Monster Hunter Wilds is Capcoms new game in the series. It has tons of fun parts and equal amounts of pain points. The focus of Monster Hunter games is to fight big monsters and make kills with friends. Monster Hunter World expanded on the main story for games. Wilds picks up on that with one of the better stories of the series.
Graphics: The game on console has great graphics to the point that it’s a impressive next generation game running on the Resident Evil engine for next generation. This has created tons of issues for the game on PC. Most PCs and Steam Deck cannot run the game well. Armor and weapons, as well as monsters, stand out more from the needed graphics upgrade. Environment pops and makes the player engaged.
Story: It’s a weak story but one of the better Monster Hunter stories in the series. World still holds a place for the best main story. Environments are fleshed out and monster battles are themed around the story this time. There is content after beating the game which may or may not add to the story.
Live service: An interesting point on this game is the live service battles which requires getting to the higher level. As of release, there have been a few hunts which have gone decently. Currently, the content is light for post-game.
Gameplay: The game has similar combat as past games with some addons. A grapple hook addon allows for the player to affect the environment and damage it. Early on, players can take down rocks that affect how monsters attack the player. This is an issue with how the series rarely changes. The bow gun was one of the last addons prior. Wounds become a vital part of combat and make for interesting ways of damaging monsters and allow for drops to make more gear. Repeat quests are great ways to farm gear and allow players to get informed on best combat for monsters.
Sound Design: This is a key part for drama. Capcom has always been good with sound design for Monster Hunter. They went above and beyond as monsters have sounds distinct to main monsters. Music plays a key role in fights as a way to inform players.
Online play: One of the big draws is being able to play with friends. The game is forced online with SOS as an online tactic to get help. A PC may have a harder time with lobbies and hosting games. The biggest issue is lower ranking players are capped out of hunts based on how far they got in the main game.
With live service content, it is important to focus on online play as six star hunts. The top difficulty meaning that the players will need friends for a lot of post-game content.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a functional entry to the main series and is something that will draw a lot of players into the game. The overall issues stack and lean closer toward consoles versus PCs. The optimization needs plenty of work. Steam Deck is not supported at the moment.
The issue if graphics and processing affect the game. The need for a solid state drive for installing affects support of the game and can cause the game to lag. With all these issues aside, players can find a fun challenging game to enjoy long term with friends as Capcom has a long-term release plan for post-game content.
No downloadable content has been planned yet for the game.
Grade: A- on Console/A- on PC/C- on Steam Deck
