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 standard for mouth-watering in-game cuisine, as highlighted by key members of its development team. The game promises a diverse range of dishes, from succulent meat and fresh fish to hearty vegetable options, all designed to look irresistibly savory. The developers are pushing the boundaries of realism to create dishes that not only look delicious but also surpass everyday expectations.
Since its inception in 2004, the Monster Hunter series has included cooking as a core mechanic, allowing players to feast on large portions of meat from vanquished monsters. This feature has evolved over time, with the importance of meals and the variety of ingredients growing with each installment. A significant shift occurred with Monster Hunter World in 2018, where the focus on food intensified, aiming to deliver dining experiences that players would genuinely crave.
As Monster Hunter Wilds prepares for its release on February 28, 2025, executive director/art director Kaname Fujioka and director Yuya Tokuda are keen on setting new benchmarks. They believe that few games successfully depict food that looks truly appetizing. "Making it look realistic isn't enough to make it look good," Fujioka emphasized in a recent IGN interview. "You really have to think about what makes something look delicious." This approach combines realism with artistic exaggeration, drawing inspiration from anime and food commercials, including techniques like special lighting and enhanced food models.
Monster Hunter Wild Devs Use Exaggerated Realism in Cooking Scenes
In Monster Hunter Wilds, players will have the freedom to dine anywhere, embracing a more rustic, camping grill ambiance rather than a formal restaurant setting. A standout moment from a December preview—a mesmerizing cheese pull—has already captured fans' attention. Even a simple dish like roasted cabbage poses a challenge for Fujioka, yet it becomes enticing through realistic effects, such as the cabbage puffing up when the lid is lifted from the pan. Accompanying videos showcase this dish adorned with a roasted egg, adding to its appeal.
On the other end of the spectrum, Tokuda, with his passion for meat both in-game and in real life, hinted at a secret "extravagant" meat dish, keeping the details under wraps to maintain the suspense. The game aims to offer a broad spectrum of dishes and capture the joy of dining around a campfire, using exaggerated realism to enhance the overall food-related experience in its cooking cutscenes.
