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NYCC 2024 – Monster Hunter Wilds Demo Impressions & Panel Highlights

Screenshot from Monster Hunter Wilds, one of many games with updates for its upcoming release.

Lords of Gaming and the Iron Lords Podcast are exploring the cultured world of New York Comic Con! One of the many exciting events at Comic-Con New York was Capcom. The publisher had a big showing, headlining it all with the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds.

Monster Hunter Wilds Demo Impressions

Being able to make my character, I quickly was able to join into a four-player party. Once the four of us were ready, we jumped on our mounts and ventured on the hunt. The demo had our mount automatically follow a waypoint, but soon after we could freely control our mounts.

The mission was to defeat a specific monster, and a demo rep talked to the four of us via headset. They were attentive to our playstyles and informed us on aspects of the gameplay during our session, which I appreciated, considering I’m a novice at Monster Hunter.

The weapons of my choice were dual blades and a rifle, both were quite fun to use despite a minor learning curve. I enjoyed using the dual blades, as once I realized I could target heavily damaged limbs, I became the aggressive player of our group. Being able to summon my mount and catch up to the monster felt very organic, with these elements seemingly being lifted from Monster Hunter Rise.

Going after the monster, I quite enjoyed the dynamic weather, with the harsh sandstorm adding additional tension to the chase.

Myself, Lord Sonic, playing the demo of 'Monster Hunter Wilds' at New York Comic-Con 2024, captured by Lord Gene.

Minor Concerns

During my time with the demo, I noticed the game’s performance wasn’t stable. On PlayStation 5 demo stations, it was running at an unlocked frame rate, hovering between 30 and 40FPS. When I was playing, I got used to it, and considering what the developers are trying to accomplish with the dynamic weather mechanics, the game is likely CPU bottlenecked.

Dragons Dogma 2, another RE Engine release in 2024, suffered similar performance woes due to similarly heavy CPU demands. Hopefully, the game’s performance issues will be ironed out when it releases in February 2024.

Monster Hunter Panel Highlights

Monster Hunter Wilds panel members, featuring a member members from the team and translators.

In addition to playing the demo, Lord Gene and I attended a lengthy panel that broke down elements that the recent TGS trailer revealed, alongside new information. Something myself and Gene we were impressed by, was the reveal that Monster Hunter Wilds will be two to three times the size of Monster Hunter Worlds. Considering how massive that game was, this invites much excitement about locations to explore and monsters to hunt.

In addition, the games will leverage a dynamic environment for battles. One example at the panel involved a water monster using the waves to keep the player off-balance, making landing blows more difficult. The producer commented that one possible strategy was to lure the beast to land, making its movements slower and your own faster.

Speaking of the water beast, the armor and weapon sets that players can craft upon defeating it were revealed, utilizing amazing designs featuring its scales and fins. The panel speakers also commented on how they were inspired by Polenseaon culture for the armor sets and weapons.

Armor Sets

Here are some examples of the various armor sets for the male and female hunters players can make.

Weapon Sets

Several weapons, including great swords, dual-blades, and more, were revealed at the panel.

New Weapons for 'Monster Hunter Wilds'

Tribes, Bases, and More

Shown off during the panel, were various Palaco-like NPCs players can find across the game’s vast world. They will be in tribes, each offering a different way to support your hunting adventures. One of them was the Ewok-like Lenon Tribe, residing in hideouts inside ruins and being cute little fungal creatures.

Players can hang out with them, using their fire to grill food and freely trade items. A nice feature demonstrated was giving them ingredients you found on your travels and letting them cook for you.

The Hunter talking to one of the support crew members in 'Monster Hunter Wilds'

Support groups were revealed at the panel. They could help by giving you rations and some could even help make campsites at any spot in the game world. However, each campsite could be destroyed by monsters and other creatures. So players need to keep in mind where they build their campsites.

If they get destroyed, they rebuild over time, but you could spend points to speed up the process and instantly repair them. They also function as custom fast-travel points, making exploration easier for seasoned hunters.

A nice quality-of-life feature is that players can tell if a location is safe when making a custom campsite. In addition, players can customize their camps, setting up chairs and the like to make it their own. The panel members showed off a hunter reading a book while sitting down, stating that other custom animations will be present at campsites.

The panel ended with a new trailer exclusive for the Comic-Con panel, revealing a returning monster to hunt. The audience was very excited to see them return. In addition, a Digital Event will be hosted on October 23rd, revealing new information.

Closing Thoughts

As a casual Monster Hunter player, seeing what Monster Hunter Wilds offers players has me excited. The gameplay was enjoyable, playing one of these games with a proper team for the first time. In addition, all the in-depth mechanics presented at the panel excited me and everyone present at the panel to try out the camp building systems and explore the vast world on offer.

Players can play Monster Hunter Wilds on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on February 28, 2025, with pre-orders for three different editions live on all digital storefronts. Expect further coverage on Monster Hunter Wilds from Lords of Gaming! Stay tuned for more New York Comic-Con 2024 coverage.

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2 comments

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