Not a copy, but damn close! Why Wild Hearts could hit the nail on the monster”s head in spite of this, or precisely because of it, you can read in the gameplay conclusion.
Wild Hearts could be the first game to really threaten Monster Hunter. But that also has a rather ambivalent reason: it simply grabs what makes Monster Hunter World so great and expands it with its own accents. No more, no less. This could turn fans” stomachs or get them excited about Wild Hearts. Could, the subjunctive is very important, because the current preview version of Wild Hearts still suffers from various problems.
I was able to explore the first three hours of play. It immediately became clear to me that a potential hit was lurking in the bushes here. For as familiar as hunting may seem to players of Monster Hunter, it is so skilfully staged in Wild Hearts. And this game world!
If it weren”t for the technical state of the preview version so far, which raises various worry lines a few months before release. But first things first: What does the new game from Koei Tecmo and EA actually want to be? How does it play? Where are the downright cheeky parallels to Monster Hunter World? And what the hell is wrong with the technology?
What”s wrong with the technology?
Before I can discuss the great potential of Wild Hearts, I must address the problems in the preview version that was available to me. Because even though the makers of EA Originals and Koei Tecmo stressed that this is an early alpha build, I”m concerned.
After all, Wild Hearts is scheduled for release in four months, on 17 February 2023. That seems like a very short time given the sometimes severe problems the game gave me. Polishing and optimisation, both of which Wild Hearts desperately needs.
Despite hours of trying, I couldn”t get the game to run acceptably with RTX 2070 Super and Ryzen 7 3700X. Frame rate crashes, blurry visuals, level elements popping up. The whole gamut of an unfinished game that still needs a lot of work.
I compared my experiences with my colleague Dennis Michel from GamePro, who had very similar experiences on another PC. But who knows: it”s quite possible that the developers have made much more progress in the meantime. After all, a preview build does not always reflect the current state of development.
I sincerely hope that Wild Hearts will run smoothly on release, even if it will probably require a wild ride of development work. Because what”s being created right now could really be something special.
This is the core of Wild Hearts
Wild Hearts is a monster-hunting game in which players hunt giant, beautifully animated beasts called Kemono that have fused with their environment. Half a forest grows out of the back of giant rats, the beasts go into a rage and shoot trees out of the ground. It”s simply fun to fight such beasts.
You can see what I”m talking about in the trailer:
All this is set in the colourful fantasy world of Azuma, divided into four landscape types and heavily inspired by the Japanese Middle Ages. Bright green wherever the eye looks, decorated here and there with the pink of a cherry blossom. Appealing and inviting.
As gimmicks, I use mystical technology called karakuri to catapult my self-created character through the world, setting traps for the monsters or thrusting down on them from high above with a katana.
I skilfully dodge the monsters” sweeping attacks and place effective hits with wacky weapons until the beast finally falls and I apply the stylishly staged finisher. For example, there”s a razor-sharp parasol that functions as a shield, weapon and flying device. Wild Hearts thrives on its artful Japanese motifs.
How to play Wild Hearts
Quite clearly: like Monster Hunter, only a little different. Players follow a story that revolves around the character who is the only hunter who can operate the powerful Karakuri. At least until the up to three co-op companions join in and help with the hunt.
I”m given a companion early in the storyline to hang out in the self-made camp and upgrade my equipment. A cute mechanical orb is my companion along the way.
I gather the materials I need by scouring the world, mining plants and ores and, of course, hunting the monsters that have recently been ravaging the land for unknown reasons. I put the captured monster parts into new equipment sets, weapons and karakuri. Well-known terrain for fans of Monster Hunter World.
In battle, I have to proceed tactically: To prevent the beasts from tearing me to pieces, I learn to read their behaviour patterns, dodge at the right time, identify their weak points and make regular hits. Those who know Monster Hunter will immediately get along in Wild Hearts. The monsters can also interact with each other when they get in each other”s way in the game world, just like in Monster Hunter.
In between, the beastly prey also flees from time to time, but thanks to the fade-in track, tracking is no problem. Overall, Wild Hearts is much more beginner-friendly than Monster Hunter World. And the battles don”t take as long, at least in the first three hours of play.
Where are the differences to Monster Hunter?
Wild Hearts leads me to the goal via simple markers, which are even easier to read than the fireflies from MHW. This completely eliminates the need to search for clues. With aids like a kind of radar tower, I can even see the target kemono through walls.
The effects in Wild Hearts are significantly more gaudy. While explosions in Monster Hunter are something special, in Wild Hearts every sword stroke and every bow shot flashes and pops. It seems less realistic, but it looks damn cool! Who needs realism in a fantasy game?
The Karakuri that can be persistently placed in the game world offer interesting tactical possibilities. With one component I shoot forward, another one catapults me into the air, the next one carves an oversized hammer onto the monster”s head. There is a lot of potential here for creative monster hunters who like to experiment.
Can it attack Monster Hunter?
This is all just part of the similarities. Due to the very similar execution, the familiar gameplay feeling of playing a kind of Monster Hunter here sets in. If you wanted to stand out more clearly, you would have had to design many elements differently.
But perhaps that is also intentional. Because as a fan of Monster Hunter, I would love to experience a different world. Wild Hearts could pick up people like me and veterans who would simply like more of the same flavour, but so far have hardly found any alternatives.
In addition, Wild Hearts looks much more modern and chic. If you combine this advertising effect with the fact that beginners can also get to grips with it more quickly, it could really reach a large audience. After all, Monster Hunter has always been considered complex and difficult to understand, which not all players want to do to themselves after a hard day at work.
Thus, I emphasise here the great potential of Wild Hearts to try and beat the great Monster Hunter at its own game. Whether the developers had to take such obvious inspiration from the original is open to debate. But I”d be happy to spend hours celebrating what”s being created, if the technology is in decent condition for the release.
Editor”s verdict
Wild Hearts has already achieved one thing for me. I”m playing Monster Hunter World again. The feeling of roaming a world where virtual creatures have a life of their own, interacting with each other to form a multi-layered ecosystem, is simply unique.
At least for now, because Wild Hearts wants to serve precisely this longing. Koei Tecmo builds on the hype of Monster Hunter and puts its own spin on it. With the Karakuri building elements, it also succeeds. But Wild Hearts adapts too directly and obviously for my taste what Monster Hunter has long marked as its territory.
But that doesn”t mean Wild Hearts isn”t fun. Quite the opposite: with its beautiful game world and dynamic movement and combat gameplay, Wild Hearts could really lure me away from Monster Hunter World.
The subjunctive for me is in the question of technology. Will the developers manage to grind the game round until February? In any case, I wouldn”t complain about a release delay of Wild Hearts.
