I count 24 days until Monster Hunter Wilds is out. That's close enough that I'd recommend going on a full promotional blackout until you can play it yourself, but if you're already here, you should know Capcom's latest Wilds showcase debuted another handful of monsters I'd describe with varying levels of "gross" and "cool."
I'm told longer-time fans than me will be excited to see Gore Magala, an elder dragon first introduced in Monster Hunter 4. It's got fangs, runs on four legs, and has bonus talons protruding from its wings, to which my first reaction in-game will be "Which of its eight lethal body parts is it going to kill me with?"
Magala joins the insectoid Nerscylla (another returning critter) and new monster Hirabami (a horrific cross between a manta ray and centipede) in the Iceshard Cliffs, the fourth announced region in Wilds. We caught an introductory cutscene for Magala and Hirabami in the Iceshard Cliffs, and I'm sorry, but the place looks freezing and depressing. Hopefully it's not always so dark and dingy there.
Capcom also expanded on the details of this week's open beta test. It'll be the same as the last one for the most part, but Capcom's dropped in a few new hunts, including our first chance to fight Wilds' flagship monster, Arkveld. In news extremely relevant to how I prefer to play Monster Hunter, the beta will let players test drive private lobbies as the "Singleplayer Online" mode, a hybrid offline/online mode that works similarly to Worlds: You won't see other players roaming around your base camp, but you can call them via SOS flare to enter "temporary" multiplayer.
Sounds like a nice middle ground. Wilds' new social hooks have a lot of promise, but I know some of my friends will prefer to hunker down in a private lobby no matter what.
Monster Hunter Wilds last beta starts this Thursday, February 6, and runs through February 9. To see when exactly you can play in your region, head to our Monster Hunter Wilds beta release times guide.
