Although popular franchises dot the video game landscape, few stand the test of time. Some capitalize on a spectacular idea and run the idea into the ground. Others are fine with building on the strength of a memorable story, but the best and longest-running series have a knack for reinvention.

“The Legend of Zelda,” “Super Mario Bros.” and “Resident Evil” constantly evolve and grow. The developers handling these franchises not only know when a formula is growing stale, but they also figure out how to forge a new path. They take the right risks to reinvigorate the gameplay.

And now “Monster Hunter” has become a series that fits the mold.

The series has become less complex and cumbersome and more accessible and streamlined over time. Initially, players had to track monsters by throwing paintballs at them, but “Monster Hunter World” introduced the concept of scout flies that guide players to a target. It reinforced the concept of mounts in “Monster Hunter Rise” while introducing a new level of mobility with wirebugs.

HUNTING EVOLVED

When it comes to “Monster Hunter Wilds,” Capcom takes a big leap in the franchise’s evolution. The game explores a new area called the Forbidden Lands after a boy named Nata fled an attack from a creature called Arkveld. The Hunter’s Guild dispatches the player and a team to explore this new secretive region and return the child to his tribe called the Keepers.

The main campaign takes players through five significant areas. They’re expansive maps that rival the biggest zones from previous chapters and often feature a mixture of biomes or architecture not typically seen in past games. What’s more impressive than that is that these massive areas are interconnected, making “Wilds” the first open-world “Monster Hunter” game. Players can travel from one region to another through narrow transition areas and other tricks that mask the map loading.

MORE VERSATILITY

To help players journey through each area, Capcom gives players a new mount called a Seikret. It resembles “Monster Hunter’s” interpretation of “Final Fantasy’s” Seikret. The creature is speedy for chasing down fleeing monsters and can track scents of different monsters or resources. More importantly, it carries a second set of weapons players can switch to in a hunt. It’s a huge upgrade for the series and makes hunters more versatile.

If players bring a weapon that’s a bad matchup against a flying foe, they can store a ranged weapon such as a bow or heavy bowgun to take them down. If they run out of Mega Potions, they can find some extra First Aid in the Seikret’s packs. Unfortunately, a Seikret doesn’t participate in combat, but players’ Felyne partner does more than enough as an extra level of support. The “Monster Hunter Wilds” Felyne is a more well-rounded helper, offering heals when health is low and attacking to distract a monster when players need a chance to recover. The artificial intelligence behind the character always seemed to make the right call in battle.

Thankfully, “Wilds” won’t force players to travel to each map via Seikret. Players can take that trip, but it’s quicker to fast-travel to the base camps or villages in each of five locales. They can also post up in the pop-up camps that players can establish in each zone.

MORE GRANULARITY IN ATTACKS

The other huge “Wilds” change comes in the combat. Players now have a Focus mode that lets them target specific creature parts. In previous games, players had to position their hunter so that attacks hit specific weak points, which sometimes felt ambiguous. Focus mode adds a new level of control and granularity, almost like aiming down the iron sights in a first-person shooter. At first, it feels cumbersome and a step back, but it becomes second nature once players adjust to the idea.

It creates a second step in hunts. The first one comes in battling a monster as players normally would in previous games. They attack and create wounds. When players hit the Focus mode, they can see those wounds highlighted in red. Then they can deal a special Focus strike on them to damage those vulnerabilities, which can cause a monster to limp, lose a tail, or become blind.

That’s not all the changes. Developers also give each weapon a counter that can knock down a creature if timed correctly. It gives players an emergency defensive move when they’re cornered or don’t have the stamina to dodge. Players also have more ways to use the environment to damage foes, such as pulling down a rock formation on top of them. A lot of this is activated through the Slinger, a tool that lets players collect resources from a distance or shoot special ammo they can gather in the wild. It’s how players stun enemies using Flash Pods or separate monsters that hunt in packs via Dung Pods.

LENGTH OF A TYPICAL HUNT

In terms of combat, “Wilds” plays more like “World,” but it has some of the speediness of the “Rise” hunts. Players who want to get into hunts and attack a monster don’t have to search the environment to activate a quest. They can join a posted quest and jump into a hunt with the Seikret, taking players directly to the monster. With a properly equipped player, hunts last about about 15 minutes.

Nevertheless, players will find value in exploring the world. They can unlock more hunts when coming across a monster, especially after the main campaign as players explore the meaty end game filled with high rank equipment. What’s more notable is that the dynamic environment plays a role in which monsters are around and can affect a fight. This element and the open-world environment are underused in hunts, but that can be another step in the growth of a series that constantly finds the right ways to satisfy series veterans and newcomers.

‘Monster Hunter Wilds’

4 stars out of four

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, PC

Rating: Teen

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