Wilds central flaw isnt that its too easy for veteran hunters, it’s that its too forgiving foreveryone.
Theres a lot of new techniques that made this Monster Hunter a lot easier for me.
If you know how to exploit these techniques, most fights are a cakewalk.
Do these new mechanics make Wilds too easy?
That’s a tough question to answer, and possibly an impossible problem to solve.
If youve been playing Monster Hunter for a long time, then yes, Wilds is easier.
But how could it not be?
The hardest Rathalos youll ever fight is the first one.
It flies around everywhere shooting fireballs that one-shot you, and it feels practically impossible to beat.
But once you learn how to deal with Rathalos, its a piece of cake.
That skill carries across every generation of Monster Hunter.
We keep getting better, but Rathalos doesnt.
Now find someone who is starting their monster hunting career with Wilds and ask them if Rathalos is easy.
Or better yet, dont, because theyre probably going to call you a jerk.
But Wilds does have a major flaw, one that long-time fans can feel and newcomers wouldnt understand.
Whats being interpreted as a lack of challenge is actually a lack of friction.
Its not that the hunts are easy, it’s that it doesnt really matter how hard you try.
With 30 million copies of World sold, the results speak for themselves.
Tamping down the fiddliness has made Monster Hunter a lot more approachable, and a lot more successful.
Consider the core gameplay loop of Monster Hunter World.
Once youve selected your target, you begin preparation.
Only then will you be ready to depart on the mission and take on the hunt.
In Monster Hunter Wilds, you dont have to do any of that.
Seriously, you just pick a monster and go kill it.
If you forgot to eat, you’re able to make a meal in the field.
Didnt bring an antidote for a poison monster?
Your Palico will fix you up.
Forgot to refill your potions?
Your Seikret miraculously has extras in its pouch.
Theres no reason to prepare for a fight when youll be handed everything you need whenever you need it.
Theres no reason to really try when Wilds wants so badly to ensure you succeed.
Im not making a Dark Souls is hard because it makes you appreciate beating it more argument here.
I realize Capcom is going for something more streamlined and frictionless here, and thats not inherently bad.
But by watering down the hunter experience, Monster Hunter has lost a big piece of its identity.
The preparation isnt just there to slow you down and waste your time.
Theres storytelling and world building in prep.
The less you have to think about the process of hunting, the less meaningful the experience becomes.
Its disappointing to see so many people clamoring for the mod that gives the monsters a health bar.
Thats cool, thats what made Monster Hunter unique.
The more of those things Monster Hunter loses, the more it just becomes like any other action game.
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