Monster Hunter Wilds game director says the beta's missing hitstop has already been tweaked, thanks to 'very positive feedback' from hitstop-hungry veteran hunters

GamesRPGMonster Hunter WildsMonster Hunter Wilds game director says the beta’s missing hitstop has already been tweaked, thanks to ‘very positive feedback’ from hitstop-hungry veteran huntersWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Capcom)

monster hunter wilds pc release date

Back in the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta, something felt off. No, I don’t mean the inconsistent framerates or the outbreak of polygonalorigami monsters. I mean thebaffling decrease in hitstop—an animation technique that intentionally pauses combat animations at the frame where an attack makes contact to add an additional sense of impact. Luckily, Capcom’s already been readjusting the amount of hitstop for Wilds’s launch in February, according to game director Yuya Tokuda.

For many people with cool, good opinions, Monster Hunter’s liberal use of hitstop over the years has been a key ingredient in its combat formula, providing delightful jolts of dopamine to punctuate the moment in the lizard-battling ballet where you find an opening to land an attack. In the Wilds beta, however, hitstop had been noticeably reduced for attacks across Monster Hunter’s 14 weapon types, substantially altering the visual feedback of moment-to-moment combat.

“Some of the changes to hitstop were obviously intentional,” Tokuda said, speaking via interpreter during myhands-on Monster Hunter Wilds previewin Osaka. In other cases, Tokuda explained, the hitstop reduction was due to the beta being built from an earlier version of the game; some of the intended hitstop triggers simply hadn’t been implemented yet.

The deliberate reductions in hitstop, however, were apparently made in response to complaints from Western players of Monster Hunter: World. “When Monster Hunter: World was released, many of the users from overseas commented that the hitstop was way too [intense],” Tokuda said. “It made it difficult for them to play.”

Since the beta, though, Capcom’s received plenty of input from hunters who thought that those reductions were too severe. To Tokuda, those responses were a reassuring confirmation of Monster Hunter’s appeal.

“It was very positive feedback listening to [beta players] saying that they missed the hitstop that they were experiencing in the past titles,” Tokuda said. “It’s a very unique Monster Hunter experience, being able to experience that hitstop. It’s very positive feedback from my perspective.”

In my five hours of play time with the more up-to-date preview build of Monster Hunter Wilds, I’d definitely felt a bit more of the old hitstop magic when my hammer strikes hit home. Tokuda confirmed that Capcom had already made further hitstop tweaks, and that more would be on the way before launch.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

“In the current version that I think you guys had your hands on gameplay with today, there was obviously a little bit of adjustment compared to the OBT,” Tokuda said. “And also for the full product version there will be adjustments. For example, the finishing moves will have adjustments to hitstop as well.”

Monster Hunter Wildslaunches on February 28, 2025.

Monster Hunter Wilds weapons: Open the arsenalMonster Hunter Wilds monsters: Which beasties are backMonster Hunter Wilds preview: Our early impressionsMonster Hunter Wilds new features: What we’re psyched for2025 games: All the other releases coming this year

Monster Hunter Wilds weaponsMonster Hunter Wilds monstersMonster Hunter Wilds previewMonster Hunter Wilds new features2025 games

More about rpgPlayers are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-characterCD Projekt Red boss says ‘around 100’ Witcher 3 designers still work at the company, while the Witcher 4’s story director is ‘the same person since Witcher 1’LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13See more latest►

More about rpg

Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-characterCD Projekt Red boss says ‘around 100’ Witcher 3 designers still work at the company, while the Witcher 4’s story director is ‘the same person since Witcher 1’

Astarion

Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-character

The Witcher 4 - Ciri

CD Projekt Red boss says ‘around 100’ Witcher 3 designers still work at the company, while the Witcher 4’s story director is ‘the same person since Witcher 1’

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13

Wordle today being played on a phone

Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13

See more latest►

Most Popular

Today’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

Activision will send you alarmingly detailed data for every single Call of Duty match you’ve played in the last 4 years if you ask, and players are using it to figure out their mysterious SBMM rankings

Here’s a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony ship

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

23-year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable community

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals