Is Wild Hearts Fixed on PC? A Deep Dive into Performance and Patches
The short answer is: not entirely. While patches have addressed some of the most egregious issues plaguing Wild Hearts on PC, particularly those related to CPU bottlenecking and specific gameplay glitches, widespread reports indicate that performance remains inconsistent and, in some cases, has even worsened for some players. The fixes are incremental, and whether the game is “fixed” for you depends heavily on your hardware configuration and tolerance for performance hiccups. Let’s delve into the details.
Examining the Current State of Wild Hearts PC Performance
Despite the patches focusing on performance, the core issue remains: Wild Hearts is a demanding game. The game engine appears to struggle with efficiently utilizing hardware, leading to frame rate drops, stuttering, and generally unstable performance even on systems that meet or exceed the recommended specifications.
While some players have seen improvements, others have reported that post-patch performance is actually worse. This suggests the fixes might be optimized for specific hardware configurations and could inadvertently introduce new problems on others.
The game is still suffering from CPU bottlenecking, as the Lowest preset runs at just 80fps at 1080p, which is barely faster than it did at the much tougher 1440p. And this patch has done nothing to smooth out the heavy stuttering.
Key Performance Issues Persisting:
- CPU Bottlenecking: The game still relies heavily on the CPU, causing performance issues even with powerful GPUs.
- Stuttering: Micro-stuttering remains a common complaint, disrupting gameplay fluidity.
- Inconsistent Frame Rates: Frame rates fluctuate wildly, even within the same area, making the experience unpredictable.
- Optimization Problems: The game simply isn’t optimized well for a broad range of hardware configurations.
Potential Solutions and Workarounds:
While a complete fix might require significant engine-level changes, players can try the following to improve their experience:
- Lowering Graphics Settings: The advice to set Shadows, Reflections, and Global Illumination to Low while keeping other settings at Highest may work for some players.
- Disabling Motion Blur and Depth of Field (DoF): These effects can often impact performance, especially on lower-end systems.
- Driver Updates: Ensure your graphics drivers are up to date.
- Limiting Frame Rate: Experimenting with different frame rate caps (30, 60, 120) can sometimes stabilize performance. Limit your max frames to 60FPS in your nvidia control panel.
- Closing Background Applications: Reducing the load on your CPU and RAM can free up resources for the game.
- Nvidia control panel Make sure the game is added to the Nvidia control panel.
- Switching from 2.4GHz band to the 5GHz band.
Ultimately, the best approach is to experiment with different settings to find the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance for your specific hardware.
Is It Worth Buying Now?
If you are a monster-hunting fan, Wild Hearts is definitely worth playing. The Karakuri system adds so much depth to the exploration and combat that makes the game feel fresh and wholly unique. If you are looking just to complete the story or gear up and end game? If it is the latter this is probably not the game for you. If it is just the story, so far it looks like it is a little more grindy than MHW.
Wild Hearts: FAQs on PC Performance
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about Wild Hearts’ PC performance:
1. What are the minimum PC requirements for Wild Hearts?
Your PC will need to run under 64-bit Windows 10, have a graphics card such as Radeon™ RX 5500 XT, GeForce GTX 1060, or equivalent, have 12GB of RAM, and an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or Intel Core i5-8400 processor.
2. Is Wild Hearts CPU or GPU intensive?
The game is still CPU intensive, which can lead to bottlenecks even with a powerful GPU.
3. Did the Wild Hearts patch fix performance?
No, not completely. While some issues were addressed, performance remains inconsistent and plagued by stuttering and frame rate drops.
4. How do I make Wild Hearts run better on PC?
Try lowering graphics settings (especially shadows, reflections, and global illumination), disabling motion blur and DoF, updating drivers, limiting frame rate, and closing background applications.
5. Why is Wild Hearts so laggy?
Lag is mainly related to the graphics card. In addition, improper game settings, excessive background processes, outdated graphics drivers, known bugs, and corrupted game files are also responsible for the problem.
6. Is Wild Hearts as grindy as Monster Hunter?
It depends on your play style. If you’re aiming for endgame gear, it might be more grindy than Monster Hunter: World.
7. What is the hardest game to run on PC?
Games such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Halo Infinite, and Cyberpunk 2077 are among the most graphically demanding titles.
8. What FPS limit options are available in Wild Hearts?
The options include 30, 60, 120, 144, 240, and unlimited.
9. How many hours does it take to beat Wild Hearts?
On average, it takes 41 hours to beat the main story.
10. Is Wild Hearts better than Monster Hunter?
Combat in Wild Heart’s feels a bit faster and more fluid, despite having a few similar weapon types.
11. Is Wild Hearts janky?
Yes, Wild Hearts is janky. Some players experience clunky movement, inconsistent hitboxes, and general lack of polish.
12. Is Wild Hearts like Elden Ring?
Any of Fromsoftware’s games will have a striking resemblance to the challenging combat system in Wild Hearts.
13. Is Wild Hearts good single player?
Wild Hearts feels like a more interesting single player experience than Monster Hunter.
14. Does Wild Hearts have ray tracing?
Yes, Wild Hearts does have ray tracing, but it is performance intensive.
15. Is Wild Hearts hard solo?
Having said that, almost every fight I’ve had, has been infinatly easier in a good group. The game is NOT solo friendly at all.
The Future of Wild Hearts PC Performance
The developers have acknowledged the performance issues and have pledged to continue working on optimization. Whether these efforts will fully resolve the problems remains to be seen. In the meantime, players should manage their expectations and be prepared to tweak settings and potentially encounter performance hiccups.
The issues highlighting the importance of solid game design principles and the need for robust testing across diverse hardware configurations are relevant to the Games Learning Society, as understanding these challenges is crucial for aspiring game developers. The Games Learning Society (GamesLearningSociety.org) promotes research and education in game-based learning, and understanding performance optimization is a key skill for developers creating engaging and effective learning experiences.
The story of Wild Hearts’ PC performance is an ongoing one. While significant progress has been made, the journey to a fully optimized experience is far from over. Keep an eye on future patches and community discussions for the latest developments.