Imagine: you are taking a leisurely walk in the woods when out of nowhere a wild boar the size of your local supermarket charges you. In a normal world you’d only pray to the god you believe in before you get crushed, but in Wild Hearts you’re more than equipped to take on these beasts. Not only can you use your weapons against them, but you can also summon giant walls to repel their attacks and giant hammers to smash them over the head.
This is the essence of Wild Hearts, the proposal of Koei Tecmo and EA (with its Originals label) to the Monster Hunter franchise. In Wild Hearts you are a hunter in charge of saving the village of Minato and the land of Azuma from the kemonogreat beasts impregnated with the forces of nature and able to alter them at will.
It’s obvious that Wild Hearts and Monster Hunter are similar, especially in the fact that Azuma is full of big monsters and your main task is to hunt them down, either alone or with some friends. However, Wild Hearts does its best not to be seen as a copy of Monster Hunter, so it has several different mechanics to set it apart from other games where you have to kill giant creatures. For example the Karakuri They are the building tools that you get at the beginning of the game. These can be used in many ways. In battle, they can give you a breather, acting as a spring to leap away from enemies, or as a support if you have a small box. They can also give you access to camps that act as fast travel points, flying vines that allow you to get closer to the kemono you’re hunting, and forges that give you the ability to change and upgrade your gear . With Karakuri, you have endless possibilities, both in hunting and in other aspects. You can even combine the basic building objects to create others, like the already mentioned barricades and stompers, which are very advantageous for fighting suitable Kemonos.
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The mechanic of the karakuri is the Key to this game and one of the best things about Wild Hearts, and not only shows us how far it can go. Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force division has shown a clear commitment to the development of Wild Hearts, making it an important first step in a potentially successful series. The weapons in this title are another way to understand how deep it is, because once you’re ready to improve your weapon, you’ll see that a huge variety of possibilities open before you, full of different customization and construction options. These upgrades aren’t just excuses for kemono mashing and material farming, because depending on which path you choose, you’ll end up with a completely different weapon than someone else who chose the same base weapon. From clubs of fire to poisoned katanas, there are countless ways to customize your Kemono battle style, coupled with the additional options offered by Karakuri, Wild Hearts combat is incredibly varied and incredibly exciting for those who love experimenting with weapons and tool. This may seem like a lot at first, but after the first few hours of play everything will go smoothly.
It’s true that the main attraction of a game like Wild Hearts is its monsters, but here we don’t find many kemonos in the game. This is because they have paid far more attention to the more humble creatures that roam Azuma’s lands. Each of them is unique, both in its design and in its movements, and you have to learn to deal with it. They vary in size, speed, and strength, and some even have their own regional variants, like the Icetusk, but they are all incredibly dangerous and require the right gear and great skill to defeat. Most notably, you’ll find out later as you learn about the powerful versions of each Kemono. Fighting the Kemono can give you an idea of the threat these creatures pose to Azuma and Minato, but hunting them solo can be very tiring, as you have to hunt your target across the map four or five times before you can complete. Those moments where you basically see yourself running to the nearest battle arena take you out of the thrilling chase immersion, especially against the backdrop of the incredible Wild Hearts soundtrack.
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As the game progresses, this becomes less of an issue as you upgrade your gear to deal a lot more damage. If you get the chance to play with a bunch of friends all the time, it might not even be a problem. At times, it feels like Wild Hearts is geared more toward multiplayer than singleplayer. Facing the Kemono alone is not impossible, but saying that the tsukumo
It’s true that most people don’t choose Wild Hearts for its narrative, but the game has a main story and it’s not bad at all. It contains many interesting elements in the world of Azuma, be it exploring the ruins of a castle that was once inhabited or hearing rumors about the politics of distant lands of Minato. While the main story is passable and has some amazing cinematic moments, that’s not its forte. Most of his characters are too shallow, which doesn’t make them unlikable, but in the end none of them really screwed me.
Wild Hearts is a very important first step for Koei Tecmo’s latest foray into the world of monster hunting. It won’t see most players switch to this genre, but it’s a great option for those looking for an alternative to Monster Hunter. At the moment it’s a shame that it is affected by performance problems, bugs and graphics problems, especially on PC (and also on the Xbox Series X version), but let’s hope they are fixed soon so that we can enjoy Wild Hearts in its can enjoy in all its glory. .
