Wild Hearts is a third-person action RPG where you play as a hunter in the fantasy world of Azuma. As a hunter, you will fight against massive beasts, known as Kemono, that have fused with their natural environment to grant them powerful abilities. Using Karakuri, or mystical devices that can be conjured at will, you can change your environment to dynamically gain the upper hand in battle.
Related: Wild Hearts: Beginner Tips
Wild Hearts takes heavy inspiration from the Monster Hunter genre of games, where a single or group of players fight against a large boss to obtain its materials, then use those materials to craft stronger gear, so that they can fight stronger monsters. If you're a fan of Monster Hunter, or are looking to try out Wild Hearts, but are unsure if it's worth it, you've come to the right place.
Review
Our review for Wild Hearts was done by Santi Leguiza. Rating the overall game a solid 4.5/5, Wild Hearts is a promising newcomer in the hunting genre. Although there are not nearly as many monsters as in the Monster Hunter franchise, the Kemono are varied and fun to fight, each with their own attacks, patterns, and mannerisms that make each hunt unique.
In his review, Santi praised the Karakuri building system, noting how its implementation focuses on combat, transportation, and utility to amplify the hunting experience. Santi said that "this system has such a variety of forms and shapes that it’s only really limited by your imagination."
Difficulty-wise, Wild Hearts strikes a great balance between challenging and fair. Santi enjoys the more challenging hunts in Wild Hearts as compared to Monster Hunter Rise, appreciating the difficulty that defines the monster-hunting genre.
"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."
Overall, Wild Hearts has been reviewed very well, with most reviewers, including Santi, knocking points off for minor to major performance issues, mainly on the PC. These include things like frame drops, pop-in, stuttering, and audio glitches, even on high-end PCs. However, the PS5 and Xbox versions of the game have fewer of these bugs, making for a smoother experience.
Time Expenditure
Wild Hearts is a large game, with tons of Kemono to hunt, collectibles to find, and of course, weapons and armor to craft. According to HowLongToBeat, finishing the main story of the game should take around 41 hours. However, the end of the story is far from the end of the game. Beyond the main story, there are even more powerful Kemono to hunt and gear to craft. Players that wish to fully complete Wild Hearts are looking at around 400 hours to see it all.
Keep in mind that Wild Hearts will be receiving post-launch support, with new Kemono, variants, and equipment being added over time in various updates. These additions will increase the time expenditure.
Cost
The base version of Wild Hearts costs $69.99 USD, and can be played on Windows, PS5, and Xbox Series X and Series S. The Wild Hearts Karakuri Edition costs $89.99 USD, and adds two cosmetic armor sets, a decoration, and three emotes. These items have no impact on gameplay, and the entirety of the game can be played with the base version only.
The post-launch updates are promised to be free additions to the game, and the developers have no plans to add microtransactions.
Additionally, Wild Hearts is available through EA Play Pro, a subscription-based service that allows you access to the game as long as you are subscribed. This subscription costs $14.99 USD per month, or $99.99 USD for a year. A ten-hour demo can be played through EA Play, with progress transferring to the full game, if you decide to buy it.
What Players Are Saying
Worth It For Fans Of The Genre - Jacob Whaling
Wild Hearts is definitely worth playing for fans of the monster-hunting genre. The Karakuri system adds so much depth to the exploration and combat that makes the game feel fresh and wholly unique. However, if you've never played a monster-hunting game before, Monster Hunter Rise or World might be better options, due to the sheer amount of content present in both of these games that Wild Hearts simply hasn't had the time to develop yet. With no microtransactions and free updates, Wild Hearts is looking to be a promising contender for the title of best hunting game, but it still has a ways to go to truly be the best.
Great Ideas But Not Quite Ready At Launch - Dennis Moiseyev
In the monster-hunting genre, it's hard to follow a title like Monster Hunter, but Wild Hearts knew it had big shoes to fill. It goes for some truly terrific and original ideas to reinvigorate the core gameplay, like its Karakuri systems and nature-inspired creatures. The scenery of Azuma is gorgeous and the Kemono have astonishingly stunning designs, but there just isn't enough variety and their movesets can often be repetitive. Performance issues are a recurring drawback as well.
Best With Friends - Joshua Stevens-Shachar
Wild Hearts very clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the Monster Hunter games but has done a fantastic job of elevating the gameplay into something fresh. The combat feels different with each unique weapon, however, I would have appreciated a few more Kemonos/Monsters to fight as it does start to feel slightly repetitive towards the late game. The ability to construct different contraptions in the midst of combat makes fighting feel a lot more dynamic than most other games out there, and the seamless co-op is one of the most effective I have experienced. I would highly recommend playing through the game with a friend as it feels like you are on an adventure together as opposed to feeling like you are a visitor in their own separate world, and it makes fighting feel less repetitive.
Next: Wild Hearts Vs. Monster Hunter Rise: Which Game Is Better?
