Wild Hearts is an action RPG released on February 16th of 2023, and it costs a hefty $70. This Wild Hearts Review will show my first impressions after my first 25 hours playing this game, along with the basic mechanics to help you see if this game is worth it for you!
General Idea: The general idea of Wild Hearts is that you are hunting Kemono, which are the large and ferocious wild animals in order to protect your settlement and gather resources. The game plays similar to Monster Hunter titles, where you fight the monsters in their habitat, harvest materials, and gain better equipment to challenge the more dangerous enemies. The game leans heavily on the progression and bossfight side, so if you enjoy those styles of games then it’s a good first sign!
Mechanics of The Game
Karakuri:
The main unique mechanic of the game revolves around utilizing the Karakuri; a type of material that allows you to construct tools to assist you in incredibly high speeds. I was hesitant about this mechanic at first, thinking that it would be clunky, but the ease of use and how well it fits into the gameplay far surpassed my expectations. The basic Karakuri allows you to build structures ranging from blocks to gliders to help you in your fight. This resource is limited and is replenished by damaging Kemono or harvesting it from deposits around you. The ability to utilize Karakuri makes it so you have multiple ways to approach problems. This makes fighting Kemono very fast paced yet strategic if you want. There are also ways to mix certain basic Karakuri together to create a stronger Fusion Karakuri. You can also utilize Dragon Karakuri which takes the form of buildings that assist you in map travel. They also provide other quality of life changes outside of combat. Overall, the Karakuri is very simple to use and adds lots of potential varieties to your hunts. There is also a Karakuri upgrade tree which allows you to unlock and upgrade Karakuri as you defeat Kemono, which adds another layer of progression to the game.
Kemono Fights:
The Kemono in the game all have a normal form and an enraged form, leading to varying levels of aggression as well as new weak points on the monster. They have decent variety as well, but there are some variants of Kemono that look and fight very similarly. The Kemono also have a diverse moveset that requires timing and positioning to counter. Some attacks have very specific counters that require Karakuri. Dodging in this game provides lots of invincibility to the player, making timing and stamina control important. Parts of Kemono are breakable which yields rewards, so good targeting is rewarded. Certain Karakuri structures deal decent damage to Kemono, but they aren’t necessary. This gives the player the freedom to decide if they want to use Karakuri for offense or support. The combination of these elements makes it so learning a Kemono’s moveset is incredibly satisfying.
Weapons:
There are 8 weapons in the game: The Nodachi, Karakuri Katana, Maul, Claw Blade, Karakuri Staff, Bladed Wagasa (Umbrella), Bow, and Hand Cannon. Each one of these weapons plays very differently from each other and have extremely satisfying attacks. With their own mechanics, each weapon takes time to learn, and the way you use weapons can differ depending on the Kemono you are fighting and/or the Karakuri you have equipped. Some weapons are more complex than others, but none are too complicated for someone to learn. The upgrade system for weapons is also unique with a large upgrade tree for weapons with each choice having unique inherent skills and inherited skills. Inherent skills are unique to the specific weapon in the tree, but inherited skills are able to be transferred to the next upgrade in the tree. There is a limit to the amount of inherited skills you can have on a weapon, but it allows for a good amount of weapon customization.
Armor:
The armor sets in Wild Hearts all look quite different and reference the Kemono the materials come from. All armor pieces have different defense values, elemental resistances, and skills. Unfortunately, in the early game the skills are very weak and the armor sets are pretty expensive. However, some armor pieces lie on the Kemono Path and others on the Human Path. Having enough Human or Kemono path values unlock some unique and powerful skills on some armor pieces. Some armor pieces can be modified to be on the Human Path or Kemono Path using extra resources after crafting. This allows for some unique armor customization, but the extra materials make getting these specified armor sets a grind. There are also talismans that you can equip in limited amounts which provide stat bonuses and/or skills. This also furthers the amount of customization you have.
Story:
I won’t describe the story in any detail to avoid spoilers, but in my opinion the story isn’t an incredible work of storytelling. However, it definitely isn’t too bad. Some parts of the story feel rushed and sidequests seem like meaningless events that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I still had some interest in what was happening regarding my character and I was following along with it for the most part. Also, if you don’t care for the story, cut scenes and conversations are skippable.
Performance and Bugs:
This has been the main drawback of Wild Hearts, and I can agree that the performance is abysmal. Especially in some areas with extra particles, the performance can tank further even on higher end devices. Luckily, Omega Forces says that they are working on optimization patches in the future. For now the performance can be very annoying to deal with. So far I haven’t had too much trouble, but I play with low graphics to have a decent experience. As for bugs, there aren’t too many, but there are some which are quite noticeable. I haven’t had any bugs that affect gameplay, but sometimes the camera glitches during finishing blow animations. I definitely think performance is the main offender, but bugs are still present.
Overall, the core of the game is great and it far exceeded my expectations. However, the performance is very poor as of now. I recommend waiting for future performance updates if you don’t have high-end equipment. If this gets fixed, the future of Wild Hearts is very promising. Check out our Dead Space Review if you want to check a different game that might be worth your time. Thanks for reading this review, and more guides about Wild Hearts will release in the near future!
