I have waited a long time to write this review, because i had very mixed thoughts regarding this game.

To get the obvious out of the way, the game is not nearly pretty enough to justify the hardware requirements and the PC Performance is a shame. I am lucky enough to have a pc to run this game decently, but the full game performs much worse than the benchmark. The updates didn't provide noticeable improvements either.

Capcom really needs to rethink optimization and their usage of the RE Engine. The only RE Engine games with really poor performance are both of their recent open world games.

That is all i'm going to say regarding performance.

My mixed feelings with this game are not because of optimization though and not because they streamlined the game to attract a wider audience, I tried to get into Monster Hunter with 4 Ultimate and the rough start deterred me. It wasn't until Monster Hunter World on my PS4, when the Franchise finally clicked with me. Since then i put roughly 3000 hours in multiple Monster Hunter Games.

I really like a lot of the improvements in Wilds and the biomes are really interesting and diverse. Some of the new Monsters instantly became some of my favourites (e.g Lalla Barina) and some are just plain weird (e.g Balahara). I appreciate the improvements in story presentation, even though they just moved the annoying parts of MH Worlds handler to Natta.

But after a strong drive throughout the campaign, and i wasn't rushing content, my interest in this game isn't there anymore. And for the longest time i didn't know why. As a huge MH fan this irritated me to no end. But after Title Update 2 i can finally put this into words:

• Focus mode is a great addition, but focus strikes make the game to easy. Some could say to just ignore it, but you are actively missing out on buffs and essential mechanics.
  
• The new investigation system with reward preview makes grinding specific materials easier then before. But this system shouldn't be there till end of the campaign. I liked completing optional missions in older MH titles and they were a good way to grind materials. The new investigations makes them basically obsolete and destroyed my drive to finish them.
  
• The endgame grind feels more intense then in previous games. I don't remember having that much issues to max upgrade my endgame armor set.
  
• The return to a pseudo live service system, cumbersome multiplayer and limited event quests feels really archaic after MH Rise.

I love Monster Hunter and the game is great if you just want to play the campaign and be done with it.
But as a huge Monster Hunter fan, i cannot recommend this game at this point and would redirect anyone to MH World or MH Rise.