Wild Hearts starts to resemble Monster Hunter, but with a spin of peculiar magic.
Wild Hearts (opens in new tab) is a new hunting game released today by Electronic Arts and Koei Tecmo, but it isn’t what you’d expect: instead of bears, wolves, and tigers, players will travel to the fantasy realm of Azuma to hunt “giant nature-infused beasts” ranging from mutant squirrels to Deathstalker, a winter wolf.
You’re not going to go after these living creatures with a Remington 12-gauge you picked up at S-Mart. No, you’re going to need something special—specifically, Karakuri machines created from lost, ancient technology. They’re capable of some pretty impressive feats, as demonstrated by the trailer. Would you need to fly somewhere? Do you want a huge jack-in-the-box with a pop-up mallet that jabs monsters in the face? Maybe you’re just looking for a big bomb? Whatever you necessitate, it seems that Karakuri could provide. Swords, bows, and other aged mayhem implements will complete your arsenal.
It’s not just for kicks and gross trophies which you’re going to all this trouble. Azuma was once a peaceful place where the Kemono co-existed with the people. But now, for unknown reasons, they’re on the rampage, threatening the world and its occupants, and it’s higher than or equal to you to restore balance to the realm.
The whole thing bears more than a passing resemblance to Capcom’s Monster Hunter(opens in new tab) games, but Koei Popularly known as VP Yosuke Hayashi asserted that the developers are aiming for a different sort of experience with Wild Soul if, at this juncture, the two games sound (and look) very comparable.
“With Wild Hearts, we wanted to create a game where crafting was at the heart of the experience, redefining what can be possible in a beast hunting game,” Hayashi clarified. “We took great pride in designing our Karakuri to fit within the combat, and we’re going to look forward to players that use these powerful mechanisms to fight giant beasts and traverse the world.”
Wild Hearts will support crossplay across all platforms, such as PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X-S, and will highlight solo and co-op hunting for up to three players. It’s being developed by Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force studio, best known for the Dynasty Warriors action games, and will be published by Electronic Arts faux-indie publishing label EA Originals. That doesn’t mean it will be cheaper than that other EA games: Wild Hearts for PC will be available on February 17, 2023, on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Origin for $70. On October 5, there will be an “extended gameplay reveal.”
