We’re still five months away from the release ofMonster Hunter Wilds, which gives us plenty of time to pick through every trailer with a fine-tooth comb and soak up every little nugget of information we can.
Luckily, Capcom has given us a lot to work with this week. A new trailer premiered during the Sony State of Play that revealed the Monster Hunter Wilds release date of Jul 01, 2025, and tons of new details about the game’s second biome, the Scarlet Forest. The trailer included three new monsters, story details, and a deeper exploration of the Scarlet Forest than had previously been seen. Let’s dive into everything we learned about Monster Hunter Wilds from the new trailer.
A Closer Look At The Scarlet Forest
While the Scarlet Forest was revealed in a trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live, this was our first deep dive into the different sub-biomes and seasons the forest has to offer. Like the Winward Planes, the Scarlet Forest features a season of Fallow and a season of Plenty, with a period of Inclemency to mark the transition between them.
During the Fallow when vegetation is sparse and the forest density is low, it’s easy to see the crimson-colored rivers from which the biome gets its name. Inclemency brings flooding, which transforms the biome into wetlands, bringing in new monsters to hunt and different opportunities for interactions with the environment. Once this period of inclement weather ends, the Plenty begins and the forest becomes a lush and vibrant environment filled with plant materials to gather and Wedge Beetles that can help you traverse the zone or reach new areas.
The changing seasons and transforming biomes are one of Wilds defining characteristics and it’s great to finally see some of the ways that weather affects how you will hunt and explore in the Scarlet Forest. Thedestructible wall that causes the flood in the Rathalos nestin Monster Hunter World’s Ancient Forest is one of my favorite mechanics in the entire series and it feels like Wilds is leaning into moments like that even more in Wilds.
Wild’s Flagship Monster Is Arkveld, AKA The White Wraith
The beginning of the trailer finally gives us a taste of what Wilds’ story has to offer. The Research Commission has dispatched two units to the Crimson Forest to hunt down the White Wraith, a wyvern long thought extinct, after reports that it had attacked the home of a boy named Nata. The monster’s official name is Arkveld and it’s a flying wyvern that has chain-like protrusions attached to its wings that it can use to attach from a distance.
Like World’s Nergigante and Rise’s Magnamalo, Arkveld seems to be a story-centric monster that will serve as the player’s first big roadblock before eventually taking on the late-game Elder Dragons. We also briefly see Arkveld fighting Rey Dau, the Apex predator of the Windward Plains biome. It appears the trailer features two different fights between these monsters. The first is in a rainy area, indicating it takes place in the Scarlet Forest during Inclimency, while the second takes place during a lighting storm found during Inclimency in the Windward Plains.
Two More Monsters: Uth Duna And Quematrice
As expected Monster Hunter Wilds will be introducing lots of new monsters to the series. This trailer also features Uth Duna, a leviathan wyvern you’ll encounter when Inclemency brings flooding to the Scarlet Forest. Uth Duna is the forest’s apex predator and has the ability to secrete fluids to create a protective layer over its massive, scaly body. The trailer suggests you’ll have to face this monster in large areas of standing water where it can move beneath the surface and leap at you from unknown directions.
The other new monster brings us back to the Winward Plains. Quematrice is a brute wyvern that drags its long tail on the ground to ignite a flammable fluid it produces. While both Yian Kut-Ku and Anjaneth are sometimes referred to as Monster Hunter’s fire chickens, I think it’s safe to say that Quematrice, based on the mythical fire breathing rooster called the Cockatrice, is now the official fire chicken of Monster Hunter.
Stray Observations From The New Monster Hunter Wilds Trailer
There’s a few more details and moments from the trailer worth mentioning:
We’ve only seen nine months and two biomes from Monster Hunter Wilds, so there’s still so much to learn before the game launches on Jul 09, 2025.
