Monster Hunter Wilds "Blossomdance" reminds me of how far the series has come

The Monster Hunter games have evolved in a way I never would have expected. In the past, they used to be fairly grueling lonely affairs where you'd regularly squat in the field and cook yourself a piece of raw meat. The NPCs would automatically open menus. It was lonely, it was tough.

A player sits down to cook in the first Monster Hunter game.

But over time they evolved, adding more and more multiplayer features, eventually getting things like online parties and small special events in the form of missions that came with weird little unlocks, usually armor pieces.

Monster Hunter World came out and gave the series a MASSIVE show in the arm that turned the series into a largely social experience. Public servers gave us gathering hubs where we could encounter players we didn't know. Giving us a chance to show off our weird builds, flex our favorite weapons, play minigames, things like that. It was also a rare multiplayer experience mostly devoid of griefing and trolling.

The Gathering Hub from Monster Hunter Worlds

It's something interesting about the series in that it's a mostly almost "blue collar" experience. When you get in, when you start to play, it's almost as if you're clocking in for a job. A job you kind of enjoy and are good at with coworkers you get excited to work with. You run out into the field, you find what you're going to be taking down and fire off a flare, letting your "co-workers" know you found something. Within a minute, you have a team of complete strangers joyously riding in to help you. No questions asked, they roll up and get to work.

The healing items often come with a massive field of effect and more often then not, when I'm about to heal myself, I find myself healed already by a teammate MUCH better at using their customizable wheelhouses.

Now, present day, we got Monster Hunter Wilds. The social hub has never felt more social. There are so many players able to run around the hub, setting up missions, forging new weapons and armor, emoting, arm wrestling, sharing meals, bowling, just hanging out.

And during the Blossomdance event, it takes the hub, something that players have to see on a regular basis (if they choose to use the hub, it's optional) and modifies it into something unique even unto it's already bizarre self. The hub is filled with cherry blossoms, decorations are swinging from strings over the walkways, pedals cover the ground. Even the mini-game of bowling with exploding barrels got a floral makeover where the explosions of the barrels form a glowing energy cherry blossom tree. They went hard.

They even worked in a performance where a character (who NEVER gets explained sadly) takes the stage at the back of the hub and puts on a really pretty performance every time the in game sun goes down.

Now, for me, it was nightmarish because the first time this happened I didn't know because I always have the in-game music turned off because I use the PS5's built in Spotify feature to replace the soundtrack. Scoff if you want, but you haven't found a monster until you fought a monster to a Run the Jewels soundtrack okay? 👉 🤛

It was nightmarish because the singing is tied to the in-game music so I was running around looking at the decor when I saw a pale skinned singer on the normally empty stage doing what looked like silent screaming. I think I literally let out a "g-g-g-ghost!"

But my easily spooked nonsense aside, watching the various players, their ridiculous names, their wild builds, sparked a lot inside me. It reminded me that I'm sharing this world with people, that I have a ton of people out there that want to help and could use help within this in game world. And having that in game world remind us it sees us by having these little special events is fun. Even if the drops are mid (they're super mid, y'all) it's free, it's fun, and it's really nice to see and I can't wait to see what they got next.