6d ago

Monster Hunter Wilds: First Impressions After the Long-Awaited Release

First Impressions: Monster Hunter Wilds is the apex form of the multiplayer series in practically every way | Massively Overpowered

Well, we finally made it! I’ve genuinely been looking forward to Monster Hunter Wilds, and now I’ve finally started playing it. Wanted to share my first impressions. Maybe some of you are playing too (or planning to)? Let’s discuss!

The design really impressed me! The world is wild — in a good way. The landscapes are stunning: from deserts and jungles to volcanoes. The atmosphere pulls you in right away. The weather effects are incredibly well done — storms or sand veils can kick in during a hunt, adding a ton of immersion.

Combat feels even deeper and more refined. There are new mechanics, like a wound system that affects monster behavior — a very cool addition.

But yeah, there are some downsides. Performance... oof. Even with solid PC specs, I’ve experienced stuttering, FPS drops, and occasional crashes. From what I’ve seen on the forums, I’m definitely not alone. Some mechanics also seem a bit simplified — World veterans might feel a bit let down.

Reddit is buzzing: some are slamming the bugs, others are loving the lore and gameplay. Fingers crossed Capcom rolls out some patches soon.

14 comments

Genuinely couldn't stand how on-rails it is. Why advertise this wide open world and then constantly restrict and limit my options to interact with it?
There's lots of positive things to say about it. The combat is, yes, perhaps more satisfying than ever. They really nailed the Monster/weapons/armor designs this time around. I feel like there's value in gathering again, something that recent titles have lost.
But it's all stained by the low-rank experience. Spending 10-12 hours behing hand-held through a series of walk and talks where I am constantly prompted to stare at the beautiful landscape piece, or the way small monsters interact, as though the game is afraid I'll miss it if I am left to my own devices, was both boring and insulting. There was a lot of decisions made to put cinematography ahead of gameplay experience here, and these decisions have genuinely made Wilds my least favorite release Monster Hunter title to date.
- The way I see there was a 15 hour long free game that came with my purchase of Monster Hunter. It wasn't much good but I'm glad to play Monster Hunter after that.
  Performance-wise, the game is bottlenecked not just by CPU and GPU but also by asset streaming. Put it on your fastest NVME drive and make sure you have enough GPU headroom for DirectStorage to do its work.
  
  Oh I don't have any performance issues. My 3070ti has no issue holding 120 fps (with frame Gen on, mind you). Game plays perfectly.
  And I'd be more forgiving of the "15 hour long free game," but it ate a part of the game I enjoy, made playing that part of the game with friends challenging to the point of feeling not worth it, and it's required before I am allowed to enjoy the game I actually paid for. Those 15 hours - well, 12 for me - were more valuable to me than the price I paid for the game. 15 hours of work is well into the several hundreds of dollars space. But I already paid over $100 CAD once taxes were in. Why do I also have to give it my time?
  Again, great game, but worst on-boot Monster Hunter to date. And that's saying something, considering World doesn't let you hold a weapon for the first hour.

Performance is utterly ridiculous, straightup the worst I‘ve ever experienced from a visuals vs hardware load standpoint ever. It runs almost as bad as CP2077 on ultra raytracing for me - but without any raytracing and on medium settings.
Also, try running the game at native without any upscaling or anti-aliasing; not for performance sake, but just to see what the game looks like „raw“: It‘s incredibly noisy, the upscalers have to work miracles with that input.
It is hands-down the best MH gameplay-wise though. My biggest gripes with the series (played the other entries for like 600hrs) were always how long you‘re stuck in animations and how stiff the attack animations are, often leading to missed attacks (or even finishers) because my character refuses to turn an inch to the left during a combo.
The „aim“ button fixes this completely and recovery animations don‘t seem to take ages anymore either. In World when I get hit I have time to literally put my controller down and facepalm for messing up (in Rise you can „wiredash“if you have charges), not in Wilds though.
As an LS main, I absolutely vibe with the new moves it got and the wound system is also very intuitive and accesible.
The story is pretty meh IMO as in every MH I‘ve played, they seemingly did put a lot of budget into those cutscenes though, they look good. I ended up skipping towards the end regardless, and I can’t help but feel half the cutscene budget would have been better off used for engine work.
I saw a bunch of complaints that the game‘s too easy, which I don‘t disagree with but first of all: Tempered Gore. Second of all: Wait for the expansion, the base game is always easier and then the expansion knocks our teeth out.
If I can run Wilds at a stable 60 in performance mode on high settings (should be doable on a 3080), it‘ll be in my top10 fav games ever, but since it runs like total ass, I prefer World still. This is my opinion on the game.

I’ve also been playing Monster Hunter Wilds for a few days now, and your impressions really align with mine. The world is absolutely stunning especially that moment when you're hunting in the jungle and a thunderstorm kicks in, with lightning flashing and the monster vanishing into the misty rain… I just froze and watched how beautifully everything was animated 😍 Capcom really nailed the atmosphere.
What’s interesting is that I’m not usually the type to get hyped for big releases. My main genre is completely different I’m more into quick, session-based games. Lately, I mostly chill with online slots where you don’t need to follow storylines, grind, or wait for updates it’s all instant and simple. For example, I often play free slots with no download on sites like this it’s a handy service for players in Canada, no downloads or signups needed. Just a good way to switch off after work or during breaks.
But Wilds genuinely surprised me. It’s the first Monster Hunter that’s really pulled me in. Maybe because it has that same element of unpredictability like with spins: you never know where the monster will run, whether another one will interfere, or if some disaster is about to hit you from the sky. It adds a rush, even when the gameplay isn’t traditionally fast-paced.
As for combat totally agree, it’s become more tactical. I’ve already had a few moments where bad positioning or ignoring a monster’s wound led to a complete party wipe. By the way, I’m playing with friends co-op is awesome here, though the servers sometimes freeze… although it might just be my provider (I’m in Toronto anyone else from Canada, how’s your connection? 😅).
On the technical side yeah, unfortunately still feels a bit “unfinished.” My setup is solid (RTX 4070, 32 GB RAM), but I still get frame drops, especially when switching areas or when multiple large monsters are on screen. I saw on Steam that a big patch is on the way hopefully it drops soon.
- Oh nice, you’re in Toronto? I’m in Vancouver! So yeah, also from Canada here.
  Totally with you on the connection thing I’ve had a few weird lag spikes too during co-op, especially when we’re in a full party and stuff gets chaotic. At first I thought it was the game, but now I’m wondering if it's a regional server issue or just typical Canadian internet being... well, Canadian 😅
- I’ve only clocked in around 10 hours so far, but Monster Hunter Wilds already feels like something special. The environmental detail is on another level. That jungle storm moment? 100% agree — I had a similar scene where I was mid-hunt, and out of nowhere, a sandstorm rolled in and completely changed the flow of the fight. The monster just disappeared into the haze like a damn ghost. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you just stop and watch.
  Combat-wise, yeah, the new wound system really forces you to stay sharp. You can’t just spam damage — you actually have to read the monster and adjust. I’ve had a couple hunts where we thought we had it in the bag, then it suddenly enraged and wiped half the squad because we weren’t managing its injuries properly. Love that added layer of tactics. Performance… yeah, bit of a mixed bag. I’m on a 3060 Ti with 16 GB RAM and it mostly runs fine, but there are still moments where it chugs — especially in bigger maps or when multiple monsters show up. Had one crash in co-op that nearly cost us a full hunt. Hoping that big patch everyone’s talking about isn’t just bug fixes but actual optimization work.

I think last night I hit HR38 or so, so I have played it about 40 hours.
And I will start by saying this my first Monster Hunter. I have zero old baggage or knowledge coming in (other than trying Rise for maybe an hour because it was free on PSN+ and that not clicking at all).
Performance: I fortunately have a 120hz VRR OLED, so the 40fps mode on my PS5 is pretty solid. It feels good. No, I will not be taking questions from PC zealots at this time - though I do feel bad for you guys that it sounds like there are some issues there they need to resolve. On console it's pretty solid.
The game: I'm really enjoying it. Like I said, I don't have any prior experience really coming in, so it's all new to me. And after what felt like climbing a sheer cliffside of learning curve to understand how to just play the game, I'm vibing with most all of it now. It was really hard to adjust my brain to think that Square is NOT the attack button, but rather Circle and Triangle. But once that clicked finally, I'm Charge Blading and Bug Lancing all over the place. It's fun.
I've read some complaints here and there about the wound system, but I like it. I like doing cool moves in the middle of a fight for big damage.
The worst part of the game is playing with others. Once you get it working it's fun to play with friends. But just getting to that point is awful. I'm reminded of that meme of the three dragon heads where the two, serious ones on the left are the graphics and gameplay, and the derpy one on the right is multiplayer. I shouldn't have to look up online how to do what I'd assume is a simple thing: play with my friends. No one knows what a lobby is versus a link party versus an environment link party versus a squad...It's all too much shit up front to learn and untangle. It took my brothers and I about an hour to set up a game the first time we tried. It's madness.
But overall, I'm still enjoying this game. I don't care that it's "easier" like I hear from some people. It's fun. My sword and shield turns into a chainsaw. I'm having a good time.

I'm enjoying the game but I only play with friends. After the initial hours spent figuring out how to play together (of which there are still a myriad of issues and hurdles - a true Monster Hunter staple), we've been having a lot of fun together.
I'm no Monster Hunter vet or anything like that. I've played previous Monster Hunters, but Wilds is the first I've played until credits rolled.
I knew what to expect going into it. I knew not to expect seamless coop play. Don't not expect any captivating story (I skip most of the dialogue, and don't really know why I'm killing the monsters half of the time). Do expect a convoluted inventory system and interface.
Really, all I'm here for is to slay monsters with friends and occasionally scroll through a bad inventory list, applying a few wrong potions or antidotes before finding the right one.

I‘be really been enjoying it. It feels like it took the parts I liked best from World and Rise and refined them. The new wound mechanic feels like a refinement of IB’s tenderizing mechanic only it doesn’t annoy me.
I’m torn on the way it tells its story, though. On the one hand, I really like the story thus far, but sometimes I just want to go smack a monster in the face with my horn and not have to wait through 15+ minutes of story to get there.

Got the game free with a ROG Harpe mouse of all things. Never played a monster hunter game before, so should be interesting.

ADHD review: The best "beginner" MH game
75h on record finished all the main and side mission.
The game is extremely convenient in its gameplay loop, auto ride your yoshi to the monster and kick its butt, doesn't matter what weapon you're using. Everything is good, yet you still get rewarded for exploitating elemental/status weaknesses. Very fun with friends. Performance gets better the longer you play.
In long: This entry into the series has been the easiest and most fun, but the downside is with that convenience MH is starting to lose its identity as a hunting game. Its less (to none) about tracking a monster setting a trap and hunting it and more about hacking and slashing away until said monster stops moving.
The Story - While the combat is pure hype and adrenaline the story telling is like a direct infusion of melatonin. Bogging the first 10~ hours of the game down. (Don't get me wrong this isn't a "after 10 hours the game gets good" kinda deal, the game is instantly good just the story is pesky.)
The Performance - Luckily the first title update is planned to be released in 3 days bringing with it massive performance updates (namely the VRAM optimizations), and while this can of worms is way way waaaay to complicated to get into detail now, it's still very much rough around the edges dipping from 60~30 FPS but the game isn't "unplayable" per-say. Someone smarter then me can probably figure this out and explain it better, but as someone who uses a "unsupported" platform (Linux) and has only been doing pretty much plug and play without tinkering I still think that the game is worth playing for its asking price.

I am mostly enjoying wilds, one thing that annoys me to no end that there is no option to change key bindings for controller. The controls feel a bit clunky for me the way they are set up

Been enjoying the game a lot! Technical problems and multiplayer UI mess aside the game is mostly improvements or sidegrades to me.
Weapons like SnS and Greatsword feel very fluid and varied with their attacks, while some (Swaxe/CB) feel spammier than ever. You win some, lose some.
The new environments are a huge improvement on a technical level. Rocky areas look cool and the forests are beatiful. While I'm not a huge fan of the seikrets (mounts) it is clear that the environments couldn't have been designed like this without them.
Story was a bit too handholdy and a railed experience in low rank, but high ranks pacing was better. If the low rank story was a bit slower it would have been better imo.
Separating attack skills out from armour was a blunder. While it allows more lenience with weapon switching, it leaves armour sets very boring in their skills.

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