Wild Hearts S

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless / Online)

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Review:

Wild Hearts is an Action-RPG originally released in 2023 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a port to Nintendo Switch in 2025 with the added “S” in the title and expanding the original game’s 3-player co-op gameplay to 4 players. And because the comparison is unavoidable, this game is clearly inspired by the Monster Hunter franchise, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Wild Hearts is what you get when you take Monster Hunter and sprinkle in a little bit of Fortnite.

This is because the one signature feature of Wild Hearts is the karakuri, magical constructs that you can build anywhere, both while exploring and while fighting. This can include boxes to act as platforms for you and obstacles for enemies, springboards to quickly toss you out of the way of an incoming attack, ziplines to help you cross gaps and pursue fleeing monsters more quickly, and so on.

Beyond this, the formula sticks pretty closely to Monster Hunter’s standard gameplay loop. You’ll enter a large area (but not so large that it’s Open-World), track down your prey while gathering resources, fight the massive beast as it tries to take you out, and chase it a few times when it flees. I do think Wild Hearts simplifies some of the gameplay elements compared to Monster Hunter’s overcomplicated controls and menus, but otherwise it sticks pretty close to the framework that Capcom’s franchise established.

I would argue that is Wild Hearts’ greatest flaw – it plays things too safe, sticks too close to what Monster Hunter already does. The karakuri are a good addition to the formula that helps to set this game apart, but I still wanted more.

At the very least this game is no slouch in its presentation, and in fac Wild Hearts S is one of the best-looking Nintendo Switch 2 games in the first year of the hybrid console’s life. Lush, detailed 3D environments, absolutely gorgeous lighting, wonderful weather effects, imaginative monster designs, and great-looking character designs for its human characters too. There’s a bit of dithering on things like hair and fur that I find to look ugly, and some of the busier areas of the game can have a little slowdown, and there’s a bit of pop-in too, but these are minor complaints that do little to detract from what is an absolute feast for the eyes.

The game’s voiced dialogue is no slouch either, and while most of your time running around the wilderness will be joined by environmental sounds, you’ll hear some cinematic orchestral themes when you engage in a major battle.

Overall, Wild Hearts S is a superb take on the Monster Hunter formula, one that adds one interesting new mechanic to that formula, but otherwise doesn’t mess with it too much. While this seems lacking in ambition, I still think it’s an outstanding Action-RPG with phenomenal graphics, and it should be considered a must-have for fans of Monster Hunter, especially if they missed it on other platforms when it came out a few years ago, since this release on Nintendo Switch 2 adds 4-player support. And for players whose primary platform is Nintendo who were hoping for Monster Hunter Wilds to release on the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025, consider this an absolutely worthwhile consolation prize.

tl;dr – Wild Hearts S is an Action-RPG that takes the formula established by the Monster Hunter franchise and adds in a building mechanic. It doesn’t truly transform or revolutionize the formula, but it’s an excellent game all the same, with absolutely stunning visuals. If you enjoy this sort of game and missed Wild Hearts when it released on other platforms, now is definitely the time to give it a look.

Grade: A-

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