Highlights

  • Monster Hunter Wilds, the next mainline installment in the franchise, has been officially announced with an expected 2025 launch.
  • Fans are speculating about the features that the game may bring, and one particularly good addition could be named NPCs, something which goes against the series' reliance on unnamed characters.
  • Having more named NPCs in Monster Hunter Wilds could enhance the game's narrative, giving players a sense of purpose and a deeper connection to the people living in the game's world.

Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds, the next mainline installment in the hugely popular Monster Hunter series, has officially been announced with an expected 2025 launch. Not much has been disclosed about Monster Hunter Wilds thus far, apart from what was shown in the official reveal trailer. This has left many fans speculating on what features the game may bring to the franchise, including a potential open world. Aside from that, there is one feature that has been missing from the majority of the Monster Hunter series — one that fans have requested be regularly added for some time: NPCs with names.

Not every Monster Hunter game has gone without naming its NPCs. The most recent installment, Monster Hunter Rise, for instance, includes several named NPCs, most of whom are residents of Kamura Village. That being said, every installment before it has rarely named NPCs, with many of them being labeled as nothing more than their job description, like "Handler" and "Commander." As such, it might do well for Monster Hunter Wilds to keep up what it started in Monster Hunter Rise and continue naming NPCs, perhaps even to the point of giving them a more prominent role in its story.

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What Having Unnamed NPCs Accomplishes

While many fans want names given to Monster Hunter's many NPCs, there is an intention behind it that generally serves its purpose. When NPCs in Monster Hunter go unnamed, it causes all attention to be placed on the player, as well as the titular monsters they are commissioned to hunt. Rather than placing the player in a world full of noteworthy and memorable characters, it essentially makes them the sole character and simultaneously the star of the show.

In being the sole character then, Monster Hunter players find an even bigger threat in the monsters, as it makes the challenge of hunting them feel like a solo operation, even if the narrative attempts to paint a different picture. It's a noble goal, ensuring the spotlight remains on the player at all times, but it can certainly cause problems with any game's worldbuilding, lore, and narrative. After all, characters are the bread and butter of any good story, so Monster Hunter essentially making them nameless robots in an otherwise colorful and diverse world ultimately robs its narrative of any potential impact.

How Having More Named NPCs Can Change Monster Hunter Wilds

One of Monster Hunter's most infamous features is its lackluster narrative. The argument is that its gameplay is always more than enough to keep players enthralled for dozens of hours, so the story could almost be nonexistent, and it wouldn't matter. However, it wouldn't hurt to have a more gripping, more creative narrative to back up its gameplay, but accomplishing that would require more named characters, each with deep backstories and compelling goals.

After all, characters are the bread and butter of any good story, so Monster Hunter essentially making them nameless robots in an otherwise colorful and diverse world ultimately robs its narrative of any potential impact.

With more named NPCs who feel like real characters, players may in turn feel like they're actually fighting for something — for someone. The traditional Monster Hunter story typically revolves around the player protecting a village from invading monsters, but with the promise of more and more loot and a satisfying gameplay loop to obtain it, there is often little need to take interest in the narrative goals behind hunting them. In light of that, Monster Hunter Rise should consider the impact that its non-player characters can have on the player's drive and purpose and give them names to provide them with a role of significance in its world.