Wild Hearts

WILD HEARTS manages to carve out its own identity in a genre dominated by Monster Hunter: World/Rise through its clever take 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.

Ok, let’s push this elephant in the room right out of the way. There’s a lot of similarity between Wild Hearts and Monster Hunter. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Koei Tecmo’s Wild Hearts is just a knockoff of Capcom’s popular franchise, but you’d be wrong. Dismissing Wild Hearts as a wannabe Monster Hunter will deny you the pleasure of playing the first of a new and potentially endless series of games. So, we’ll try to minimize the comparisons, and so should you. One is like the other, but there’s plenty of room for more well-made monster-hunting games. Wild Hearts has some unique tricks ...

While Monster Hunter still reigns supreme, Wild Hearts still holds its own in the hunting arena. Those on Xbox Game Pass shouldn't hesitate to give it a go.

It's time to tame the untameable.

Despite all of Wild Hearts‘ faults, it’s hard not to be be taken in by its charms. Omega Force has really tried to create a solid Monster Hunter contender with this one, and it mostly succeeds. There are some genuinely neat ideas here, and its monster designs are a welcome breath of fresh air. Overall, it’s a great game in its own right, but it’s more exciting when you consider it a base to be improved upon with further iterations.

Wild Hearts latches onto the familiar gameplay loop of Monster Hunter and infuses it with a fast-paced crafting system that lets you build your way to victory.

While the game stumbles here and there regarding camera issues, story, and a lack of enemy variety at launch, Koei Tecmo's Omega Force and EA's latest game still manages to land on its own two feet. A brilliant crafting system makes Wild Hearts unique and a lovely addition to the hunting subgenre.

Wild Hearts has everything you need for a competent Hunting style game. The weapons are fun to use and the upgrades go a long way to make you feel powerful. It's the Karakuri system that will be what draws new players to it adding a new level of depth to gameplay.

Strong combat let down by PC performance issues, far too few monsters and finicky building system.

Wild Hearts has potential to be an awesome game, and while it can technically be played on the Steam Deck, it's not an enjoyable experience just yet.

Far more than just a Monster Hunter clone, Wild Hearts exceeds expectations and then some, mixing streamlined action with inventive new toys.

Irritating performance issues on PC aside, Wild Hearts is an impressive Monster Hunter clone that brings a lot of fresh ideas to the table.