The Steam Deck struggles to handle Monster Hunter Wilds, as I've discovered through extensive testing with the game's benchmark tool on my OLED model. Unfortunately, this widely anticipated title from Capcom doesn't perform well on the device, mirroring recent trends where AAA games are often difficult to play on the Steam Deck. The promising aspect is that if you have access to a capable PC, you can still enjoy Monster Hunter Wilds to its fullest potential. Capcom has incorporated various upscaling options for AMD, Nvidia, and Intel users, facilitating crucial graphical enhancements, provided your system meets the necessary minimum specifications. Despite this, Frame Generation technology is still not optimized for the Steam Deck. When I ran the benchmark using the lowest graphic settings without upscaling or frame generation, it averaged only 21FPS, dropping to as low as 12FPS, making it unplayable. Activating AMD FSR at Ultra Performance didn't yield much improvement, as I faced significant stutter and further drops to 15FPS, with an average of 28FPS. The best result came when I turned on Frame Generation, apparently hitting 42FPS; however, this was deceptive, as the gameplay was riddled with severe stuttering. In summary, even with all performance enhancements turned on, Monster Hunter Wilds remains unplayable on the Steam Deck. Players can look forward to two open beta weekends starting February 6, providing a chance to test out Capcom’s action RPG before its launch on February 27.
