to appease the fans with an open beta before its release in February next year.
Not a Silent Rookie Anymore
Contrary to the series’ common themes of you trying to go up the ranks and progressing to become a well-known Hunter, the story seemingly treats you as an elite from the get-go. Instead of accidentally happening onto the scene, you ARE the force of nature in this story, and it’s no secret. Of course, the beta only tackles the introduction of the game, where it actually shows the Hunter acting of their own accord and jumping into action immediately.
It also helps that the Hunter actually talks this time, since there will be more conversations to be had with regards to you and your team visiting uncharted territory. The few scenes and conversations included in the Beta show that the Hunter is already shown as a headstrong and alert attitude, and the supporting characters know what you’re capable of.
Familiar Presentation and Sense of Realism
The audiovisual presentation of the game has definitely stepped up since the past two games. Using what seems to be the RE Engine, the game has a more elevated sense of realism, with how characters are portrayed and how the overall aesthetic looks. The audio design has always been great, and it's no different this time. The music was a great mix of adrenaline-pumping and heroic as you hunt the monsters in the area.
More World And A Little Rise
For those who’ve paid attention to the numerous trailers and showcases that Wilds has had, it’s no secret that they’ve revisited the map design and ecology of Monster Hunter World, but to an even grander scale. Beta players will have access to the Windward Plains in its entirety, and it’s a sign of the game’s overall map and quest design.
Maps are way larger and even way more open this time around, which kind of feels like a bigger Guiding Lands but now as the core idea of every map. Even moving around the map is familiar, except this time you have the Seikret, which you can use as a mount to freely move and glide through the region.
In terms of combat, however, the game takes a lot of inspiration from Monster Hunter Rise, with a few changes and twists. It’s even been discovered that some changes to the movesets and animations were taken from an even older iteration in the series, Monster Hunter Frontier. I can’t tackle every change they’ve made to the weapons, but I can safely say they’ve focused on making a mobile-yet-grounded experience as opposed to Rise’s use of Wirebugs.
Same Weapons, New Feel
The series has always been known to have weapons that are very distinct from each other in terms of playstyle and functionality. All 14 of them made a comeback, and all of them got changes of some kind. It also retains the feeling of being able to hunt any monster with any weapon as long as you’re good at it, since the core concept of choosing different weapons is to be able to find your preferred playstyle.
During my time with the beta, I used the weapons that I was most familiar with: Sword and Shield and Dual Blades. Two weapons that are fairly easy to pick up yet still offer a lot of depth to them.
I was fairly surprised by the SnS’ integration of the Rise moveset, where it’s not just a weapon where you spam Perfect Rush all the time. It felt familiar yet so different with how everything flows, and it definitely took me a while to get used to the new attack chains. But the thing that surprised me the most was that the SnS actually has a Perfect Guard mechanic, which allows you to negate a single hit of damage and even have a Counter that leads into your main attack chains.
For the Dual Blades, it felt a lot more like the Rise’ version but with no resources needed to spend as you have access to the Demon Dodge and the other Switch Skills as part of your main moveset. It’s still highly committal and very flashy, but I found that it was a lot safer to play as you have the ability to dodge out of the long animations of the Demon Dance.
Issues, Nitpicks, and Problems
It doesn’t come without its issues, however, as the beta definitely did not run as smoothly as I had hoped. First off, even with the game prioritizing framerate, it wasn’t running at a stable 60 frames per second. While it’s not entirely surprising to those who’ve played the previous games as well as Dragon’s Dogma 2, it is quite concerning for its release.
Another issue was the online-only aspect of the game, at least in the beta. I was disconnected a number of times during my experience, and it kicked me out immediately as opposed to the previous game where quests would carry on as a solo endeavor instead.
Additionally, there were times when monsters would clip through the terrain and this was very apparent in the open areas where the sand dunes are inclined. This has always been a long standing issue that the franchise has, but it seemed to be an even bigger problem as monster attacks that would supposedly hit me would miss to with their body parts going through terrain.
Lastly, the game crashed quite a bit during my playthrough—five times in fact. This was especially frustrating, as I was already getting into the thick of it and it happened often. I’m not entirely sure if this was a network issue or the performance of the game, but it had to be pointed out that I crashed a bunch of times.
February Can’t Come Sooner
Even with all these changes and nitpicks, I still can’t believe we’re actually getting a new Monster Hunter game this soon. They even did a really good job on expanding the weapons without making it feel overwhelming. With how they treat the Hunter in the story, it kind of feels like a welcome back rather than a completely new experience. After my experience with the beta, I already can’t wait for February to roll in so I can sink more than enough hours to hunt monsters again.
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Monster Hunter Wilds Product Information
 | |
| Title | MONSTER HUNTER WILDS |
|---|---|
| Release Date | February 28, 2025 |
| Developer | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| Publisher | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Genre | Action, Co-Op |
| Number of Players | Single-System (1), Online Multiplayer |
| Rating | T |
| Official Website | Monster Hunter Wilds Official Website |
