Monster Hunter Wilds is an action RPG from Capcom where you hunt giant monsters in the Forbidden Lands, craft better weapons and armor from their hides and bones, and go after a tougher target. The game came out on February 28, 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and the Nintendo Switch 2 version arrives on December 4, 2026. We’ll tell you what it does well, where it stumbles and whether it’s for you.
Review
Monster Hunter Wilds
Critics rank it among the best entries in the series: combat, the Seikret and Focus Mode make hunting faster and more approachable. PC players, however, have been fighting performance since launch and Steam rates it Mixed. Points off for low difficulty and a weak story too.
- Genre
- Action RPG, monster hunting
- Developer
- Capcom
- Release
- February 28, 2025, Switch 2 December 4, 2026
- Platforms
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S (crossplay)
- Price
- €39.99 / $39.99 on Steam, Gold Edition €79.99
- Players
- 1, online 1–4
What works
- Combat that critics rank among the best in the series
- The Seikret and two weapons you can swap while riding
- A more approachable start for newcomers
- Free Title Updates with new monsters
What doesn’t
- PC performance that Capcom had to address with its own fix plan
- Low difficulty in the main campaign
- A story that critics say mostly gets in the way
- Steam players rate it only Mixed
Rated on player and critic reception as of November 3, 2026 · Steam 49.7% positive (333,893 reviews, figure from October 21, 2026) · Metacritic 88 (PS5, 110 reviews) · The 8/10 score is Daniel’s adjustment; the reception formula gives 7/10
What Monster Hunter Wilds is about
As a Guild hunter you head into the Forbidden Lands. The story follows a boy named Nata and a mysterious monster known as the White Wraith. The core is the same as in the whole series: track a monster, hunt it, craft better gear from its materials and move on to a tougher opponent. All 14 weapon types from the series return, from the Great Sword to the Bow.
The big new addition is the Seikret, a mount that takes you to your current target on its own. It can carry a second weapon and you can switch between two weapon types while riding. Focus Mode aims your attacks and blocks with the camera and highlights wounds on the monster’s body. Repeated hits to the same spot open a wound, and hitting it deals heavy damage.
The Forbidden Lands change with the weather. A season of scarcity (Fallow) gives way to storms (Inclemency) and abundance (Plenty), and the whole environment changes with them. If you don’t want to hunt alone, fire an SOS flare to call in online players or up to three computer-controlled Support Hunters. Online, up to four of you can hunt together with crossplay.
What has changed since launch
Capcom keeps expanding the game with free Title Updates. The first brought Mizutsune in April 2025, the second Lagiacrus in June, the third a FINAL FANTASY XIV collaboration in September and the fourth the Elder Dragon Gogmazios in December 2025. Since February 2026 the game has 10★ Arch-tempered monsters. Since August 2026 there’s a free Prologue Demo whose progress carries over to the full game. For 2027 Capcom has announced the major expansion Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance with Master Rank and new monsters including Teostra and Khezu.
What critics praise and what bothers players
On Metacritic the PS5 version has 88 from 110 reviews, PC 88 and Xbox Series X 90. VGC (100) called it one of the best Monster Hunter games ever, improving on World in virtually every way. GamesRadar+ (90) praises the best combat and narrative in the series, and Push Square (90) calls it an outstanding action RPG at its core. It sold over 8 million units in its first three days, the fastest in Capcom’s history.
The complaints repeat. IGN (80), Windows Central (80) and PC Gamer (85) all say the game is too easy and streamlined; IGN barely needed to dig into the equipment system. GameSpot (80) criticizes performance, often bland environments and a superfluous story, and Push Square a stalling campaign. PC is the main problem: even the minimum requirements on Steam target 1080p upscaled from 720p at 30 fps. In December 2025 Capcom published a plan to improve stability and performance and released fixes through February 2026; the latest patch from October 27, 2026 addresses crashes on some AMD cards.
Steam players rate the game 49.7% positive out of 333,893 reviews, which is Mixed. In the last 30 days 73% of 1,890 reviews are positive (as of November 3, 2026). Metacritic users give it 7.1.
Price, platforms and languages
On August 4, 2026 Capcom permanently cut the price of the base game. On Steam it now costs €39.99 / $39.99 (on sale for €29.99 / $29.99 as of November 3, 2026), and the Gold Edition with cosmetic DLC €79.99 / $79.99. Capcom withdrew the Deluxe and Premium Deluxe Editions from sale. On PC you need at least a GTX 1660 or RX 5500 XT, 16 GB of RAM and an SSD; an RTX 2060 Super or RX 6600 is recommended. On Steam Deck the game is Verified.
The game has full voice-over in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain and Latin America), Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Japanese, and text in Arabic, Polish, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Thai.
Who Monster Hunter Wilds is for (and who it isn’t)
It’s for you if you want to get into Monster Hunter. Wilds is more approachable than older entries, the Seikret takes you to your target and Support Hunters help out when you don’t have a group.
Skip it if you have a weaker PC or expect a challenge on the level of older entries. Critics say veterans will breeze through the campaign without thinking much about gear. For truly hard content, wait for Master Rank in the Ascendance expansion.
Verdict: Is Monster Hunter Wilds worth it?
Mostly yes. Critics see Monster Hunter Wilds as one of the best entries in the series, but PC players have been fighting performance since launch. We’re giving it 8/10.
Combat, the Seikret and Focus Mode made hunting faster and opened it up to newcomers. At €39.99 after the permanent price cut, it’s a fair price. Points off for PC performance, low difficulty and a weak story.
Playing Monster Hunter Wilds? The Switch 2 version is covered in our Nintendo Switch 2 games overview, and more reviews are in our Reviews section. You can find hunting partners on the GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
We’re giving it 8 out of 10. The score is based on player and critic reception: on Steam the game has 49.7% positive out of 333,893 reviews, and the PS5 version has 88 on Metacritic from 110 reviews. Critics praise the combat, PC players criticize performance. The formula alone would give 7/10 from these numbers. Daniel raised the score to 8/10. In the last 30 days, 73% of Steam reviews are positive.
On Steam the regular price is €39.99 / $39.99 and the Gold Edition €79.99 / $79.99 (as of November 3, 2026). Capcom permanently cut the base game’s price on August 4, 2026.
Yes. You can play the whole game alone and use the SOS flare to call in up to three computer-controlled Support Hunters. Online, up to four players can hunt together with crossplay.
Yes, on December 4, 2026. According to Capcom it includes all Title Updates released so far and supports crossplay. The Prologue Demo has been on Switch 2 since October 20, 2026.
Yes. Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance comes out in 2027 and adds a continuation of the story, new areas and monsters, and Master Rank. Capcom hasn’t announced an exact date yet.
This review is based on player ratings on Steam and critic scores on Metacritic, on reviews from VGC, GamesRadar+, Push Square, IGN, GameSpot, PC Gamer and Windows Central, and on official announcements from Capcom. Information verified on November 3, 2026. More reviews are in our Reviews section.