In the realm of PC gaming, few experiences resonate as universally as the ritual of adjusting graphics settings—an exercise in patience and hope. Today, with the release of the Monster Hunter Wilds benchmark on Steam, I found myself once again navigating this familiar landscape. The benchmark serves as a glimpse into how the game might perform on our systems at launch, revealing the stark reality that my RTX 3070 may not support as many high settings as I had hoped. The prospect of painful compromises looms ahead.
Admittedly, my expectations for a four-year-old graphics card with just 8GB of VRAM may be a touch ambitious. Using a 1440p monitor complicates matters further, as many cutting-edge games struggle to maintain 60 fps without significant reductions in graphical fidelity. However, I turned to the DLSS Swapper to transition to the new DLSS 4 upscaler. The benchmark initially utilized the older 3.7.10 version, but early reports suggest that DLSS 4’s Performance mode offers visuals that rival or surpass the previous Balanced setting. With a few clicks, I made the switch, reapplied my graphical compromises, and was pleasantly surprised to achieve an average of 64.24 frames per second. Progress, indeed!
However, this average was derived from an extensive benchmark, and even with DLSS 4 Performance— which appeared impressively clean— the frame rate dipped to around 50 fps during intense weather effects. It seems I’ve found a balance that I can accept, albeit with a tinge of disappointment as 60 fps slips further from reach unless I make more drastic sacrifices. The option of ray tracing remains off the table, and I can’t shake the concern that actual gameplay, particularly in stormy conditions, may yield even lower frame rates than this controlled test suggests.
By placing this benchmark in the hands of PC players weeks before launch, Capcom may be raising more questions than it answers. Nevertheless, it does provide some reassurance that we are not facing catastrophic performance issues on day one. Our hardware team is poised to delve deeper into Monster Hunter Wilds’ PC performance once we have access to the full game, promising further insights into this evolving narrative.
