The Monster Hunter series, renowned for its thrilling monster hunts, is shifting its focus. Capcom aims to highlight a core theme often understated: the intricate relationship between hunters and the natural world. Discover what awaits in Monster Hunter Wilds!
Monster Hunter Wilds: A Deeper Dive into Humanity and Nature
Monster Hunter games typically portray hunters as skilled individuals, suggesting a symbiotic relationship between humans and monsters. Capcom is amplifying this theme in Monster Hunter Wilds (MH Wilds), enriching the player character's personality and deepening the narrative.
The central theme of MH Wilds revolves around the interconnectedness of nature, its inhabitants, and the people who call it home. Game director Yuya Tokuda explained to PC Gamer, "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 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."
This emphasis on narrative is evident in the increased dialogue, allowing players to imbue their hunter characters with more distinct personalities. Tokuda highlighted the diverse perspectives within the game's world, using the characters Nata and Olivia as examples of individuals with differing backgrounds and approaches to monster encounters. "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 departure from the series' traditional silent protagonists and minimal dialogue choices is significant. However, Tokuda assures players that this narrative expansion won't overshadow the core gameplay.
"There may be players who prefer to skip all that and just go 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," he stated. This focus on narrative is only the beginning, with Tokuda hinting at further developments centered around the bond between humanity and nature.
For a deeper exploration of Monster Hunter's underlying themes and narrative, explore Game8's insightful article on "What Monster Hunter Is Really About."
