How Monster Hunter Wilds Dropped to ‘Mostly Negative’ on Steam

Only a few months ago, Monster Hunter Wilds looked like a slam dunk for Capcom. It was seen as a worthy successor to a legendary franchise that stuck the landing in all the ways that mattered. It was even considered a GOTY contender, mentioned alongside major releases like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Split Fiction. Talk about performance issues, frequent stutters, and crashes on the PC version of Monster Hunter Wilds would occasionally pop up in occasional posts on Reddit and other forums, but these complaints were often met with an equal amount of praise for the game.

Fast-forward to now, and the minor complaints have grown into a wave of vocal backlash. Monster Hunter Wilds’ Steam review score is now at“Mostly Negative,” with Capcom’s continued failure to fix PC performance being the main culprit. Each new Title Update seems to break more than it fixes, and players have had enough. While critics may still recognize MH Wilds‘ ambition and overall success come award season, a major portion of the player base is making its disappointment heard.

Why Monster Hunter Wilds is a ‘Full Circle’ Moment for the Franchise

The record-breaking success of Monster Hunter Wilds is more than 20 years in the making following the first Monster Hunter’s reception in the West.

Monster Hunter Wilds Players Are Concerned About Persistent PC Performance Issues

Performance is the Culprit Behind Monster Hunter Wilds’ “Mostly Negative” Rating on Steam

Early impressions of Monster Hunter Wilds were largely positive, with fans eager to forgive the game’s technical shortcomings due to the belief that the developers would patch things up given time. Rocky PC ports have become all too common in the gaming industry, and while Monster Hunter Wilds didn’t launch flawlessly, its issues didn’t initially seem all that serious. PC players reported frequent frame drops, constant stuttering, pop-ins, and low FPS. But most of those complaints were framed as constructive feedback meant to guide the post-launch fixes, not condemn the title.

However, with every content update, the PC version’s optimization has only gotten worse. What’s more, MH Wilds‘ performance issues have started alienating the PC community. Some fans hold out hope that the inevitable paid expansion that’s set to introduce Master Rank and more monsters will turn things around. But for many, all accumulated goodwill has already run dry.

At the time of writing, maintaining a stable 60 FPS on a PC is a struggle, even with recommended specs. The situation is even worse for those with mid-range or older systems. Even players with the latest hardware report severe texture pop-ins, increasing instability over time, and crashes with no clear cause. Framegen does solve Wilds‘ framerate problems to an extent but introduces trade-offs that are often not worth it. The technical state of the game has reached a point where even longtime Monster Hunter fans are warning newcomers to stay away from the PC version until serious fixes arrive.

Monster Hunter Wilds Could Still Define An Era

What makes all of this especially frustrating for fans is that beneath all of its technical flaws, it is an excellent title. In fact, Monster Hunter Wilds might be one of the most accessible entries in the entire franchise, perfect for newcomers intimidated by the series’ traditionally complex systems and layered mechanics. It’s the most forgiving mainline title yet, designed from the ground up with approachability in mind. But with the PC version in such a poor state, most of that potential is going to waste. New players who might’ve become lifelong fans are being turned away at the door by players who cannot, in good conscience, recommend the game. Even most negative reviews admit that MH Wilds is not a bad game, just a poorly optimized one.

Despite the backlash, Monster Hunter Wilds is still likely to earn award nominations and end-of-year praise. At the very least, it’ll be in the conversation. The game’s vision, scale, design, and execution are all undeniably impressive. But unless Capcom turns things around soon, the MH Wilds PC version’s troubled launch risks leaving a lasting impression. And once the reputation of poor PC performance sticks, it may prove impossible to shake off.