Watch 25 minutes of Monster Hunter: World gameplay

Capcom has shared a 25 minute Monster Hunter: World gameplay video showcasing the "truly living ecosystem" that had Steven so excited when he wrote about it last week. The whole thing is in Japanese, so unless you speak the language you're not going to get much out of the background conversation, and it gets pretty janky in spots: Animations are stuff and awkward, and clipping errors abound.

But it's way too early to get hung up on the game's technical competence—Monster Hunter: World isn't expected to be out until early next year—and the video does hint at some interesting and ambitious ideas. A dino who kills and eats a rival upchucks part of the meal to feed what I'm assuming are her children, after which some of those children are killed in order to draw out mama, who is then taken care of by an even bigger dino who's been lured to the scene. A complicated plan, but ultimately effective.

The gameplay starts around 46:30, and runs to 1:11:18. A release date for Monster Hunter: World hasn't been announced, but Capcom recently confirmed that the PC version will come out after the console editions, "to make sure it's optimized and fine-tuned."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.