Monster Hunter Wilds: Elevating In-Game Culinary Delights
Monster Hunter Wilds is set to redefine the visual appeal of in-game food, as confirmed by executive director/art director Kaname Fujioka and director Yuya Tokuda. The game will feature an extensive range of dishes, from succulent meat and fresh fish to vibrant vegetable plates, all designed to look irresistibly delicious. The developers are pushing boundaries by blending realism with exaggerated visual effects, inspired by food presentations in anime and commercials. This approach aims to make every meal in the game not just a necessity for gameplay but a visual feast that players will crave.
Since the inception of the Monster Hunter series in 2004, cooking has been integral, evolving from simple monster meat meals to a more sophisticated dining experience. This trend intensified with Monster Hunter World in 2018, where the focus on realistic and appetizing food became a hallmark of the franchise. Monster Hunter Wilds, slated for release on February 28, 2025, aims to further this tradition by ensuring that every dish looks tantalizing, as Fujioka emphasized in a recent IGN interview, "Making it look realistic isn't enough to make it look good. You really have to think about what makes something look delicious."
Monster Hunter Wilds: A New Approach to Dining
In Monster Hunter Wilds, the dining experience will shift from a restaurant-like setting to a more immersive camping grill atmosphere, allowing players to enjoy their meals anywhere in the game world. This change enhances the feeling of adventure and camaraderie as players gather around a fire to savor their culinary conquests. A notable example from a December preview showcased an enticing cheese pull, while even simple dishes like roasted cabbage are given a gourmet touch. Fujioka explained that the cabbage puffs up realistically as the lid is lifted, and it's beautifully garnished with a roasted egg on top.
Director Yuya Tokuda, a self-proclaimed meat enthusiast, hinted at a secret "extravagant" meat dish that promises to be a highlight of the game's menu. The focus on a wide variety of dishes, combined with the expressive reactions of characters dining by the fire, is set to create an exaggerated yet realistic sense of food-related joy in the game's cooking scenes.
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