Now that I've beaten roll credits on Monster Hunter Wilds, and that's not necessarily just me bragging. Having reviewed Wilds for Screen Rant, I had an unfair advantage - I was lucky enough to play the full game before release, which, of course, meant I was able to finish before most players even got their copies. I have to it, I got a little bit of a big ego on launch day, walking around in my endgame gear with my astronomical Hunter Rank.

I had mixed feelings about Monster Hunter Wilds as I was playing through the story. There were aspects of it I enjoyed, and aspects of it I couldn't quite understand - but overall, I enjoyed the experience. However, now that I've firmly planted my feet in the endgame, I like Monster Hunter Wilds a whole lot better. Most of my gripes about the main campaign have been answered and compensated for, and I've discovered some great new features that completely change my experience. I'm loving the postgame, and I can't wait for the rest of the world to catch up.

Monster Hunter Wilds’ Story Is Just The Beginning

It Gets Better

It's pretty obvious, from the game's first moments, that Monster Hunter Wilds puts a lot more emphasis on its story than previous entries in the series. I've often joked that most Monster Hunter stories can be boiled down to, "the monsters are coming, we beat them, let's celebrate!" That's not the case here; instead, the story kind of unfolds in reverse as you follow Nata's journey backwards towards his home. This time, you're looking for people, instead of monsters looking for you, and you gradually discover more and more of the region's human culture as the story unfolds.

It's a pretty well-executed story overall - it definitely has its issues, but it's engaging enough, and serves as an appropriate justification for all the more exciting parts of the game (i.e., the monster hunting of it all). The biggest problem, though, is that so much of the story plays out on rails, in lengthy walk-and-talk sequences where there's little to do but enjoy the scenery. You can't even stray from the predetermined path to check out an interesting plant or mineral, which gets annoying quickly.

I understand the impulse to avoid lengthy cutscenes outright - Wilds would've been even duller if all these scenes unfolded in uninteractive video sequences. But it takes away from the sense of exploration and discovery, and many longtime Monster Hunter fans have criticized it as a distraction from the real meat of the game, which only becomes available after credits roll. In some ways, I'm inclined to agree - almost as soon as you finish the main story, the game opens up immensely. But at the same time, its overlong and on-rails story is a necessary evil.

Monster Hunter Is All About The Post-Game

Wilds Opens Up After The Credits Roll

But almost immediately after you finish the story, Monster Hunter Wilds gets so much better. It opens up right away: now, you have the whole map unlocked, and you can move freely from region to region, taking on whatever quests you want - no need to push the story forward by going on those lengthy walk-and-talks. You can grind for materials, craft stronger weapons, SOS Flare quests, whatever you want. You can completely customize your experience each time you log on by choosing the hunts you want to complete.

Another common complaint by Monster Hunter fans is that Wilds is too easy. That may be true of the story hunts, but it doesn't hold water in the postgame. After the story ends, you also unlock multiple new features, including Frenzied and Tempered monsters. These battles are significantly more difficult than their base game counterparts - not unfairly so, but they certainly provide a worthy challenge for the experienced player.

Tempered monsters also reward rare Weapon Shards, which you can use to craft Artian Weapons.

In addition, I've really enjoyed the co-op in Wilds' postgame, at least more so than during the story. It may just be that the servers are more populated now, but it still contributes to the overall sense of freedom. I often find myself logging in for a casual session, taking on Low Rank, easy hunts with less experienced players, downgrading my equipment so the challenge still feels fair. I enjoy the High Rank grind, too, but sometimes it's nice to revisit the easier sections without the on-rails story restrictions.

Monster Hunter has always been this way: after you finish the story, you unlock what's generally known as High Rank, where you can face tougher monsters for better rewards. High Rank is generally much more freeform than the story quests are, but the difference is more glaring here. That's because Wilds' story is so relentless and restrictive, preventing you even from exploring while you're progressing it, that the postgame feels lie a storyless, open-world survival RPG by comparison.

Patience Pays Off, Even If It’s Not For Everyone

MH Wilds' Story Is A Necessary Evil

Still, I'd argue that Wilds' tutorial has its purpose: it's an extended tutorial for new players. In its 15-to-20-hour runtime, it teaches you every aspect of the game you need to succeed: weapon crafting, armor upgrading, elemental resistance/weakness, even the new stuff like Focus, Wounds, and Offset. It's part of a wider push to appeal to newer fans that Monster Hunter's been refining in recent installments - things like the introduction of damage numbers in World, and the overall simpler gameplay of Rise.

It's clearly working, too: as Monster Hunter Wilds smashes player count records, it can only be concluded that it's successfully expanded its fan base in recent years. These games are mechanically complex, and tutorials need to be long-winded in order to catch new players up to speed. At the same time, though, Wilds' overlong tutorial/story can be alienating to its longtime fans. It's definitely not for everybody, but if nothing else, it's mercifully short, and there's a brilliant postgame awaiting you at the end of it.

Here's my recommendation: if you find Monster Hunter Wilds' story boring, or even frustrating, take a break from it. Go grind for materials to finish your favorite armor set, help some newer players with their first few hunts, or just wander around the areas you've unlocked and get to know the map better.

That wasn't a luxury that I had - since I needed to complete the game within a very limited timeframe, I had to rush through the story, and its on-rails sections annoyed me more as a result. But now that I've spent even more time with its endgame, I can confidently say that Monster Hunter Wilds' postgame is its main attraction.