Capcom releases Monster Hunter Wilds next year, with fans catching glimpses of it at May’s State of Play and last week’s Summer Game Fest. Director Yuya Tokuda, joined by Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and Executive Director Kaname Fujioka, talked more about it in a recent interview. Tokuda discussed Monster Hunter Wild’s gameplay, including the new Focus Mode and wounds mechanics.
What makes Monster Hunter Wilds gameplay different?
Wounds and Focus Mode are two new features introduced to Monster Hunter Wilds’ gameplay and the systems go hand in hand. As Tokuda explained to the PlayStation Blog, “Attacking the monster naturally causes damage or wounds to happen. As long as you’re attacking the wounds, you’ll be doing more damage to the monster.” Entering focus mode highlights wounds and unlocks abilities that do bonus damage to wounds.
However, Focus Mode does a lot more than that. “The real merit of Focus Mode,” said Tokuda, “is to help players in their positioning and their distancing from monsters, so that even players who are maybe not as experienced with action games, or games similar to Monster Hunter, have an easier time honing in their attacks.”
Earlier in the interview, Tokuda said a few words about the effects of the environments on Monster Hunter Wilds’ gameplay. “One of the big things about Wilds is that the environments themselves are so much more dynamic and adaptable,” he said. “Things are changing so often, and even the monsters that are available to hunt can change moment to moment.” Capcom wants players to be able to respond to these dynamic changes. This is why, unlike in previous games, Monster Hunter Wilds players can switch between weapons during gameplay.
Another change with Monster Hunter Wilds gameplay is making monsters easier to reach, something some players had trouble with in previous games. Capcom also hopes the new Seikret mounts will make navigation a bit easier.