It would appear that Capcom is extremely confident about the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds because they have just announced a free Open Beta that's going to be available on all platforms! PlayStation Plus subscribers will be getting a slight head start on October 29th, while PC, Xbox and other PlayStation players will be able to dive in on November 1st at 3am GMT. The whole playtest will last until November 4th, so everyone should have plenty of time to mull over whether Monster Hunter Wilds is their kind of game or not.

Speaking of which, the Open Beta will contain three 'parts'. The first is the complete character customization tool, with the important bit here being that you can bring over your finely tuned monstrosity creation to the full version of the game.

The second part is essentially the tutorial mission that will have you experience a bit of the story, learn the basic controls and then hunt the frog-like Chatacabra. Once you're done with that and you're somewhat familiar with the controls, the final part will task you with hunting the Alpha of a Doshaguma pack, as well as exploring the Windward Plains. Depending on how fast you grasp the mechanics, I'm expecting a single 'playthrough' to take anywhere between 30 minutes and one hour, though you can easily extend that by trying to master the various unique weapons or by grouping up with other players.

Speaking of which, if you're done playing solo and want to team up with other players, all you have to do is fire an SOS flare and that will draw people into your world. Also, I can only imagine that the online multiplayer component is going to be the main thing Capcom will be testing in this Open Beta, so definitely make sure to do some jolly cooperation to help them out.

Once the Open Beta goes live on November 1st I'll make sure to let you know. Until then, I'll leave you with the official beginner's guide for Monster Hunter Wilds. Enjoy!