The next highly anticipated title in Capcom’s Monster Hunter series has finally reappeared at PlayStation’s recent State of Play showcase. The upcoming RPG, called Monster Hunter Wilds, appears to borrow elements from both Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter Rise, melding them into an even greater, and more interactive world. First unveiled with a 90-second teaser at the the tail-end of last year’s Game Awards, Monster Hunter Wilds looks to allow for mountable companion monsters similar to Rise, but with a greater degree of hostile environments and fluid traversal mechanics.
As the central character of the trailer maneuvered through a desert environment, we were treated to a glimpse at the improved density of monsters onscreen and how the world might change in real-time. The trailer at the State of Play showcase doubled down on the arid desert biome teased in Wilds’ first trailer, and gave us our first extended look at gameplay of the upcoming title. The player character can be seen wielding the equivalent of a greatsword, a common weapon archetype featured in the Monster Hunter games, as well as a rifle and a flamethrower, as they execute a number of weapon skills against some truly terrifying new monsters.
One of Wilds’ most prominent features seems to be the shifting environment, as seen in the sandstorm that sweeps up the player in the middle of combat. The weather appears to dramatically alter as well—at one point a thunderstorm is raging in the backgrou.