Monster Hunter Wilds is back in the conversation after the latest update created a new dilemma. The additional content provided excitement, but major performance and design direction issues put Capcom in an even more difficult position. Players hope the game can be saved, but the signs are not convincing enough.
According to PC GamerThe latest patch version 1.021 brings a new difficulty tier and endgame grind for buildcrafting. For veteran hunters, this is certainly a reason to return to the arena. It adds the variety that some communities are looking for. But for many players, it feels like a patch on top of core issues that have yet to be resolved.
Performance becomes a heavy burden
Wilds' performance has been under the spotlight since its pre-release last February. Issues such as frame drops, hitches, crashes, and input delays were triggered by the CPU load caused by DirectStorage. Director Yuya Tokuda finally acknowledged the fundamental flaw in CPU management.
Improvements were promised to come in stages, with the first stage only arriving in the winter, almost a year after release. Players felt that these fixes were coming too slowly.
Lost Game Identity
Monster Hunter Wilds tends to sacrifice complexity in favor of being more newcomer-friendly. The armor skill system has been trimmed down, making build variations feel narrow.
Low-level monsters no longer provide any real incentive, while the weather and seasonal systems seem to have no real impact beyond the less appealing visuals. As a result, hunting is often focused only on the truly challenging high-level monsters.
Capcom at a Difficult Crossroads
Post-launch strategy is now synonymous with raising the difficulty tier of monsters. From tempered 8★ to 9★, this pattern started to lose its appeal. Players felt that only a handful of monsters were relevant in the endgame, leaving the majority of the roster as a waste. Wilds sales plummeted, reviews on Steam were filled with disappointment, and even Capcom's stock faltered.
The core gameplay of hunting big monsters is still solid and satisfying, but it clearly needs an update equivalent to an expansion to restore enthusiasm. The challenge is whether Capcom still has enough time to win back the community's trust.
