Monster Hunter Wilds is the most exciting game coming in 2025

There's no game that we know of that I'm more excited to play in 2025 than Monster Hunter Wilds.

Monster Hunter Wilds / Capcom

A lot of my fellow games journalists recently published their Monster Hunter Wilds previews, fresh off of visiting Capcom in Japan. Not me, though, I was sitting at home. I’m not jealous, don’t tell anyone I was jealous. 

Okay, maybe I was a little jealous, but that’s only because I’m already absurdly excited for Monster Hunter Wilds. You don’t need to send me on a press trip to put some pep in my step – my steps are already fully pepped – but I have to admit that some of the previews have piqued my interest.

My history with Monster Hunter is a bit weird. I was excited to play Monster Hunter Tri on Wii – my first Monster Hunter experience – and I was frankly rubbish at it. I didn’t get it, I didn’t understand it, and even though I grew to understand over time, it didn’t click until I played Monster Hunter World, which I finally completed the main story of. But the main story is only a fraction of the experience, and I wouldn’t understand that until I played 130 hours of Monster Hunter Rise.

Monster Hunter Wilds / Capcom

I’ve been on a journey with Monster Hunter, but I can now officially say that I get it. I understand why Monster Hunter players look at a save file with 300 hours of progress and act like they’ve barely played the game. It can be an absurd time sink, but it really says something that you can put so many hours into the game without ever feeling like you’ve been having to grind.

In Monster Hunter you must fight against massive monsters in order to protect a delicate ecological balance, all while harvesting monster parts for your future fights. If a devastating lightning beast like the Kirin is giving you trouble, it’s time to take down a lightning-resistant monster so you can use those advantages for yourself. Each time you fight a monster you get access to materials that make fights against other monsters easier and faster — this slow process of unlocking access to new options makes each fight feel fresh as you test out new weaponry, armor, and strategies. 

Monster Hunter Wilds / Capcom

The basic Monster Hunter formula is immensely satisfying, and Wilds is boldly taking it to new places: a true open world formula that keeps you in the field, hunting and fighting, even after completing big missions. It’s not entirely clear how this will play out over the course of the full game – and it’s the kind of change that makes me a little apprehensive – but big, scary changes are due for the series. MH is known for small, incremental adjustments to the flow of gameplay from game to game, but Wilds is going a step beyond.

I don’t think I’ll fully get a feel for the flow of missions in the open world until I go hands-on with the full game for myself, but the beta from earlier this year was electrifying, showcasing a bunch of new options for offensive and defensive strategies. It was only a small slice, but it’s given me hope.

Monster Hunter Wilds Palico / Capcom

In reality, the games I’m most eager to play in 2025 are whatever launches alongside the Nintendo Switch successor, but since we don’t have enough concrete details on the Nintendo Switch 2, the game I’m most excited to play (that we’ve actually seen) is Monster Hunter Wilds. I’m sure that Grand Theft Auto 6 will feel revolutionary for the new generation of consoles, but Monster Hunter speaks to me on a spiritual level, and I’m incredibly ready to jump back into the hunt alongside my Palico pal.