With the weekend over and Capcom ripping the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta from my hands, I had some time to reflect on what we experienced over the past three days. If you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you lucky ones got a bit more playtime. This was my first time getting hands-on with Monster Hunter Wilds since I wasn’t able to get hands-on during Summer Game Fest and PAX West 2024.
I won’t go into every detail of the beta too deeply, but I’ll touch on the elements that stood out during and after a few hours of the open beta.
The Map and World Is Better Than Ever
Remember your first time playing Monster Hunter World? Monster Hunter Wilds captures that feeling but amplifies it tenfold. The maps aren’t just larger than those in World—they’re brimming with intricate details, both big and small. Much of this is thanks to the technical upgrade from the MT Framework engine to the RE Engine, but the artistic effort shines through just as much.
The maps are also richer in resources for crafting and offer more intuitive navigation. We now have a fully 3D map that can be rotated and zoomed, adding a dynamic, user-friendly way to explore and plan routes. Though this new map brings more complexity, it’s instrumental for players to have every bit of information readily available.
The Weather System Exceeded My Expectations
I’d heard a lot about the weather system, but experiencing it firsthand was something else. And this is coming from someone who saw it on display firsthand during the 2024 Summer Game Fest. In my opinion, Monster Hunter Wilds nailed the immersion factor here. Fighting a monster while a sandstorm suddenly rolls in, momentarily blinding you with swirling sand, or navigating through a lightning storm and cheering when a stray bolt strikes your foe—these moments were incredible. This is something fans have wanted for quite some time and now it’s finally a reality. I’m eager to see how much the weather system impacts gameplay as it evolves from beta to launch.
I Love That Mount of Mine. Never Leave Me
One of the things I’ve always wanted in Monster Hunter World was access to a mount. I was dismayed that we had to walk around everywhere, and then Monster Hunter Rise was announced, and Capcom was like, “Oh hey, here’s a mount for you,” which only added to my frustration. But that’s water under the bridge because, in Monster Hunter Wilds, we have access to a new mount called the Seikret, designed to make exploration much easier and give players the ability to carry a second set of weapons to swap out.
I particularly loved that if you were a Light or Heavy Bowgun user, you could mount that weapon on the Seikret and take shots at creatures while moving much faster than you could on foot. Trust me, I did that a lot, and I loved every moment of it.
What’s more is that you can customize your Seikret, so that it stands out. Or even better, you and your friends can make each one look like the Voltron Lions or something else, and start living out those fantasies.
But more than anything, it’s that the Seikret, much like man’s best friend, never leaves your side. Once you call it into action, it takes you where you need to go, and when you eventually dismount, it doesn’t leave you. You can see it hanging around the area as if it’s waiting for you to give it a treat or to help you get out of danger. It’s one of those cool details that you may take for granted but are happy that it doesn’t take but an instant to get a free ride.
Seriously, if I could replace my dog with a Seikret, I’d do so in an instant. Sorry, Dogo.
Cross-Platform Play Was a Smashing Success
Many players would have been satisfied with Monster Hunter Wilds just adding new areas and monsters, but Capcom finally gave fans what they’ve wanted for years: cross-platform play. After testing it extensively, especially with friends, I believe this is the game’s trump card.
Despite some initial confusion with setting it up, it worked flawlessly across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. I played with friends from around the globe, including one in Australia, with no noticeable latency or connectivity issues. Capcom deserves praise for how well this cross-platform system functions, even if it was confusing at first.
By doing so, the Monster Hunter Wilds player pool just got much larger. Seriously, this is the single biggest change that is going to push not just Monster Hunter Wilds, but any other game after this that continues the trend, into the stratosphere.
Performance Across the Board
If there’s one negative takeaway from the Monster Hunter Wilds beta, it’s the performance. While I had no issues on my end, the performance feedback from other players was mixed. On the PlayStation 5 and PC, some encountered a bug that made the game look like a PlayStation 1 title, while others noted that the PS5 struggled to maintain a consistent frame rate. The PS5 performance was rough, and I hope that Capcom polishes this up before release. Don’t think I’m picking on the PS5, as I haven’t heard many positive things about the Xbox Series X either. I don’t think the PS5 Pro will magically fix these issues if left unaddressed.
Concerns weren’t limited to consoles. Some PC players running the game with minimum specs reported poor performance. And while it’s often true that gaming at minimum requirements can invite problems, this title seemed to push those limits even further. There was also frustration around the “forced” use of upscaling technology for Nvidia and AMD GPUs. Though upscaling is optional, not using it can impact performance.
Personally, my experience on a high-end PC (RTX 4090 + AMD Ryzen 7800X3D) was smooth, and I didn’t encounter bugs or frame drops in the open world. However, my frame rate dipped slightly when I returned to the hub that was loaded with lots of players, dropping from 60 FPS to the low-to-mid 50s. Still, I’m confident in Capcom’s ability to deliver a polished product. And if not, we’ll just complain until the issues are addressed, but I’m sure Capcom is used to that.
Give Me More
Give Me MoreI wish the open beta had lasted longer, as I only had three days to play on PC. PlayStation Plus subscribers enjoyed a bit more time, but even so, the beta felt short. What I did experience, though, was enough to make me want more. The dynamic changes in combat, impacted by the weather, and the introduction of weather-dependent monsters like the Rey Dau (only available during a lightning storm), left me wanting to see everything the game has to offer.
Capcom has crafted the sequel to Monster Hunter World that fans have been asking for. Monster Hunter Rise was good, but it wasn’t quite the full console experience we craved.
The only downside? Now we have to wait almost four months to play Monster Hunter Wilds again when it releases on February 28, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
