Wild Hearts Reviews
Perhaps my biggest takeaway from Wild Hearts is that I didn't once find myself lamenting for Monster Hunter. Wild Hearts was perhaps a risky endeavour, but it's one that's paid off with impressive results. While genre newcomers can treat the land of Azuma as a gateway to monster hunting, long-standing genre fans will find plenty here to keep them happy until the next Monster Hunter adventure arrives.
Wild Hearts is an extremely fun monster-hunting game that anyone can sink their teeth into. The building system is a treat, the hunts are challenging, and the game has been really polished. Finding any complaints about the game feels like nitpicking, as the game doesn’t have any glaring defects or flaws. It’s rare when a gem like Wild Hearts comes around but it really is just a fantastic game, and I hope we get some expansions.
Wild Hearts has proved to be an immense surprise. It navigates the line between well-worn ground and exciting new innovation immensely well. It's the best non-Capcom hunting game we've ever had, and a hugely enjoyable action RPG in its own right.
Wild Hearts is a fantastic video game. It has so much flair and personality, and so much of it is designed with fun in mind.
Wild Hearts brings a uniqueness to the monster hunting genre that keeps the experience feeling refreshing. The Karakuri and different weapon options are very fun to experiment with and present interesting combat opportunities. Overall, Wild Hearts capitalizes on what made monster hunting games so much fun in the first place while still giving fans of the genre a new reason to get excited and dive back into the fight.
I would like to see some improvements to AI and things in the future but with an aggressive post launch plan that includes more monsters (kemono) and story beats, Omega Force is firmly behind Wild Hearts and that can only mean good things for the monster hunting market at large.
More than a Monster Hunter clone, Wild Hearts managed to be a worthy competitor to the Capcom series, thanks to its original ideas and handling of well-known concepts. Omega Force has delivered a new series that could well become a mainstay for the Japanese studio.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Wild Hearts is a great success that takes the template laid out by its competition and strikes out on its own with the addition of an invaluable new tool in the form of the karakuri. That magical string not only holds the game together, but lets it stand tall at the end of the day. Sure, you can boil it down to Monster Hunter meets Fortnite, but also if you stop and think about that for a second, that idea kind of rules, and so does Wild Hearts. All the while, it makes smart tweaks and skews heavier into style rather than simulation, allowing Wild Hearts to step out of the shadow of giants and carve out a space for its own.
Wild Hearts is a massive single-player and co-op hunting game with an RPG backbone supporting it. The mixture of story, creative mechanics, thick strategy, and beautiful visuals makes this a top-tier hunting experience. If the controls could be improved a bit and break from traditional stuck-in-the-action sequences, it would be nearly perfect. Overall, it’s a great first go at a genre that is severely lacking in competition.
WILD HEARTS manages to carve out its own identity in a genre dominated by a single franchise through its clever takes on classic monster hunting gameplay. The combination of cool creature designs, interesting weapons, awesome maps, and a unique building system all add up to form a fun time.
A quick shortlist for one of my favourite games so far in 2023, Wild Hearts is a thrilling action RPG that's bound to scratch an itch for Monster Hunter fans while providing something alternative for fans of the genre.
Wild Hearts should thrive in its post-launch life as new updates accrue, while players devise and trade loadout strategies and boss techniques. Additionally, Koei Tecmo has stated that no microtransactions are planned, with new karakuri, weapons, kemono, and quests expected in the coming months. Our review encompassed single player only, and the game is a completely reasonable and satisfying challenge in offline mode, with an engaging story that builds to some gratifying peaks. Wild Hearts is a class act and an impressive first step at a franchise that feels entirely original, in spite of its direct Monster Hunter competition looming large.
Ultimately, Wild Hearts shows up as a colorful and curious contender in the hunting game genre, and a very welcome one right now. With games like Monster Hunter Rise going for a less challenging approach, this game brings fascinating ideas that make it the breath of fresh air that the genre needs, combining difficult battles with some twists in mobility and construction, in a completely unexpected fashion. Some improvements to the unfortunate performance issues are needed, but the overall experience isn’t less enjoyable because of them.
WILD HEARTS marks the emergence of a worthy new AAA franchise. While the game suffers a bit from some minor technical issues on PC, the core gameplay is astoundingly strong. The mixture of wildly creative Kemono monsters and player-built karakuri creates a strong, addictive cocktail of fun. The challenge level is high, but victory feels triumphant. Highly recommended.
Wild Hearts is a more than solid proposal that manages to come out well from its comparison with Monster Hunter. Its distinctive points are clear and give the game a style of its own. The Japanese design and atmosphere convinces and although it is far from being a round IP, Wild Hearts could have a great future as a saga.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The monster hunting genre has always been big enough to support more games besides Monster Hunter. It’s just that previous games haven’t quite scratched that itch the same way that Monster Hunter does. Wild Hearts is the first one to come pretty close. That’s good news if you’re a Monster Hunter fan because it means you now have one more good hunting game to play. It’s honestly good for a first crack at the genre — the Koei Tecmo’s solid Toukiden series notwithstanding — and I look forward to seeing how it further evolves in the future.
Wild Hearts' unique Karakuri mechanics and skill systems do just enough to offer a new take on the tried-and-true monster-hunting genre. While there is some inconsistent performance across all platforms, Wild Hearts bewildering bestiary of unique creature more than makes it worth a look.
Still, that Wild Hearts gets so much right on its first tentative step into the arena is bloody impressive. Omega Force has created the first title I’ve played that is a genuine contender in the space and they’ve done more than enough to justify Wild Hearts’ place in it. The result is something meaningfully different in a genre no one else has been able to touch. It’s kind of like if someone made a Souls-like on par with an actual Souls.
Wild Hearts expands on a tried and true formula with its own blend of mechanics that make it a must for fans of big game hunting and gamers who like co-op.
At its worst, a game can take that formula and copy it shamelessly, which usually reminds me of the game it's drawing inspiration from in the first place. At its best, a game can take those inspirations and stand alongside them. It’s rare for the latter to happen, but Wild Hearts takes the essence of Monster Hunter and grows it with enough innovations to create a compelling experience that confidently stands on its own.