Best Hunting Games to Play in 2025

Patrick_Yu · 2:48AM

Hunting simulators offer immersive experiences blending realism, strategy, and excitement. Whether exploring wilderness landscapes or fantastical settings, these games provide unique adventures for every hunting enthusiast. Here are the best hunting games to play in 2025.

1. Way of the Hunter

Way of the Hunter by Nine Rocks Games is a realistic hunting simulator offering a fresh and thoughtful experience. While it competes with the long-time favorite The Hunter: Call of the Wild, it stands out through its grounded gameplay and ethical focus.

The story follows a young man taking over his grandfather's hunting business. Simple and told through letters, the narrative serves as a functional backdrop. Voice acting, music, and comic-style art add charm to the missions.

Ethical hunting is a core feature. Players track animals using natural signs like broken branches or chewed trees rather than glowing indicators. On higher difficulties, animals detect players from up to 300 meters, requiring stealth and patience. Hiker mode provides an easier option for newcomers.

Gunplay is satisfying, with realistic bullet physics and a variety of licensed rifles and gear. The maps—set in the U.S., Alaska, South Africa, and Romania—are visually stunning. Nez Perce Valley and Transylvania are especially vast, each spanning 100 square kilometers.

The evolving animal population system encourages long-term play. Animals are randomly placed at first, and younger ones grow into potential five-star trophies over time. This adds variety and strategy to each hunt.

Some technical issues exist—like graininess at 1080p or performance dips on weaker PCs—but can often be fixed with settings tweaks. On high-end systems, the game runs smoothly and looks impressive.

Overall, Way of the Hunter may have less content than The Hunter: Call of the Wild, but it delivers a deeper, more immersive hunting experience. For players who want realism and challenge, it's a top-tier choice.

2. Prehistoric Hunt

Prehistoric Hunt is a dinosaur hunting simulator that offers a unique and engaging experience in the genre. Released in early access in 2020, it has received mixed reviews, but its steady stream of updates and active developer support show strong long-term potential.

Players begin with basic weapons like a 1911 pistol and a World War II-era rifle. As they complete successful hunts, they earn credits that can be used to unlock more powerful firearms, such as the .50 cal and 700 Nitro. This progression system rewards skill and persistence, giving players a tangible sense of growth.

The core gameplay revolves around tracking and hunting a variety of dinosaur species, including dangerous predators like the T-Rex, Utahraptor, and Giganotosaurus. Players can also take on contracts and missions, which add structure and clear goals to each expedition. The map is large and filled with diverse terrain, encouraging exploration and strategic planning.

Multiplayer support for up to 12 players adds a collaborative dimension to the game, making it even more enjoyable with friends. Additional features include a dinosaur tracking system, loot crates with useful items like ammunition and health packs, and fast travel options to help players move quickly across the map.

While the graphics aren’t cutting-edge, the solid gameplay mechanics and consistent updates make Prehistoric Hunt a compelling choice for fans of the genre. The blend of a unique dinosaur theme, rewarding progression system, and ongoing improvements creates a dynamic and enjoyable hunting experience that continues to evolve over time.

3. theHunter: Call of the Wild

theHunter: Call of the Wild is widely regarded as one of the most immersive and visually stunning hunting games available. Its environments are breathtaking, transporting players to lifelike locations such as the snow-covered Yukon, the Rocky Mountains, and the mangrove forests of Northern Australia. The attention to detail in these landscapes creates a deeply engaging, almost meditative experience.

Beyond visuals, the game offers a compelling story mode that brings meaning to each hunt. From battling anthrax outbreaks in Siberia to helping wildlife wardens in the Rockies, the narratives are well-researched and add purpose to your actions. While most story content is locked behind paid expansions, they are generally seen as worthwhile by the community.

Content longevity is another major strength. Developed by Expansive Worlds, Call of the Wild has received continuous updates for over six years, including new animals, gear, and gameplay improvements. These regular updates keep the experience fresh for both new and returning players.

The game’s pricing model is also friendly to newcomers. Frequent sales and a modular DLC system make it easy to start with the base game and build your collection over time. This flexible approach makes it more accessible than many other games in the genre.

With nearly 20 hunting reserves and a wide selection of weapons—ranging from bows and shotguns to long-range rifles—Call of the Wild offers deep replayability. Each location introduces new wildlife and terrain-based challenges, encouraging players to adapt and refine their strategies.

Finally, the community around Call of the Wild is generally welcoming and supportive. Many players have developed friendships and shared knowledge through forums and multiplayer sessions, adding a social layer to the solo hunting experience.

theHunter: Call of the Wild is a top-tier hunting simulator. Its combination of jaw-dropping environments, meaningful missions, long-term support, accessible pricing, diverse gameplay, and positive community makes it a standout choice for both casual players and hardcore enthusiasts.

4. Red Dead Redemption 2

While Red Dead Redemption 2 is best known as an action-adventure game set in a Western frontier, its hunting system is one of the most immersive and well-crafted mechanics in the genre. Rockstar Games designed the hunting experience with an impressive level of detail, mirroring the complexity of real-life tracking and harvesting.

Players must approach animals with care to avoid detection, using baits, cover scents, and stealth tactics to increase their chances of a clean kill. Choosing the right weapon is crucial—not just for success, but to preserve the quality of pelts, which directly affects their value. Tools range from bows and knives for silent kills to scoped rifles for long-range shots. This level of choice adds strategic depth to every hunt.

The game features over 200 animal species, including 16 legendary animals with unique behaviors and habitats. These creatures don’t just populate the world—they interact with it. You might witness two bucks locking antlers or a cougar ambushing an elk, thanks to an advanced AI system that creates a dynamic ecosystem.

Hunting isn’t just for sport. Skinned animals yield resources that can be sold to butchers, fences, or the trapper. Legendary pelts can be turned into custom outfits, trinkets, and talismans, giving players both practical and cosmetic rewards. The process of skinning is depicted with detailed animations, often showing Arthur Morgan’s hands covered in blood—a testament to the game’s commitment to realism.

Red Dead Redemption 2 also emphasizes ethical hunting. Players are penalized for cruelty or over-hunting, reinforcing a thoughtful approach to wildlife management. Optional hunting missions with fellow gang members add even more variety and purpose to the experience.

Hunting in Red Dead Redemption 2 is more than a side activity—it’s a core part of the journey. The blend of realistic animal behavior, diverse tools, environmental strategy, and ethical considerations makes it one of the most rewarding and immersive hunting systems in any video game.

5. Monster Hunter Wilds

Monster Hunter Wilds takes the franchise’s iconic loop of tracking, fighting, and harvesting monsters and reimagines it in a way that’s more seamless, accessible, and engaging than ever before. While the game does ease up on difficulty compared to previous entries, it still offers one of the most satisfying and fluid hunting experiences available today—making it a top contender for the best hunting game of 2025.

One of its biggest strengths is the open and interconnected world. Gone are the days of returning to a hub town after each hunt. In Wilds, players can move freely across vast biomes—from volcanic basins to frozen mountaintops—without any major loading screens. These areas also feature dynamic weather cycles that alter the visual atmosphere and influence which monsters appear, adding a living, breathing quality to every expedition.

Combat in Wilds has also been meaningfully refined. Movement is more flexible, animations are smoother, and the new Focus Mode adds depth by letting players target and exploit monster weak points. Each wound can be broken and exploited for increased damage, and every weapon features a Focus Strike to instantly break those wounds—making tactical precision more important than ever.

While longtime fans may find the base game’s difficulty underwhelming—especially since many hunts can be completed without major setbacks—there’s still plenty of fun to be had thanks to great monster design, satisfying gear progression, and fluid gameplay systems. The monster roster includes returning favorites like Gore Magala and impressive newcomers such as the flaming, tentacled Nu Udra. And the hunt never feels repetitive thanks to improved AI companions, cross-play multiplayer, and smoother progression loops.

What solidifies Monster Hunter Wilds as a standout hunting title in 2025 is its long-term content roadmap. Capcom has confirmed that the game will receive ongoing updates post-launch. As of April 2025, they’ve added fan-favorite Mizutsune, with more on the way—including Lagiacrus and tougher Arch-Tempered versions of existing monsters. These additions will introduce the kind of difficulty and replay value that veteran players crave while steadily expanding the game's scope for all players.

Lastly, Wilds delivers some of the most robust customization and accessibility tools in the series to date. Players can switch between two weapons mid-hunt, fine-tune UI elements, change mount and tent visuals, and even customize armor appearances. Whether you're hunting solo or partying up with friends via cross-play, Wilds gives you the tools to play your way.

While Monster Hunter Wilds may feel less challenging out of the gate, its streamlined design, evolving world, and strong post-launch support make it one of the most rewarding and approachable hunting games of the year. With Capcom continuing to roll out new monsters and content, Wilds is only going to get better—and that’s why it belongs on any list of 2025’s best hunting games.