Monster Hunter Wilds Explains Cooking System

Summary

• Monster Hunter Wilds prioritizes visually appealing in-game food, employing exaggerated realism.
• Dining is flexible, offering a campfire cooking experience rather than a formal restaurant setting.
• The game boasts a diverse culinary selection, including a secret, extravagant meat dish, designed to heighten the enjoyment of food-related moments.

Monster Hunter Wilds aims to redefine the visual appeal of in-game food, according to key developers Kaname Fujioka and Yuya Tokuda. The game features a wide array of meat, fish, and vegetable dishes, meticulously crafted to look incredibly appetizing, even exceeding realistic depictions.

Food has been a staple of the Monster Hunter franchise since 2004, initially featuring simple monster meat. This mechanic evolved, with food's benefits increasing and the variety of meals and ingredients expanding. Starting in 2018 with Monster Hunter World, a greater emphasis was placed on realistic dining experiences, creating meals players would genuinely want to eat.

This trend continues and intensifies in Monster Hunter Wilds, launching February 28, 2025. Fujioka and Tokuda highlight the scarcity of games with truly appetizing-looking food. Fujioka explains 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." This involves blending realism with exaggeration, drawing inspiration from anime and commercials, incorporating special lighting and stylized food models.

Monster Hunter Wilds Devs Employ Exaggerated Realism in Cooking Scenes

Unlike previous entries, Monster Hunter Wilds allows players to dine anywhere, emphasizing a casual campfire cooking experience instead of a formal restaurant setting. A December preview showcased an enticing cheese pull, already captivating fans. The menu includes notable dishes; even simple roasted cabbage, a significant challenge for Fujioka, is made visually appealing through realistic puffing as the lid is lifted, complemented by a roasted egg topping.

Tokuda, a self-proclaimed meat enthusiast both in-game and in real life, hints at a secret "extravagant" meat dish, keeping its specifics under wraps for now. The game emphasizes a diverse menu and the expressive reactions of characters enjoying meals around a campfire, creating an exaggerated sense of realistic culinary bliss within its cooking scenes.