Developed and Published By: Koei Tecmo
Category: RPG, Hunting
Release Date: 07.25.25
Price: $49.99
I love monster hunting games so much. I must have put at least 1,000 hours into the Monster Hunter series alone going all the way back to 2006. But it’s been a while since the last time that I played one. Monster Hunter Stories 3 wasn’t a hunting game, and I had to skip Wilds because I didn’t have anything that could run the game. Then I discovered an original IP from Koei Tecmo called Wild Hearts S that was on the Nintendo Switch 2.
At first, it seemed like a simple Monster Hunter clone, even the sound design was similar. But after playing for an hour, the game blew my mind. It’s a very simple story about a hunter who travels to a distant land to rediscover their purpose. You have some sense of control here, but it all leads to a group of monsters called Kemono attacking a village. You decide to help them fight back and rebuild. It’s a decent story, but it’s purpose is honestly just to get you from monster to monster.
But the gameplay made everything worth it. Sometimes moments felt slow and the camera occasionally would try to screw you over, but combat always felt fun. There’s multiple light and heavy attacks, and it’s especially fun when there’s a large number of smaller monsters attacking you at once. But the real shocker when it comes to gameplay is the Karakuri system.
I had no idea what was going on when my guy suddenly pulled out a weird sci-fi device and began creating a structure out of thin air. You can collect Karakuri thread from trees and rocks, and then you can use the device to just craft stuff. At first, you only have access to crates, but you unlock more as you play. Figuring out all the creative ways to use your creations was a really fun puzzle.
You can use them to reach places that you normally can’t, fight monsters, and do other tasks. Eventually you can even use Karakuri tech to set traps for monsters or even glide across the map. You can even combine things that you create. It’s like a mini version of the Ultrahand ability from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. There’s so many fun and clever ways to use Karakuri tech to your advantage when hunting and exploring.
The game is a lot of fun in its own right, but it has a bunch of goodies in the background too. Firstly, there’s a bunch of customization options. You get to create your character virtually any way you like, plus there’s eight weapons and more than 30 armor sets for you to unlock. The voice acting is also phenomenal, the cast did such a great job matching the setting and era.
The only downsides are that there aren’t that many monsters and that there will be somewhat frequent performance issues. The number of monsters is kind of expected with such a new IP, and I always thought the fun I was having outweighed the performance issues. For $50, you’re getting a solid experience that can last you between 40 and 80 hours. If you’re a fan of the Monster Hunter series, you’ll find quite a few reasons to enjoy Wild Hearts S.
8/10