11 Monster Hunter Wilds features from the Gamescom dev streams that have me hooting and hollering like an inbound Bazelgeuse

GamesRPGMonster Hunter Wilds11 Monster Hunter Wilds features from the Gamescom dev streams that have me hooting and hollering like an inbound BazelgeuseWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Capcom)

monster hunter wilds

At Gamescom, the developers of Monster Hunter Wilds have been hosting daily,hours-long livestreams, featuring lengthygameplay demosof devs hunting in real time. With hours of new mechanics and features on display, this is basically a public holiday for Monster Hunter veterans—a beautiful cohort of beings with deeply addled brains, who love nothing more than to pick apart the implications for the next era of hunts.

After poring feverishly over the livestream footage and accompanying fanbase frenzy, here are a few of the features—new and returning, big and small—that I’m thrilled to see in Monster Hunter Wilds.

1. Stronger dung

Making use of every possible tool is one of the hunter’s most important skills, and dung is no exception. In the ferocious ecology of Monster Hunter Wilds, large monsters can move as herds of hostile behemoths. Luckily, the humble Dung Pod (usually used to shoo away an unwelcome monster from the area) has gotten an upgrade to ensure that resourceful hunters don’t end up outmatched. With a tactically-deployed stench cloud from a Large Dung Pod, the Monster Hunter devs sent whole packs of large monsters scattering at once so they could tackle their preferred target without getting overwhelmed.

What excites me about bigger dung—you can get paid while writing all kinds of sentences, it turns out—is that it’ll let me test my mettle and see if I can battle a whole herd of monsters at once. If I can, excellent: I continue being very cool and strong. If I can’t, I’ll have a get out of jail free card with a terrible smell.

2. A new era for fashion hunters

As we reported yesterday, Capcom confirmed on-stream that Wilds isdoing away with gendered armorappearances. Sounds like a minor feature to the uninitiated, but restrictions around armor and body type have been a pain point with the series for going on 20 years. At last: My female hunter can experience the thrill of wearing an entire pair of pants. Meanwhile, my male hunter can explore his own platemail bikini. Monster Hunter has officiallydefeated gender.

3. Seamless hunting

It was mentioned inearly Monster Hunter Wilds previews, but the Gamescom livestreams let us see firsthand how starting a quest in Wilds can be as simple as stepping foot outside your camp and attacking a monster—no loading screens necessary. It’s impressive how much more cohesive it makes the experience feel, and with deployable campsites, you’re free to resupply and tackle your next hunt from the field without needing to return to the village.

You can also immediately end a quest once you’ve finished it, which will spare me the 60 seconds I’ve usually spent spinning in place while waiting for the end-of-quest timer to run out after finishing my carves.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Monster Hunter Wilds weapons: Open the arsenalMonster Hunter Wilds monsters: Which beasties are backMonster Hunter Wilds preview: Our early impressionsMonster Hunter Wilds new features: What we’re psyched for2025 games: All the other releases coming this year

Monster Hunter Wilds weaponsMonster Hunter Wilds monstersMonster Hunter Wilds previewMonster Hunter Wilds new features2025 games

4. Automatic broken part collection

The capture net’s coming back, too, though, so I might stop fighting if I see a cool lizard to bring home. I can’t be blamed for that.

5. 3D maps

(Image credit: Capcom)

The 3D map of Monster Hunter Wilds on display during a Gamescom stream.

Even after I’ve put dozens of hours into a Monster Hunter game, I’ll still struggle with its maps. Monster Hunter’s environments are multi-tiered, interconnected webs of glades, caves, and tunnels, and even on a good day it can be difficult to parse which ramps go up and which ones go down when you’re flipping between the map’s vertical levels.

Thankfully, both the full area map and the minimap in Wilds are 3D, letting players rotate the map in place to better read your target’s relative elevation than the traditional top-down view. Should be harder for me to end up hundreds of meters below the ore outcrop I’m trying to mine.

6. This dual blades move

I mean, look at that shit. That’s videogames.

Thisnew longsword finisheris pretty rad, too.

7. Specialized tools are back

Monster Hunter World introducedSpecialized Tools: limited use items that provided powerful but temporary effects, like the Glider Mantle which allowed for riding on air currents and the Bandit Mantle that caused monsters to drop trade-in items when attacked.

(Image credit: Capcom)

A hunter hurls a barrel bomb during a Monster Hunter Wilds stream at Gamescom.

This is, perhaps, the single greatest quality of life change ever provided for the buffoons of the world. As a man blessed with intermittent competence, I’m pleased to say that my barrel bombs only occasionally produce a comedy of errors. Even so, I’ll welcome the chance to reposition my barrels when I realize I’ve placed them in a way that’ll only really endanger myself.

Alternatively, you can just huck them at the monster directly, now. That works, too.

9. Luring Pods have big shenanigans potential

A new form of slinger ammo, the Luring Pod, can be fired at a monster to temporarily draw its attention, potentially letting you lead it into traps and environmental hazards. Even better, you could split off during a multiplayer hunt to tag another monster in the region with a Luring Pod and draw it back to your target monster, triggering your own turf wars at will.

10. The return of mounting

11. Hammer uppies confirmed

This counts as teamwork.

TOPICSCapcom

TOPICS

More about rpgCD Projekt Red boss says ‘around 100’ Witcher 3 designers still work at the company, while the Witcher 4’s story director is ‘the same person since Witcher 1’Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delightLatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

More about rpg

CD Projekt Red boss says ‘around 100’ Witcher 3 designers still work at the company, while the Witcher 4’s story director is ‘the same person since Witcher 1’Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

The Witcher 4 - Ciri

CD Projekt Red boss says ‘around 100’ Witcher 3 designers still work at the company, while the Witcher 4’s story director is ‘the same person since Witcher 1’

null

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

LatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

Latest

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

Cruel

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

See more latest►

Most Popular

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

1. Stronger dung#

2. A new era for fashion hunters#

3. Seamless hunting#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

4. Automatic broken part collection#

5. 3D maps#

6. This dual blades move#

7. Specialized tools are back#

9. Luring Pods have big shenanigans potential#

10. The return of mounting#

11. Hammer uppies confirmed#

1. Stronger dung

2. A new era for fashion hunters

3. Seamless hunting

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

4. Automatic broken part collection

5. 3D maps

6. This dual blades move

7. Specialized tools are back

9. Luring Pods have big shenanigans potential

10. The return of mounting

11. Hammer uppies confirmed