Action RPG

Steam Deck users enjoy Monster Hunter Wilds at sub-30 FPS

BBG News

As a devoted Steam Deck enthusiast, I’ll freely acknowledge that my primary use of this device doesn’t revolve around playing the most recent AAA titles. Surprisingly, it turns out I’m not alone in this regard, as the infamously demanding Monster Hunter Rise enjoys significant popularity on the Deck.

For performance purists in the audience, myself included, it may be downright unthinkable to play a game as ridiculously unoptimized as Monster Hunter Wilds on the Deck, but that’s not stopping the community from enjoying the experience regardless. According to Valve’s own list of the most popular games on the Steam Deck, Monster Hunter Wilds is hovering around the number 10 spot over the past month. Over on the Steam Deck subreddit, some users are about as perplexed as I am, asking what settings could people possibly be playing the game at for it to maintain a reasonable frame rate. With that in mind, I don’t think there’s anything “reasonable” about it. As Redditor NoxinDev puts it, “Crystal clear and smooth locked 10 fps (maybe a few dips) – Don’t knock it until you try it.” Sounds about right.

Monster Hunter Wilds is somehow in the top 10 most played games on SteamDeck in the last month. What settings are you masochistic lunatics running this at?
byu/iamtehfong inSteamDeck


Poor performance is hardly an issue for Steam Deck fans of Monster Hunter Wilds

To put it casually, just like me, my gaming journey began on a fairly basic device. If I’m being kind, I’d say its abilities were modest at best. When you’re stuck with a less-than-optimal gaming experience, you grasp whatever you can get your hands on. And if the game mechanics are engaging enough, you’ll find yourself drawn in and ultimately appreciating the gameplay.

Moving on, it’s clear that Monster Hunter Wilds is an enjoyable game. Given the devotion of Steam Deck users, it wouldn’t be surprising if they’d attempt to play Capcom’s latest flagship title on their device. However, there’s a catch: making Wilds playable on the Deck involves a specific method, and that method is the “Little Engine that Could” mod.

This mod, which I believe is an absolute must-have if you intend to seriously play Monster Hunter Wilds on the Deck, takes the game’s graphics setting even lower than would otherwise be possible. According to the mod’s creator, “you should be able to maintain ~30fps with framegen enabled using this config and the tweaks on this page, at 1024×640 with Quality upscaling, or Balanced at 800p. If you use Lite Environment and enable all of its options, you can manage close to a solid 30 at 1024×640 without frame generation.”

If you’re not sure how Frame-Gen works and whether it’s going to feel right at sub-30 native frames per second, I highly recommend reading up on our primer on the technology. Personally, I’d advise against using it but definitely do give the Little Engine that Shouldn’t mod a shot if you’d like to play Wilds on the Deck. It doesn’t even look half-bad, all things considered!

Curiously, this whole thing brings up a point I made not long ago, that the Steam Deck isn’t nearly as outdated as some might believe. Whether it’s the only gaming device you have or if you just need to have cutting-edge AAAs running on it, it very well can eke out a playable and enjoyable experience in most modern releases. Even if we’re talking about 30-ish FPS at ridiculously low rendering resolutions, that’s a worthwhile experience for a particular kind of user. So, power to the people!

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2025-03-17 15:49

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