Forget about the elder dragons. Capcom just confirmed that Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance will bring back the most unsettling creature in the entire series, and even gave us a glimpse of it in action. If your only experience with the RPGs so far has been MH World, you’ll have been spared from coming face to face with Khezu, a creature so haunting that its mere presence causes the entire soundtrack to disappear. If you’re already familiar with this freaky fan favorite, get ready for its most upsetting incarnation to date.
Khezu is one of those creatures that’s probably best explained by seeing it in action. A flying wyvern with a body type that roughly approximates that of Rathian and Rathalos, its white, rubbery hide is already disturbing enough to make it stand out. Then you notice the face, where its eyes have regressed to the point of being basically non-existent (Khezu are near-blind and hunt mostly by smell). All that’s left is a giant, gaping mouth full of teeth. Then it starts to move, with a neck and tail that extend out to horrifying lengths, whipping and slamming around.
The version of Khezu in Monster Hunter Wilds is certainly faithfully recreated, for better and worse. During a hunt on the Capcom TGS special stage, an unfortunate Alpha Araketa is suddenly accosted by that long, pale neck extending out from a cave orifice and sending sparks of paralyzing electricity flying. One lands on the Araketa, offering our intrepid hunter a perfect opportunity to land some extra hits while it’s disabled. Then, Khezu sticks its fearsome face out a vast distance in an attempt to grab a bite.
You can head to 3:33:40 in the video above to see Khezu’s surprise appearance, or jump ahead to 3:36:05 for a better look at it in action. Once it’s out and about, we get to hear the iconic Khezu soundtrack – total silence, only further selling its deeply disturbing nature. Its lumbering spins and slams will be familiar if you’ve battled it in past entries such as MH4U, Generations, or Rise, but it’s got a few new surprises up its sleeve.
The Khezu performs its favorite party trick of hopping up to the ceiling, where its stubby tail spreads out to create a suction cup, allowing it to swing from the rocks above and fire out further paralyzing blasts. One catches the hunter, and Khezu elevates its game to all-new levels of awful: opening its nightmarish maw wide, it slurps the player up into its tunnel of teeth, forcing a desperate attempt to wriggle free before something truly unthinkable happens. Even so, I imagine it’s all I’ll see when I close my eyes to sleep tonight.
That’s all we get to see for today, but I’m already simultaneously off-put and overjoyed at the concept of Khezu’s return in Ascendance. Naturally, that means we can also expect some delightfully distasteful fashion, complete with that signature combination of pink flesh and pale rubber. Lovely. It’s going to be an agonizing wait for launch, but be sure to read my hands-on Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance preview of the TGS demo to find out why the Boost Bracer has me so excited to return.
