Imagine: you are leisurely walking through the woods when, out of nowhere, a boar the size of your local supermarket starts charging at you. In a normal world, you’d only pray to the god you believe in before being crushed, but in Wild Hearts, you’re more than equipped to take on these beasts. Not only will you be able to use your weapons against them, but you will also be able to conjure up giant walls to block their attacks and huge mallets to knock 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 will be a hunter tasked with protecting the village of Minato and the land of Azuma from Kemonogreat beasts imbued with the powers of nature and who can alter it at will.
It’s obvious that Wild Hearts and Monster Hunter are similar, especially in that Azuma is full of big monsters and your job is mostly to hunt them down, alone or with a few friends. However, Wild Hearts does its best not to be seen as a copycat 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 these are the building tools you get at the start of the game. These can be used in a number of ways. In combat, they can give you a breather by acting as a spring to keep you away from enemies, or support if you have a small box. They can also give you access to camps that act as fast travel points, flying vines with which you can get closer to the kemono you’re hunting, and forges with which you can change and improve your equipment. . You have endless options with karakuri, both in hunting and in other aspects, you can even combine the basic building objects to create others like the barricades and the Pounders that I have already mentioned, which are very advantageous to fight against the appropriate kemono.
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The mechanics of karakuri is the key to this game and one of the best things about Wild Hearts, in addition to showing us how far he can go. Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force division has shown a clear dedication to creating Wild Hearts, making it an important first step in what could be a hit series. The weapons in this title are another way to understand how deep it is, because once you are ready to upgrade your weapon, you will see a huge range of possibilities open up before you, full of options for different customization and construction. These upgrades aren’t just excuses for kemono shuffling and material farming, because depending on which path you choose, you’ll end up with a totally different weapon than someone else who chose the same weapon. basic. From fiery maces to poisonous katanas, there are tons of ways to customize your kemono killing style, coupled with the added options offered by karakuri, Wild Hearts combat is incredibly varied and incredibly exciting for those who like to experiment with weapons and tools. It may seem like a lot at first, but after the first few hours of play, everything will be fine.
It is true that the main attraction of a game like Wild Hearts is its monsters, but here we do not find a large number of Kemono in the game. This is because they paid much more attention to the creatures more modest who roam the lands of Azuma. Each of them is unique, both in their design and their movements, and you will have to learn how to manage them. They vary in size, speed, and strength, and some even have their own regional variants, like the Icetusk, but they’re all incredibly dangerous, requiring the right gear and great skill to take them down. Above all, you will find out later when you come across 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 solo can be very exhausting, as you have to chase your target around the map four or five times before taking them down. Those moments where you basically see yourself running to the next battle arena take you out of the thrilling immersion of the hunt, especially against the backdrop of Wild Hearts’ incredible soundtrack.
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As the game progresses, honing your gear to do a lot more damage, this becomes less of an issue. If you’re lucky enough to constantly play with a few friends, that might not even be a problem. Sometimes it feels like Wild Hearts is geared more toward multiplayer than single player. It is not impossible to face the kemono alone, but to say that the Tsukumo (a little helper wooden robot you get at the start) is about as useful as another player would lie. The high damage the kemono can inflict means that a full team will have a much better advantage than a solo player, since the damage would be split between three.
It’s true that most don’t choose Wild Hearts for its storytelling, but the game has a main story and it’s not bad at all. It features many interesting elements in the world of Azuma, from exploring the ruins of a once-inhabited castle to hearing rumors about Minato’s far-flung politics. However, while the main story is passable and has some amazing cinematic moments, that’s not its strong point. Most of his characters are too flat, that’s not what makes them unlikable, but in the end none of them really ripped me off.
Wild Hearts is a very important first step for Koei Tecmo’s latest foray into the world of monster hunting. It won’t transition the bulk of gamers into this genre, but it’s a great option for those looking for a Monster Hunter alternative. At the moment, it’s a shame that it’s plagued with performance issues, bugs, and graphical glitches, especially on PC (and the Xbox Series X version as well), but hopefully they’ll be fixed soon so that we can enjoy Wild Hearts in all its glory. .
