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There are many different traditions associated with playing Monster Hunter; getting a good meal before a hunt, sharpening your weapon every three seconds, grabbing all items in sight despite not needing them (you’ve probably got enough herbs by now). But my favorite has always been dressing up my cat companion in the most cursed cosmetics available.
And let me tell you, Monster Hunter Wilds has some extremely weird Palico outfits. I’ve been playing the series for a while and I always expect things to get a little freaky in the cat cosmetic department, but this time Capcom has really outdone itself. The first time I realised we were on a different level was after I fought The Black Flame and discovered that its outfit lets you turn your Palico into an actual squid… like, it’s not even a cat anymore.
I cannot express how much I love the cursed qualities of the Nu Udra outfit, especially once I’d complimented its tentacled torso with Rompopolo’s floating cat brain in a jar. I was pleasantly surprised to find that if you watch past cutscenes in the gallery, your Palico is dressed in whatever outfit it currently has equipped. And as far as I can tell, there is no cutscene that is not improved by the sudden appearance of an octopus with a floating brain where your pet previously was—enjoy a couple of my favorite moments in the clips included.
As I began to unlock more armor for my Palico and hunter—including the secret armor sets—I realised the tentacles were just the tip of the iceberg. I could turn my Palico into a floating stone golem (Azuz), a monkey (Blanconga), or even a robot (Artian), though admittedly that last one kind of resembles a floating trashcan. Though more cute than cursed, there’s even a Palico cosmetic (Suja) that plants a lil frog on its head who just sits there contentedly.
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Dressing up my Felyne friend has honestly been a nice distraction from the fact that Palico builds have kind of been gutted in Monster Hunter Wilds, at least after the expansive pet plaza we got in Rise. Where, in that game, we had two different companions to recruit, train, and upgrade—Palico and Palamute—you basically just level up your Palico, choose its equipment, and that’s about it for Wilds.
There are a few things you can do to buff your cat, such as getting the Palico Rally skill on armor like the Kunafa set, or by completing the quests that unlock the extra Palico abilities, but it’s significantly more limited than the last game. While that might be nice for those who don’t particularly want to worry about Palico builds, it’s one of those elements of streamlining that I think detracts more than improves.
If you also take into account no more Meowscular Chef cooked meals, furry friend lovers have had a bit of a rough one this time around—hopefully we’ll get more additions to the Palico in future updates and the expansion. At least we can all enjoy some good honest cursed cat cosmetics in the meantime.
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Kurt Indovina
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