Summary
Monster Hunter Wildshas invited fan scrutiny over its handling of cosmetic microtransactions, some of which effectively punish design experimentation. While the optional purchases have prompted some criticism, the player backlash isn’t extensive, possibly becauseMonster Hunter Wildsis far from the first game in the series to offer such paid content.
Monster Hunter Wildswas released internationally on February 28, at midnight EST. Its review embargo was lifted four days earlier, with the game receiving widespread acclaim, as reflected in its “Mighty” rating on OpenCritic, based on an average score of 89 and a 95% recommendation rate. While the review copies of the game had no microtransactions, its day-one version offers a plethora of them.
Some of these microtransactions have now invited fan scrutiny, as the current selection ofMonster Hunter WildsDLCpacks includes not just cosmetic content but even requires payment for repeated use of some mechanics. Specifically, the system for character and Palico editing isbased on vouchers, which Capcom is selling in $6.99 three-packs. Palico vouchers can’t be used to edit a character, and vice versa. The game provides one free voucher of each type, but any subsequent edits require payment.
Monster Hunter Wilds Offers Some Basic Character Editing Features for Free
While Capcom offers a bundle with both three-packs for $9.99—28% less than buying them separately—some fans have still taken to social media to criticize locking repeated use of a gameplay mechanic behind a paywall. Without vouchers, players can still make some stylistic changes to theirMonster Hunter Wildscharacterand Palico—such as altering hair and fur color or changing clothing—by using the Appearance menu in the tent. However, revisiting many decisions made in the character creator at the start of the game requires a voucher.
Monster Hunter: World and Rise Featured Similar Voucher-Based Editing Systems
Monster Hunter Wildsis currently sitting at “Mixed” reviews on Steam, based on over 14,000 user scores. While some of the game’s negative player reviews criticize its abundance of DLC, those are still few and far between.Monster Hunter: WorldandRisefeatured similar voucher-based editing systems with paid tokens, so it’s possible that the fandom is accustomed to them by now. In terms of player criticism, poor PC performance is a much more commonly cited issue among Steam users. TheMonster Hunter Wildsconsole ports have much better player reviews, with the ARPG presently boasting 4.6- and 4.7-star ratings on the PlayStation and Xbox Stores, respectively.
In spite of its controversial selection of microtransactions and performance issues, the PC version of Capcom’s latest title is currently listed as Steam’s top seller. Mere hours after launch,Monster Hunter Wildspeaked at over 1.3 million concurrent playerson Valve’s storefront, ranking as the platform’s sixth most popular game of all time by this metric.
