Wild Hearts’ Kemono monsters are more than just big lions, tigers, and bears

Developer Omega Force is best known for its line of Warriors games (Dynasty Warriors, Hyrule Warriors, etc.), but the studio’s next project, owned by Koei Tecmo, returns to a genre it last saw half a decade ago flirted with Toukiden: Monster Hunt . Wild Heartspublished by Electronic Arts takes the playstyle popularized by Capcom’s Monster Hunter and gives it a few twists, letting players take on giant creatures mutated by their natural environment and adding a bit of Tower -Added defense mechanics.

On Thursday at The Game Awards, Omega Force and EA unveiled more creatures called Kemono that are coming Wild Hearts. There’s an ice-infused wolf named Deathstalker, a hawk infused with maple trees and sunlight named Amaterasu, and a tiger infested with roots and gold dust named Golden Tempest.

The makers of Wild Hearts Polygon said in an interview via Zoom earlier this week that despite their seemingly magical nature, their Kemono monsters are believable and designed to be scary in terms of their aggression and will to survive.

Kemono’s design began with the wild boar, an animal with huge tusks and a profusion of eyes, steeped in the trees surrounding it. These wild animals are influenced by their environment, and they in turn influence the environment around them, Wild Hearts Art director Yu Oboshi narrated Polygon through a translator.

Image: Omega Force/Koei ​​Tecmo/Electronic Arts

“The boar was the first Kemono we conceived,” said Marina Ayano, another of the game’s art directors. “[Wild Hearts] has several themes, such as the threat of nature and animals, how they merge [together], and when designing the boar, we considered many ideas, including a yokai style or a fantasy-oriented style. But we wanted to preserve the rawness of the boar and its infusion with nature.

“The original Kemono [form] is shy, but when it mutates it becomes more aggressive. We wanted to keep the elements of the original animal and the elements of nature, after we finished the boar other kemonos followed.” Ayano noted that the art team takes inspiration from ukiyo-e artworks, hanafuda cards, and religious shrines and temples left to create his unique enemies.

Game Director Takuto Edagawa said that in the world of Wild Hearts, Kemono are naturally occurring creatures. “There’s something that has allowed them to evolve over time and be infused with nature,” Edagawa said. “It’s normal in their world – that was the design intent behind it. You are your enemy in the game, but not a definite villain. They too are struggling to survive; what they want is against the interests of the people at play.”

Image: Omega Force/Koei ​​Tecmo/Electronic Arts

Edagawa said that Wild Hearts carries no ecological or ecological message, “but there was the question ‘What is nature to us?’ Nature is unaware of people and what we are doing to it. We can have a positive or negative effect, but animals are not aware of this. Nature is circular – things come and go – and that is part of our history.”

Players must pay close attention to their surroundings while fighting Kemono. in the Wild Hearts, a single fight can last 10 to 20 minutes, with 15 being the sweet spot, the developers said. A monster imbued with nearby trees can be relatively calm and green, reflecting the verdant surroundings, and may fade to red, autumnal colors when enraged and nearing death. Different environments can also change how kemono behave in combat; A monster imbued with ice and snow behaves differently than a variation of the same monster imbued with wind and heat.

But don’t worry, arachnophobia. One thing players don’t face Wild Hearts are giant bugs and insects, the developers said. Instead, expect giant, angry, nature-infused monkeys, porcupines, rats, wolves, and wild boars Wild Hearts Coming to PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X in February.