Playing the Monster Hunter Wilds beta feels like previewing my entire 2025. This is it, folks. This is where I will spend several hundred hours next year. It's more Monster Hunter, shiny and new. Even in a hacked off and inelegant beta package with no real single-player option, no gear or build crafting, UI hangups, and a few performance concerns, I've still been chucking my evenings into it just to hear that combat system sing.
I've played the early PS5 beta for about six hours, which feels like rating a whole sandwich after picking off and eating the bread. Still, it is good bread. Four new monsters and 14 revamped weapons? Yeah, that'll kill another dozen hours once the beta is on all platforms. A new Monster Hunter game always feels like an occasion, and Monster Hunter Wilds is an especially energetic one so far. The beta feels good, often great, with the foundations of Monster Hunter World – far more than Monster Hunter Rise – weaving in changes and features that take the reins and steer this thing in exciting new directions.
