Monster Hunter Wilds: Protagonist Aims Beyond Extinction

While the Monster Hunter series is renowned for its thrilling monster hunts, Capcom is set to highlight a core theme in Monster Hunter Wilds: the intricate relationship between hunters and the natural world. Dive deeper to explore what's on the horizon for Monster Hunter Wilds!

Monster Hunter Wilds Will Focus On Humans And Nature

A Deeper Understanding Of What It Means To Be A Hunter

In the Monster Hunter universe, the series has always portrayed hunters as stewards of nature, fostering a symbiotic relationship between humans and monsters. Capcom's development team is keen on amplifying this theme in Monster Hunter Wilds (MH Wilds), while also enriching the player character with more distinct personality traits.

The central theme of MH Wilds revolves around the delicate balance between nature, the inhabitants, and the hunters within this ecosystem. "The relationship between people, nature, and monsters, and what exactly is a hunter's role in a world like that...We wanted to illustrate that not just through the gameplay, but through a very deep story. There are many other things we have planned down the line that are aligned to the concept of Monster Hunter Wilds, and we're confident this game was able to achieve what we wanted to express with it," stated game director Yuya Tokuda in an interview with PC Gamer.

To bring this vision to life, Monster Hunter Wilds will feature more dialogue, allowing players to imbue their hunter characters with greater personality. Tokuda highlighted the diversity of the game's world, populated by individuals from various backgrounds with unique perspectives. He specifically mentioned characters like Nata and Olivia, who approach the monster situation differently. "There are many people with different perspectives living all together. And we also wanted to illustrate how the hunter would feel in a world like that. What would they feel? How would they think? Everybody is different, so we decided to add those kinds of elements to Monster Hunter Wilds."

This approach marks a shift from the series' traditional silent protagonists and minimal dialogue, but it won't compromise the beloved combat system. "There may be players who prefer to skip all that and just keep on hunting the next monster—that's possible too. The volume of the text that's available in the game will not affect the number of monsters available, so we can satisfy everybody," Tokuda reassured. This is just the beginning, as the director also mentioned that they have "many other things planned down the line" that will further explore the bond between humans and nature.

For those intrigued by the deeper themes and narratives of Monster Hunter, check out Game8's featured article on What Monster Hunter Is Really About.