Thanks to the open beta, Hunters have discovered that Capcom’s latest hunting game offers quite a lot of customization and accessibility options. One such setting is a God sent for those who hate crawly bugs: the Arachnophobia Assistance. According to the menu, this accessibility setting will ‘adjust’ the looks of arachnids, insect small monsters, and endemic life. However, the Arachnophobia Assistance in Monster Hunter Wilds doesn’t make the spider enemies any less terrifying — it does turn them into something equally, well, gross.
Instead of spiders, players who toggle on this mode will now encounter slimy, writhing green blobs to replace their spindly foes. The catch? Not everyone is sure that turning spiders into repulsive slimes makes the experience less disturbing. In fact, some fans are already voicing their ‘concern,’ though mostly half-jokingly.
“Am I the only one who finds these weird slime blobs way more disturbing than the spiders?” wrote a Reddit user, feeling somewhat apprehensive about this option. We can understand where they come from, though. The smooth, barely discernible lumps of Carrier Form Flood back in the original Halo CE still give us the creeps.
“lets just hope no one have Arachnophobia AND Myxophobia,” another wrote. “No it says arachnophobia assistance so you aren’t scared of the spider anymore now it’s something else so mission achieved,” jested another.
On X, popular YouTuber Arekkz said, “[…] Honestly, it might be creepier than the spiders themselves! Anyone else feel like we need a setting for this setting?” His worry is supported by another X user, “That’s more terrifying then a spider…”
Spiders are a mainstay of fantasy games, from Skyrim to The Witcher, with developers often using their creepy-crawly design to give players the shivers. Before Wilds, the series also featured two spider enemies, Nerscylla in 4 and Rakna-Kadaki in Rise.
Still, for many, the phobia is all too real, and Monster Hunter fans with arachnophobia have been looking forward to an option to avoid these critters.
We can’t say for sure why Capcom thought slime was a suitable stand-in, but we can make an educated guess. The insect monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds come with a pin attack animation, so simply removing the limbs wouldn’t cut it. The animation would look strange, if not downright awkward.
To make this worse for arachnophobes, the Arachnophobia Assistance in Monster Hunter Wilds will not affect Lala Barina, the game’s big bad spider. We can’t fight it yet as the open beta only stars three monsters from the first hunting area: Doshaguma, Catachabra, and Rey Dau. But the setting explicitly stated that it will only affect small monsters and endemic life, as seen above. Don’t expect the rose-shaped spider to come out as a giant slime when you play the game in February next year.
For now, phobes will either have to brave the Forbidden Lands or avoid the game altogether. Nevertheless, Monster Hunter Wilds does feature co-op mode and supporting NPCs for solo players. Maybe you can sit back and let your friends, real or otherwise, take care of the job when it comes to bug squashing.
