Monster Hunter Wilds has launched successfully on Steam, achieving remarkable player engagement. The game has surpassed previous entries in the series, with a peak of 1.38 million concurrent users. This performance eclipses the record highs of Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise, which stood at 334,000 and 231,000 concurrent players, respectively. Wilds now ranks among the top five all-time games on Steam, placing it just behind PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, Black Myth: Wukong, Palworld, and Counter-Strike 2, while outpacing Lost Ark.
Player Reception and Reviews
Despite its impressive player numbers, Monster Hunter Wilds faces criticism regarding user satisfaction. Currently, the game holds an average review score of only 54% on Steam, significantly lower than the 89% for Monster Hunter World and 82% for Monster Hunter Rise. Reviews have cited issues such as a lack of challenge and subpar performance on PC. A recent review highlighted that the game struggles with performance consistency, with smooth gameplay often only achievable through Frame Generation. Players with standard hardware may need to lower settings and resolution to reach 60 frames per second, which is essential for optimal gameplay in this genre.
Performance Issues and Potential Improvements
There is hope for improvements post-launch, as developers may address the performance issues that are currently hindering the gameplay experience. However, past performance problems with other titles using the RE Engine, such as Dragon’s Dogma 2, suggest that significant enhancements may be necessary to fully optimize open-world experiences in future updates. This could lead to a higher average user score and increased player satisfaction over time.
User-Generated Solutions
In the interim, players can explore user-generated mods to enhance their experience. One such mod by user Darex2094 on Nexus aims to reduce stuttering by updating the Direct Storage.dll file. This suggests that the community is actively seeking ways to improve gameplay while waiting for official updates.