Over the previous few weeks, I’ve lastly been taking part in Wild Hearts. Constructed by Koei Tecmo’s Omega Drive (the staff behind the Warriors collection) and printed by EA, it confirmed loads of promise as a contender to the would possibly of Monster Hunter. Its launch in February 2023, nonetheless, was plagued with efficiency woes eclipsing even the early issues confronted by Monster Hunter Wilds. Three years on, I am giving it a correct probability, and whereas I’d suggest it to looking fanatics, the entire expertise has solely made me extra unhappy about the way in which it was seemingly left adrift.
Wild Hearts has some actually sturdy concepts. Its weapons are less complicated in execution than Monster Hunter’s choices, however boast some nice methods. The hammer extends in size with well-timed button presses throughout your combo. The claw blade latches a grappling line into your goal when you fly by way of the air, darting circles round it to ship an assault of blows from all instructions like a veritable Tremendous Saiyan. I nonetheless have not wrapped my head round its Karakuri Employees, which transforms between a number of totally totally different states together with a bo workers, a throwing weapon, and a vastly outsized nice sword.
You then issue within the RPG’s trump card, the Karakuri system. Imbued with management over this mysterious, historical expertise, your hunter has the power to summon buildings at will as if they’d smuggled a bag of Fortnite methods into the world. Conjure a heli-glider to soar throughout the map, or to achieve transient peak and ship plunging assaults at will. Spawn an enormous hammer to bonk your foes, or a wall to dam their cost. You are even free to plaster the map with ziplines that may go nearly anyplace you want, turning an arduous trek up a mountain into an easy 5 seconds. Studying methods to make use of and abuse these to make your assaults much more efficient is important with how fast-moving the Wild Hearts monster roster is.
For as a lot as I like the weapons and Karakuri, the creatures of Wild Hearts could also be my favourite half. There are some beautiful fantasy designs in right here, usually mixing animals and nature in unsettling methods. The Sporetail is a big rat whose physique performs dwelling to a fungus, whereas the beaver-like Gritdog drags you in with a stomach drum that creates a whirling vortex of suction. I laughed at the one that named an enormous, colourful cockerel the ‘Dreadclaw’ till I skilled its relentless slide tackles first hand. Monster Hunter’s Seregios could be pleased with this killer rooster.
At launch, Dave handed Wilds Hearts a reluctant 7/10, writing, “technical points on PC proceed to mar what ought to have been a slam-dunk hit”. In July 2025, Wild Hearts got here to the Nintendo Change 2, giving me contemporary hope that it was going to get some consideration on different platforms. If it did, there’s nothing to report. It nonetheless would not run in addition to I would like, which is especially irritating on condition that it is a sport so basically constructed on fluid motion. Head over to Steam and you will find that simply 55% of gamers have given it a thumbs up.
In my coronary heart, Wild Hearts deserves higher than that, however I would battle to suggest it when it nonetheless would not run all that properly and there seems to be no intent from the builders to make any additional modifications. Regardless of that, it is likely to be simply what you are after to assist tide you over till the Monster Hunter Wilds growth. If in case you have entry to EA Play (or Sport Cross, which incorporates an EA subscription), or can seize it the subsequent time it is going for 90% off because it has carried out a number of occasions in latest months, I actually do suppose there’s so much to like. I simply want it had been given a correct probability to thrive, as a substitute of being without end consigned to the performance-problems bin.
