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Wild Hearts is a roaring success for Omega Force, “at last Monster Hunter has serious competition."

Wild Hearts was reviewed by Hirun Cryer and is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Transcript
00:00 When players talk about 'game feel', they're often referencing scoring in FIFA, or getting
00:10 a headshot in Call of Duty, two methodical actions at the top tier scale of AAA video
00:15 games.
00:16 Wild Hearts has taught me there's another level to game feel. Bonking a towering monster
00:21 on the head with an enormous wooden mallet. That is Wild Hearts in its most distilled
00:25 form. You run around a map hunting monsters called Kemono, slicing them up close with
00:30 blades and bombarding them with wooden constructions called Karakuri. This is a far cry from Dynasty
00:36 Warriors and Hyrule Warriors, the projects of yesteryear from hack and slash veteran
00:40 developers Omega Force.
00:42 The action is a lot more refined than ripping through monsters with aplomb. You'll need
00:46 to carefully deduce the elemental type of monster before embarking on a hunt, choosing
00:51 your weapons accordingly, and studying the attack patterns of a Kemono before delving
00:54 headlong into the fray. Wild Hearts trades out mindless action against hordes of foes,
01:00 typical to many of Omega Force's previous games, for a more studied, prolonged fight
01:04 with one humongous beast at a time.
01:07 The battles against Kemono are fast and furious. The act of ducking and dodging around outstretched
01:12 wings and hooves, cutting into monsters in a split second before backing off again is
01:16 utterly enthralling. It's an adrenaline pumping experience that'll have you in a
01:20 vice-like grip until the entire battle is said and done.
01:24 Wild Hearts beasts are a fusion of creatures and wildlife. A pig the size of a mansion
01:28 now sprouts jutting vines across the battlefield, while a raven has swollen to immense proportions.
01:34 You'll need to stop and familiarise yourself with a monster and its attacks if you want
01:38 to succeed, and the process helps each monster stand out in your mind long after you're
01:43 done fighting them.
01:44 Matching the ferocious monsters step for step is an eclectic set of weapons. Wild Hearts
01:48 throws up a bladed umbrella, a giant hammer, bladed claws, a shape-shifting staff, and
01:54 boisterous hand cannons to name a few weapons you can trash the Kemono with. Each offers
01:58 a bounty of different playing styles to pair with the monsters they're taking down.
02:03 If you're up against a rapid Kemono, like the poisonous raven Fumebeak, a huge hammer
02:07 makes little sense, so the quicker bladed umbrella is a natural fit, letting you take
02:12 the fight airborne.
02:13 I can't praise Wild Hearts' weapon design enough. There might be merely 9 weapon types
02:17 in the hunting game, but each one is an absolute riot to use and master. The use of just two
02:23 buttons for attacks leaves little standing between yourself and pure fun.
02:27 Aiding these weapons are the Karakuri, Wild Hearts' standout feature. These wooden contraptions
02:32 are what separate Omega Force's experience from its contemporaries like Monster Hunter.
02:36 The system itself is simple enough, you're given a fixed number of pieces to build with
02:40 like boxes, springs and torches, and from this births forth, well, over a dozen Karakuri
02:45 contraptions. Their utility differs greatly, from giant hammers that smite monsters, to
02:50 bombs that detonate after just a few seconds. These contraptions are mercifully simple to
02:55 activate and put together.
02:56 Karakuri building blocks are all bound to the left bumper on the controller, meaning
03:00 everything to do with the devices stems from one button. You won't get caught in the
03:03 middle of combat, suddenly panicking and bringing up the Karakuri menu by mistake. It's always
03:08 a deliberate decision, hardwired into one specific part of the controller, and by extension,
03:13 your arsenal.
03:14 Wild Hearts' combat is smooth and feels sublime in real time, with one unfortunate
03:19 exception, the camera. The Kemono are, by nature, towering creatures, ungodly forces
03:24 of nature the size of a bus, and they frequently dominate the screen when you're going toe
03:28 to toe with them. The camera, however, doesn't pan back to take in all of the Kemono, meaning
03:32 it's very easy to miss cues for attacks in these instances. It's an unfortunate
03:36 damper on an otherwise fantastic experience.
03:40 There's no way around it, Wild Hearts is Omega Force's take on Monster Hunter. To
03:44 avoid referencing Wild Hearts in the context of Monster Hunter and the wider hunting genre,
03:48 would be doing it a disservice, because at last, Monster Hunter actually has serious
03:53 competition.
03:54 Wild Hearts is a roaring success for Omega Force. The Kemono are awe-inspiring fusions
03:59 of land and creature, imposing monstrosities that leave a lasting impression long after
04:04 you're done with them. The same can be said for Wild Hearts' combat system, weapons
04:08 and the Karakuri, and have a creative aspect that puts player creativity first and foremost
04:13 without being overwhelming. Wild Hearts' camera might be extremely trying at times
04:18 in the heat of combat, but it's hardly enough to put a damper on the entire adventure. We
04:22 give it 4 stars out of 5.
04:24 [MUSIC]
04:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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