Monster Hunter Wilds has exploded onto the scene, reminding people that hunting gigantic beasts can be a lot of fun—both on your own and as part of a group.
If your monster-hunting urge has awakened as well, there is no shortage of games to satisfy it. These titles are perfect for anyone who has discovered the magic of Monster Hunter and who still yearns for more trophies to capture.
7
Attack on Titan 2
Attack on Titan 2 follows the first two seasons of the extremely popular anime of the same name. In this world, humanity has confined itself inside massive, strong walls to protect itself from Titans—big humanoid creatures that want to eat them. You play as various members of the show who fight the Titans inside and outside the walls.
To defeat a Titan, you must strike its weak point on the back of its neck. To get to it, you have to use Omni-Directional Mobility (ODM) gear. It fires grappling hooks that cling to buildings, walls, trees, and even Titans, allowing you to zip through the air. The fluid movement, responsive combat, and the satisfaction of taking down Titans, coupled with a great story, make this game a fun and engaging experience.
Attack on Titan 2 is available on PS4 and PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
6
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus sees you playing as a man on a journey to resurrect his love by slaying 16 massive creatures called Colossi. The original came out on the PS2 in 2005 and pushed the console to its limits due to the sheer size of the world and its inhabitants. It was remade in 2018 for the PS4 with improved visuals, better performance, and modernized controls. It was a must-play PlayStation game during the PS2 era, and it remains so even today.
This game is solely focused on the main quest, with no side quests or skills and weapons to acquire and upgrade. You just get on your horse and trot off to defeat the Colossi one by one. To take down these magnificent but terrifying beasts, you can climb them and strike their weak points.
The fun is in figuring out where the weak points are or how to expose them. This makes taking them down an intricate, challenging, and satisfying puzzle. As you play this game, you will quickly realize that the Colossi are the true stars of the show.
Shadow of the Colossus is available on PS4 and PS5.
5
Eternal Strands
Eternal Strands is a good mash-up of Monster Hunter, Shadow of the Colossus, and Dragon’s Dogma 2. But the experience is streamlined while adding its own distinct flavor to the action-adventure genre. You will spend a fair bit of time going on expeditions to fight various enemies by cleverly blending hacking and slashing with magic.
The biggest highlights, of course, are the huge monsters you fight, from gigantic beasts to humanoid automatons. You can also climb them to strike weak points or hack off pieces of armor, and you can get to those in interesting ways. For example, you can freeze a monster in place to mount it and deal some damage.
Eternal Strands is also a narrative-focused game, so there is plenty of story and dialogue to engage with. Plus, it’s fun to explore the highly stylized fantasy world and discover its secrets.
Eternal Strands is available on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC.
4
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West is one of those games that shares a lot of similarities to Monster Hunter Wilds—albeit with a much better narrative. Set thousands of years in the future, the game follows Aloy as she explores a world where humanity has regressed to tribal societies. At the same time, she has to battle animal-like machines that threaten life on the planet.
While Aloy normally fights small-to-mid-sized machines, she constantly runs into dinosaur-like behemoths. Taking them down effectively requires exploiting their weaknesses, which she can expose by scanning them with a tool known as a Focus. For instance, if a machine has a fire canister on its back, shooting it with a fire arrow will cause it to explore, with the explosion dealing damage to nearby machines as well.
A huge part of this involves strategic preparation and farming resources from around the world and other machines to craft better gear—just like in Monster Hunter Wilds. The game has a wide range of weapons and an expansive skill tree that make you an efficient machine hunter by the time the credits roll.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PS4, PS5, and PC.
3
Dauntless
Dauntless is one of the most accessible monster-hunting games around. Not only is it free to play, but it breaks down the genre into its core elements—killing, collecting, and crafting. There is no tracking, hunting, or trapping.
That is not to say the monster-hunting aspect isn’t deep and rewarding because you still need to master your weapons and slay a lot of monsters to progress through the game and earn rewards.
With that said, it only has six distinct weapon types while Wilds has 14, and the monsters aren’t as varied or menacing (this could be because of the Fortnite-like graphics). But with its streamlined approach, faster-paced gameplay, and shorter battles, you will find this one a lot easier to pick up after playing Wilds.
While it does have microtransactions, they’re cosmetic only. You and three others don’t need to spend anything to team up to take down monsters.
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Dauntless is available on PS4 and PS5, Xbox, and PC.
2
God Eater 3
If taking down huge beasts (Aragami) with ridiculously large weapons (God Arcs) in a sci-fi anime setting is or sounds like your thing, then God Eater 3 is a game you need to try. The loop is simple: beat Aragami located in a small area and collect the materials they drop. Afterward, use the loot to craft stronger God Arcs and go fight tougher Aragami.
The central mechanic in God Eater 3 is the Burst Mode, which you enter when your Burst Gauge is full. You fill it up by using your God Arc to devour Aragami. In Burst Mode you’re stronger, faster, and able to use the God Arc in ways that can fall the toughest foes.
God Eater 3 is available on PS4 and PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
1
Wild Hearts
Wild Hearts is a game that comes extremely close to Monster Hunter Wilds. You play a hunter who arrives in a mystical land. It’s overrun by massive beasts called Kemono, which look like animals that have fused with nature, and you must get rid of them to restore balance to nature.
You hunt them using an array of Japanese-inspired weapons, such as katanas, nodachis, and bladed wagasas. Just like Dauntless, the weapon selection here is very light compared to Monster Hunter Wilds—you only have eight unique weapons.
What sets it apart from Monster Hunter Wilds in a major way is the karakuri. This is a device that allows you to instantly craft mechanical structures in the middle of battle. For instance, you can create a spring that launches you towards a monster to deal damage, or a barricade that knocks down a Kemono that is charging at you.
Battles take place all over the map, and you really need to master your weapons, monster patterns, and the environment to take them down. You can play solo or with two other people (a maximum of three).
Wild Hearts is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Will these games give Monster Hunter Wilds a run for its money? Not at all. Only another Monster Hunter game will do that. But these alternatives offer unique takes on hunting massive creatures, each with its own special mechanics and charm that make them worth trying.
If you have a high-end PC then Monster Hunter Wilds is a great way to put it through its paces.
