Monster Hunter Wilds Fans Notice a Neat Detail Hidden in the Eyes of Its Final Boss

Little details can add a lot of character when it comes to the many monsters of Capcom’s Monster Hunter series. When it comes to one of Monster Hunter Wilds‘ biggest battles, eagle-eyed players have noticed one tiny detail that lends credence to a running theory. It’s all in the eyes.

Warning! Spoilers for the final boss and story of Monster Hunter Wilds’ low rank campaign follow.

After fighting through the roster of Monster Hunter Wilds’ fearsome foes, including the souped-up Guardians, you’ll eventually come face-to-face with Zoh Shia. This enemy is the final bout for low-rank Hunters to clear in Wilds, and it’s a doozy. It also might feel a little familiar, if you’ve played some past Monster Hunter games, and that seems pretty intentional.

Over on Reddit, several users have pointed out that Zoh Shia’s eyes bear a striking resemblance to Fatalis’. Fatalis is an infamous and powerful species of dragon in Monster Hunter’s universe, able to raze kingdoms and cause mass devastation.

It’s a neat, tiny detail you might have missed in all the chaos of battling Zoh Shia, but it’s also not the only signifier pointing towards a link to Fatalis. As one replier pointed out, many aspects of the Zoh Shia fight share similarities with Fatalis bouts. The monster has moves from Black, White, and Crimson Fatalis, and has other small cosmetic similarities like its horns.

While Zoh Shia also draws on other classic, terrifying monsters — find some more here, in this reply — Fatalis definitely seems like a core touchstone. What does it ultimately mean, though?

Well, keep in mind Zoh Shia is a created monster. And if Zoh Shia was made to combat something or counter a threat, what kind of threat would be countered by a Fatalis-like monster? It opens up a lot of fun theorycrafting for where Monster Hunter Wilds’ assumed expansion could go. Most importantly, this connection teases that there are even bigger, badder monsters to contend with further down the line.

It might be a while until Monster Hunter Wilds theory-crafters see their guesses pan out or not, though. The next big update will be in April, which will bring some more hunts to the title alongside other additions, like an endgame hunter hub. So for now, best to just get your rank up high and be prepared for whatever kind of monster awaits.

To help get your Monster Hunter Wilds adventure started, take a look at what Monster Hunter Wilds doesn’t tell you, and a guide to all 14 weapon types in the game. We’ve also got a detailed Monster Hunter Wilds walkthrough in progress, a Monster Hunter Wilds multiplayer guide to explain how to play with friends, and if you’ve played one of the open betas, here’s how to transfer your Monster Hunter Wilds Beta character over.

IGN’s Monster Hunter Wilds review returned an 8/10. We said: “Monster Hunter Wilds continues to smooth off the rougher corners of the series in smart ways, making for some extremely fun fights but also lacking any real challenge.”

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.