"Monster Hunter Wilds: New Cooking System Revealed"

Summary

• Monster Hunter Wilds focuses on making in-game food look appetizing with exaggerated realism.
• Players can dine anywhere in the game, creating a camping grill atmosphere instead of a restaurant theme.
• The game will feature a wide variety of dishes, including a secret "extravagant" meat dish, enhancing food-related bliss.

Monster Hunter Wilds is set to elevate the visual appeal of in-game food to new heights, as confirmed by two key members of its development team. The game will showcase an extensive variety of dishes, ranging from meat and fish to vegetables, with the developers going the extra mile to ensure they look as delectable as possible, often surpassing realistic depictions.

Cooking has been an integral part of the Monster Hunter series since its inception in 2004, starting with players consuming large chunks of meat from defeated monsters. This mechanic has evolved over time, with the importance of meals and the diversity of ingredients growing with each installment. However, with the release of Monster Hunter World in 2018, food became a more central aspect of the gameplay, with the developers striving to create dining experiences that players would crave in real life.

As Monster Hunter Wilds gears up for its launch on February 28, 2025, executive director/art director Kaname Fujioka and director Yuya Tokuda have expressed their commitment to making food look irresistible. In a recent interview with IGN, Fujioka emphasized that mere realism isn't sufficient to make food appear appetizing. "You really have to think about what makes something look delicious," he stated. This involves a blend of realism and exaggeration, drawing inspiration from anime and food commercials, including the use of special lighting effects and enhanced food models.

Monster Hunter Wilds Uses Exaggerated Realism in Cooking Scenes

In contrast to some earlier Monster Hunter titles, Monster Hunter Wilds allows players to dine anywhere, embracing a camping grill ambiance rather than a formal restaurant setting. A preview in December showcased an enticing cheese pull that has already captured fans' attention. Even a humble dish like roasted cabbage, which posed a significant challenge for Fujioka, can be visually appealing with effects like the cabbage puffing up as the lid is lifted from the pan, accompanied by a roasted egg topping.

On the other end of the spectrum, Tokuda, known for his passion for meat both in the game and in real life, hinted at the introduction of a secret "extravagant" meat dish, though he kept the details under wraps. Overall, Monster Hunter Wilds aims to offer a diverse range of dishes and capture the expressions of characters enjoying meals around a campfire, delivering an exaggerated yet realistic sense of food-related bliss in its cooking scenes.