Wild Hearts

Wild Hearts’ building mechanics add a very fun twist to its familiar but well-executed co-op monster hunting formula.

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.

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

Sublime combat can only do so much to carry a flawed building system, too few monsters and terrible performance.

I can picture myself weeks from now, strolling among the creations, gadgets, and objects that my friends and I have left littered across our worlds, thinking back on these early days in Wild Hearts. These constructions are marks of solidarity in a game that could have been mere homage. Building in Wild Hearts isn’t just a mechanical conceit. It’s the pillar of its identity.

"You'll need to stop and familiarize yourself with a monster and its attacks if you want to succeed"

The gameplay matters most in Wild Hearts – it’s fresh, chaotic, and breathless. It does not reinvent the hunting genre, but it does just enough with its addition of the Karakuri gadgets and arresting locales (not to mention the myriad ways to traverse them) to give the genre a fresh and welcome perspective. A stronger story would have been welcome, and the camera leaves much to be desired, but Wild Hearts is a deeply engaging experience even with these faults.

This wonderfully weird creature-hunter has an unending supply of memorably unhinged, massive foes; it may not be an all-timer but it's fun while you're fighting

Wild Hearts is a solid enough first attempt at taking on the Monster Hunter crown, but its occasionally frustrating battles, its rather small number of monsters and the fidgety nature of its admittedly inventive gadget system mean you have to put up with a fair degree of irritation if you want to see it through.

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