summary
- Wild Hearts is an action-adventure fantasy hunting game coming to Xbox Series X|S next year.
- Craft items along the way to hunt your prey, traverse the terrain, and more.
- Play a single fight, side quest, or the entire campaign with up to two other players.
When I heard that Electronic Arts was teaming up with Koei Tecmo for the next great hunting game, my imagination went wild with visions of a supernatural hero tracking down fantastical beasts and fighting them in epic battles. Wolves and tigers maybe? Even a dragon.
Following last month’s announcement and thanks to a recent hands-on preview event, I’ve learned Wild Hearts aspires to be a mystical game “in which hunters devise elaborate mechanisms to confront vast, nature-infused beasts in feudal fantasy Japan”, with some innovative and fun new features that fans of this genre will surely enjoy .
Tame a world gone wild
Wild Hearts, coming to Xbox Series X|S early next year, is an action-adventure game that can be played either solo or with up to two other players online (with crossplay support) in a roughly 30-hour story campaign . Playing with other players, you can experience a single battle, the entire campaign, or even the side quests. Difficulty scales based on your group size and loot is distributed randomly, not based on individual performance. You can also customize your home base, which is shown to other players who join your game. While there is a bit of gathering, farming and crafting, Wild Hearts is primarily about the hunt, and as the trailer reveals, “Taming a World Gone Wild”.
Welcome to imaginative feudal Japan
Wild Hearts takes place across four major open-world locations in Azuma, a fantasy world based on feudal Japan. Each of these landscapes is dedicated to a season, including a region with a giant cherry blossom tree for spring; a secluded island in the middle of the ocean for summer; a war-torn fortress for autumn and a castle frozen in ice for winter. Each of these areas is accessible from a location called Minato, a central mission center where you can plan your quests and team up with friends and other hunters.
The world is incredibly beautiful and transports you to a very believable medieval Japan down to the smallest detail. Landscapes teeming with traditional Japanese architecture, stone ruins, lanterns, cherry blossom trees and cranes wading through streams truly inspire a sense of awe. Combine this with an amazing soundtrack and brilliant voice acting and you really feel like you’re in the “Land of the Rising Sun”.
Choose your weapon wisely
Weapon availability during my time with the Wild Hearts The demo was limited, but I’m told that the full game will have eight unique weapon types, each with multiple configuration options, resulting in hundreds of variations. These range from katanas, bows, hammers and even a bladed screen, and their effectiveness against your prey depends on their type and how the weapon was upgraded. A variety of armor options will also be available and upgradable.
Craft Ancient Technology
what does Wild Hearts Unlike other fantasy hunting games, it has a unique feature called Karakuri, a special ability based on ancient technology that allows you to craft items along the way to aid in battle, traverse terrain, and more. A few of these were available in the demo, including platforms and springboards to gain a height advantage over your prey (or counter their incoming attacks). I’m told there will be many more tools available to hunters, including gliders, zip lines, catapults, flares that can stun your prey, and bombs that deal massive damage. Karakuri can also be used to craft cosmetic and practical items for your home base, including a campsite and a smithing table.
Beware of the unusually sized creatures
Wild Hearts, at its core, is a hunting game, but before you start feeling sorry for the wildlife most of your encounters will be with wild creatures looking for their next meal (you). These beasts are known as kemono, mystical beings that merge animals with nature and are largely inspired by real-world animals.
Many of the encounters I had in the demo and showed in the gameplay trailer were ones found in Japanese folklore like rats, wild boar and a very menacing ape-like creature, only imbued with nature and are quite large. One kemono was covered in moss and able to affect surrounding vegetation, forcing vines to shoot through the ground, while another was connected to lava. However, all Kemonos have one thing in common: they are huge, deadly and aim to finish you off.
Wild Hearts is being developed by Omega Force, Koei Tecmo’s Japanese development studio, and the makers of the legendary Dynasty warriors and Samurai warrior Series. Wild Hearts is expected to be available on the Xbox Store for Xbox Series X|S on February 17, 2023. For more details on this game and many others, stay tuned to Xbox Wire and check it out official site or Follow them on Twitter for the latest news and announcements about Wild Hearts.
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