Monster Hunter Wilds has, one month after its release, received its first major update with the 1.010 version. The Steamcharts for the hit title are booming once more as players jump right back into the hunt, carve, and craft gameplay loop. As with all Monster Hunter titles, much of that iconic loop is spent on a smaller variety of particularly powerful monsters, with Gore Magala being one such menace. Many players, however, chose to avoid the previous flagship monstrosity for one disappointing reason.

Gore Magala's staggering size, when combined with the Iceshard Cliffs claustrophobic zones, created headache-inducing frustration. Hunters, more often than not, quickly found that much of the fight was spent nearly clipping into Gore Magala's model as the Wilds' camera struggled to present a clear view of the fight. While it's just one of the many changes that came with Wilds' Title 1 Update, Capcom has altered the camera distance for specific monsters to maintain a more preferable level of visual clarity. With the much-needed change, Gore Magala is quickly retaking its rightful place as a fan-favorite hunt.

Monster Hunter Wilds Update 1.010 Adjusts The Camera

Looking At You, Iceshard Cliffs

Among the wide breadth of changes that came with Title Update 1, one understated fix made its way into the patch notes: the distance between the camera and certain unnaturally large monsters has been increased. While it's unclear what other monsters have been affected by this change, Gore Magala was mentioned specifically in the update, and for good reason, too. Gore Magala suffered more acutely than other monsters due to its size and its restriction to the Iceshard Cliffs, an environment that is chock-full of claustrophobic zones.

Look no further than zone 10, an exceedingly narrow bridge that exacerbated the present camera issues while also (seemingly) being Gore Magala's favorite zone to retreat to. As a result, the camera would often find itself lost within Gore Magalas' model, clipping in and out of the monster with no reprieve. Monster Hunter has historically had camera quirks, so while the issue wasn't surprising, the speed at which it was identified and fixed is. In a job well done, the update's increased camera distance has reduced these issues, creating a smoother and less whip-lash-inducing experience.

Fighting The Camera Is The Worst Kind Of Challenge

Gore Magala Brings Enough To The Table

While Wilds is nowhere near as difficult as Iceborne, creating challenge through wonky camera antics is, obviously, not the solution. Monster Hunter, as a series, is known for its generally slower player movement. This intentional design choice gives Monster Hunter a combat flow that is distinct from other action games. Movement, timing, and recognizing attack patterns are the skills that are constantly checked by each monster. This balance is the challenge and a large reason why Monster Hunter feels so singularly engaging to play.

It's hard to move precisely or clock attack patterns when the camera is inside the monster.

The camera issues stand out in Wilds because they fundamentally disrupt this boss-fight dance. It's hard to move precisely or clock attack patterns when the camera is inside the monster, leading to a lot of frustration. With the demi-elder freed from its camera restraints, players can exploit all of Gore Magala's weaknesses with a newfound fervor.

Claustrophobic Zone Design Has Its Place, But Only With This Change

Variety Is The Spice Of Life

A lot of the ire surrounding the issue was, rightfully, pointed at the more condensed zone size of the Iceshard Cliffs, which was certainly a major contributing factor to the camera problems. However, I hope that Capcom doesn't take the zone's negative reception too harshly. Wilds already has sweeping vistas in the Windward Plains and Scarlet Forest. While those zones are gorgeous, variety is always a good thing, and I appreciate the way in which the Iceshard Cliffs can lean into the distinctness provided by a smaller space.

It brings to mind, in particular, a long-forgotten zone from Monster Hunter 2: the desert. In older Monster Hunter titles, subzones were traversed via loading screens, and essentially functioned as their own condensed maps. Compared to modern Monster Hunter, these zones were tiny — probably to make chasing monsters through countless loading screens less of a chore. Except, of course, Desert Zone 2, which defied expectations by being a massive, barren wasteland. It made the desert feel distinct, and captured, through smart design, the feeling of a massive scale.

Monster Hunter 2, the black sheep of the franchise due to its unique gameplay loop, unfortunately, never received a Western release.

In a way, the claustrophobic zone design of Iceshard Cliffs fulfills a similar purpose, but inverted. There's a lot of creative space to be capitalized on through Monster Hunter spaces; every environment need not be a vista. Fighting Gore Magala on a small bridge in the ruins of a civilization is a distinct experience, and I firmly believe that Monster Hunter Wilds should stay its course of zone experimentation, especially now that Capcom has proven that camera issues can be resolved neatly.