TheMonster Hunterseries was not an overnight success. Its humble debut on the PS2 was met with a subdued reception. The sequel didn’t even get a worldwide launch. Yet steadily, it’s built a massive fan following due to itscompelling gameplay. By the timeMonster Hunter Riselaunched, the series was a bona fide cultural phenomenon.
Now one of Capcom’s best-selling series, Monster Hunter entered a new era with the 2025 launch ofMonster Hunter Wilds. This game promises to be the most definitive title yet, but is it really superior to Rise? We’ll pit the games against each other to see which one you should go with.
8Story
Winner: Monster Hunter Wilds
Shakespearean narrative is not Monster Hunter’s forte. The series does have stories - and no, we don’t meanthe RPG spin-off- but very basic ones that serve as an excuse to immerse you in the world and gameplay. Monster Hunter Rise has a relatively substantial plot and an expansion pack to continue the story, but everyone knows we’re just here for the gameplay.
That isn’t quite the case in Monster Hunter Wilds. The story is genuinely compelling and has beautifully animated cutscenes. Your hunter is treated as an actual proactive character in the plot, and not as a stony-faced silent protagonist. Characters are imbued with genuine pathos and deep personalities. The story is simply your gateway into the Monster Hunter world, but it’s a good one.
7Gameplay
Compared to Monster Hunter World, which was slow-paced and heavy to the point of drawingSoulslike comparisons, Monster Hunter Rise was praised for its quicker, shorter gameplay loop - perfect for its original launch on the Nintendo Switch. It drew criticism for the same reasons, with accusations that the game was too arcade-like.
Monster Hunter Wilds strikes a gorgeous balance between the two to become the most well-rounded Monster Hunter title yet. There are over a dozen weapon types for you to build your playstyle on, and while the combat is slower than in Rise, it’s also a good deal more fluid. Wilds is a Monster Hunter game that both World and Rise fans can get into, as opposed to sticking to one pace of gameplay.
6Graphics
Monster Hunter Rise was originally developed for theNintendo Switch- not famed for having powerful hardware - so a downgrade in graphics was to be expected. What the game lost in polygons compared to World, it made up for in stellar art direction. That said, it pales in comparison to Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds is unequivocally the best-looking Monster Hunter title to date. Everything from the characters to the monsters to the food in-game looks incredible, and Capcom knows it: special attention is paid to mouthwatering cutscenes of your character cooking. The world is breathtaking: this game really earns its high system requirements.
5Performance
Winner: Monster Hunter Rise
The Monster Hunter series isnotoriously janky. Monster Hunter World had a disastrous PC launch that was later fixed through patches. Monster Hunter Rise would regularly dip into low framerates on the Switch. And most unfortunately, Monster Hunter Wilds did not break the trend.
Despite every effort on the fans' part - testing the beta, using the benchmark tool, and making sure their PCs were up to snuff - the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds was plagued with performance issues. Monster Hunter Rise has had its updates and was designed for lower-spec hardware to begin with, meaning it performs better.
4Audio
Monster Hunter Rise proved to have divisive audio on launch: while the music was good in a vacuum, it lacked depth and relied heavily on vocals rather than instrumentation. The Sunbreak expansion was agreed to have better music, but not on the level of World.
Monster Hunter Wilds has great ambient music that blends into the narrative so perfectly that it feels like a part of the environment. While the game’s decision to cut Wyverian language proved a surprise, it’s made up for with theEnglish dubso well that you won’t really miss it.
3Accessibility
Monster Hunter Rise proved to be the easiest - and thus, most accessible - game in the series yet. It drew praise for its shorter hunts, ideal for the Nintendo Switch hardware it initially debuted on. However, it relied on too many tutorials to explain the complex mechanics the series has accrued.
Monster Hunter Wilds is, in contrast, even more accessible. True, the game is ever more complex and also relies heavily on pop-up tutorials, but the information you need for combat is displayed in the top-right corner of the screen at all times. Aside from that, Wilds made great strides in its accessibility settings. It has toggles to make it simpler to play while visually impaired, and even has a setting for those who are arachnophobic.
2Value For Money
Winner: Tie
A large part of Monster Hunter’s success is owed to its multiplayer component. Rise was good at it; its Sunbreak expansion is even better. Unfortunately for Wilds, the series seems to have taken a couple of steps back with multiplayer integration, making it more complicated to get into gameplay with friends - at least in story mode - despite the impressive lobbies, link parties and squads on display. Communication features, however, are much better - voice chat integration is particularly impressive.
Monster Hunter Rise also has the advantage of being a few years down the line: it already has an expansion pack out with Master Rank quests, and will go on sale more and more now that its successor is out. Wilds, for its part, has yet to establish itself fully. On the flip side, it also has a lot more potential for growth and will be the current MH title for years to come, while Rise has run its course.
1Verdict
Monster Hunter Wilds is more than a victory lap for a series that became a sleeper hit through word-of-mouth alone. It’s the next big step for Monster Hunter, representing a final coalescence of the series' staggered design philosophies. For far too long, the series would have a slow-paced console release followed by an experimental handheld sequel, never striking an effective balance between the two.
Monster Hunter Wilds is where the two gameplay styles come together in the most definitive experience yet. It also has the most substantial Monster Hunter plot yet, though if you quit once the credits roll you’re doing yourself a disservice. True, it has performance issues and has yet to establish a clear roadmap, but Wilds is the most up-to-date way of experiencing the real joy of Monster Hunter: bringing down Goliath with your buddies.
