Monster Hunter Wilds Gets The Steam Deck Verified Badge, And It's Technically Correct

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For one reason or another, there have been a lot of games that have been getting an undeserved Steam Deck Verified or Playable badge. Whether it’s graphical issues or constant inconsistent performance, these ratings were attached to games that didn’t deserve them. It can be misleading, making people believe that a game is going to be great to play on the go when it’s actually horrible. Today, we got another such game, with Monster Hunter Wilds somehow getting the Verified badge.

Earlier today, Monster Hunter Wilds got the green checkmark, which is Valve’s way of saying that the game is a “great experience” on the Steam Deck. Its default configurations work and perform well; all the controller icons are correct, and the text is legible. However, the game has a bad track record of performance on the Deck, so seeing the green checkmark was surprising. Still, I decided to check it out for myself, and I was actually a bit surprised.

At the default settings, the game was more playable than I thought. It would stick to 30 FPS and above most of the time, and it even helped in a few fights. There were some drops when running around the world, but these usually corrected themselves pretty quickly. Since the game was released, it has been massively improved.

However, I still find it hard to recommend. Performance is okay for the most part, but the visual quality is horrendous. It’s pixelated and blurry, and so much detail has been taken out that it is barely recognizable. Yes, it’s playable, but the cost means an experience that is tough to stomach visually. The muddy textures, lack of shadows, and lower quality overall just make it hard to look at.

I’m torn on whether or not I agree with the badge. On the one hand, it is playable and performs decently from what I’ve tested. There may be some areas that don’t run as well, but I didn’t encounter them. On the other hand, it looks terrible. The visual quality has lowered to the point where it’s not enjoyable to see at all. The Verified badge has no requirements for visual quality, so I think technically, the badge is accurate. Still, it’s not something I would recommend purely due to the visual downgrade.

I can see it being used for grinding and material collecting, or maybe a hunt here and there. I’m not sure I could see myself playing through the entire game this way, even if it is possible, but there are some benefits to being able to play this on the go.

Monster Hunter Wilds is $39.99 on Steam.

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