Capcom has been on a roll in the last few years, and it seems like that roll will continue if the Monster Hunter Wilds beta is truly representative of the final product. Yes, there are some performance issues, especially due to PC optimization problems, but it should be noted that the beta isn't the final version of the game or even the version that the developer is currently working on. From a gameplay perspective, there's already a lot to love, especially for fans that were introduced to the series with Monster Hunter World.

In a lot of ways, MH Wilds feels like a culmination of everything that Capcom has learned up until this point since its renaissance inspired by the RE engine and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. It helps that the Monster Hunter series has always had extremely feature-rich games, and the beta for MH Wilds has shown off a lot, despite explicitly keeping some things locked, like Gemma's forge or the Palico-powered kitchen back at Base Camp. One feature in particular seems to have taken some inspiration from Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2.

Monster Hunter Wilds Has Learned From Dragon's Dogma 2

The Character Creator Is The Best In The Series

Although players could argue whether a lot of the gameplay changes in Wilds are an improvement over other titles in the series, one feature that has objectively seen a marked improvement is the character creator. Considering that both World and Rise have decent character creators, this is impressive, and the level of detail players now have in customizing their Hunters is incredible. They can even make their Palicos extra fluffy too, which is such a great addition, considering that the game looks good enough to make the extra hair work.

While exploring the Windward Plains on a Siekret, a Hunter's Palico will sometimes jump onto its tail to travel with them.

Another Capcom game that made waves with its incredible character creator was Dragon's Dogma 2, and the character creator was so good that Capcom decided to release just that as a demo prior to the game's launch. Although MH Wilds character creator isn't quite as feature-rich as Dragon's Dogma 2's, it shows that Capcom has made a dedicated effort to improve this specific feature in their games. Even Street Fighter 6 has an amazing, if very comical, character creator that allows players to make both specific characters and horrifying monsters.

The character creator in Monster Hunter Wilds even has some features that Dragon's Dogma 2 didn't, such as being able to adjust hair length rather than just being able to choose from different styles. There are restrictions like not being able to change the physical size of the Hunter, even though their muscularity can be adjusted, but this makes sense given all the armor and hit boxes. Still, the character creator is something to write home about, although most will spend considerable time with their Hunter wearing a helmet.

The Hunter Is More Of A Character In Wilds

They Talk In Cutscenes

Monster Hunter Wilds also exhibits a bigger effort to make the Hunter more of a character, giving the protagonist the ability to talk in cutscenes. Players even have RPG-style dialogue options, which is a little odd to see in a Monster Hunter game, but the cutscenes do seem to serve their purpose well enough thus far in the MH Wilds open beta. Although this could be a controversial change, especially with OG Monster Hunter fans, it does mean that the characters created by players are shown off more in the game compared to prior titles.

The companion Palico is also more involved with the story, having a speaking role as they try to keep their Hunter alive. Unlike the Hunter, players have the option to completely overhaul how the Palico talks. While the Hunter's voice can change, Palicos can speak either in a comprehensible language or in their traditional Felyne, which is just a series of cat noises. Palico's speaking anything but Felyne was a controversial choice, so having the option to change it back to Felyne was a clever addition.

Ultimately, whether the Hunter becoming more of a character is a positive change will depend on how good the story of the game ends up being. Capcom has made storytelling a greater focus in other games, like Street Fighter 6 having a mode where their custom character can roam a city and interact with fighters from the game's roster. The story is often secondary to the grind in the Monster Hunter series, but Capcom might be trying to change this to make Wilds appeal to a wider audience after the series exploded with MH World and Iceborne.

Wilds Feels Like A Compilation Of Everything Capcom Has Learned

There's Already So Many Features In The Beta

From a technical perspective, Monster Hunter Wilds is one of the best-looking games made with the RE Engine, with the food looking more appetizing than ever. Never before has camp cooking been more realistic in a Capcom game, and the food cooked in the base camp will likely be just as great. Environments also look better than ever, with the weather effects adding a great deal to the mood and gravity of certain hunts, especially with the Rey Dau. The lighting gets to shine (quite literally) with both the day-night cycle and the weather system.

The Rey Dau is considered the apex predator of the Windward Plains and only comes out during thunderstorms.

The Siekret mounts also iterate on the Palamutes from Rise, acting as traveling storage units that aid in making the open world a smoother experience while also allowing for weapon switching, an awesome feature that lets players take different approaches on the go. The monsters themselves look better than ever, adding to the realism of the game. The small details of their muscle physics, especially with the Doshaguma, seem like something lifted straight from Street Fighter 6.

If the quality seen in the beta is representative of the full game and some of the optimization issues can be solved, Monster Hunter Wilds could be one of Capcom's biggest successes. It feels like a culmination of everything that the company has learned, with so many features to make the world feel more alive than ever before. Of course, there are some controversial changes, but it shows that the Monster Hunter series is willing to evolve and experiment rather than remain stagnant by playing things safe too often.