wildhearts: one "monster hunter" for EA to call their own | Analysis / Review

On February 17th, Electronic Arts released its newest action RPG, Wild Hearts. The game has development by Omega Force, famous for the franchise. Dynasty Warriorand is characterized by having a gameplay similar to that found in monster hunterby Capcom.

With availability for next generation consoles and PC, what is this new “Hunter-like” able to deliver to the player? TudoCelular tested the Xbox Series version and tells the details now.

The history of Wild Hearts is set in Azuma, a prosperous land that is based on feudal Japan. It starts to be invaded by monsters called Kemono, who started to occupy and reproduce in the place.

In turn, the humans concentrated only in the city of Minato, where they developed a resistance. In order to survive, hunters and other common people began to look for resources, which became smaller and smaller.

The way out is to face the monsters and try to reverse the difficult scenario experienced by human beings. It is in this context that the protagonist of the plot appears: a heroic hunter who will become the heir of the Karakuris, ancient spirits that will allow him to face opponents with greater power.

In the midst of this, the main character will have to carry out both the main mission and other additional ones, as well as having interaction with the other NPCs scattered throughout the game. It is worth mentioning that the dialogues are localized in Brazilian Portuguese (PT-BR) in the subtitles.

Gameplay is a paradox of restrictions and variety. That’s because the game has only 20 monsters, which are faced in striking and very complex battles. However, you can face them in different ways – be it with different weapons and tools.

The way to be well prepared for the challenges is to explore the map a lot. It is there that you will find more resources for your mission – and, consequently, more threats will appear.

You learn to make three types of Karakuris – Basic, Fused and Dragon –, techniques that make it possible to access more difficult places or even serve as support during fights. They are the ones that give benefits during combats, to facilitate your progress. One of these resources is to build a wooden tower that allows you to discover the location of enemies.

It is important to highlight that there are two phases for the monsters: a normal one, in which they become “easier” to fight”; and an enraged one, when they start taking more damage in attacks with greater power.

During actions, there are different combos, depending on the combination of buttons made by the player. However, here there is a weak point of the blows. Without being able to lock onto your target, often the combos when not so well aimed pass in the void. On the other hand, if you are going to charge or finish an attack, you are vulnerable to being counterattacked.

We need to talk about the graphics part of this game. In an environment that simulates feudal Japan, with completely traditional and symbolic costumes and buildings, the game fails to record all the visual elements.

The graphics are below expectations, even more so if we consider that this is a state-of-the-art game. The textures are of low quality and very slow loading. It’s noticeable when you’re in a rainy environment, where you can’t quite identify what you see. The result generates a graphic inconsistency.

On Xbox Series S, we don’t feel a drop in performance so much in terms of quality, but you can often feel that the fps rate falls short of what you want. That is, this title will not exploit the maximum that its platform is capable of delivering.

Within this most chaotic part of the game, there is a breath of fresh air: the customization of the game’s hero. You can customize not only the character’s appearance and hairstyle, but also details of his face and clothing, to make it the way you want. Too bad the scenery design doesn’t keep up with this level of quality.

At least, the soundtrack goes in the opposite direction. Despite having little music in the course of the missions, when they appear, they always follow the suspense of the moment and have a good atmosphere.

The sound effects in general are also pleasing. They fit well into each character’s action, in addition to the noise of elements in the scenery, which improve the user’s immersion. Only a dub in PT-BR is missing here.

If you were already a franchise enthusiast monster hunteryou will certainly feel a bit of familiarity when playing Wild Hearts. But don’t think that knowing one means being prepared for the other.

The gameplay brings the differential to this title. Especially with regard to the Karakuris, the techniques that make all the difference during the campaign. Combos without finer precision tip the scales in terms of game mechanics.

The story of the game by EA and Omega Force is pleasing, as it mixes a historical setting with fantasy elements, and the whole plot is very well contextualized as the game progresses.

On the other hand, the graphics are the main negative highlight here. Low quality textures prevent the player from having the ideal immersion in a world with so many visual elements necessary for the ideal portrayal. At least, the soundtrack seeks to compensate for this flaw with a good atmosphere in general.

It is worth it?

Wild Hearts can be purchased for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles, for a suggested price of approximately R$ 340. As for PC, it is found on Steam and Epic Games platforms, for R$ 299.

The recommendation is to wait for some promotion that lowers the acquisition value from R$ 200, preferably for video games – which tend to suffer less from possible graphic problems.

We understand that this title should appeal more to beginners in this genre than those who may have experience with monster hunter and find some differences in Wild Hearts.

What’s your take on EA’s new action RPG? Tell us!

*Thanks to EA’s advisory for sending a copy of the game to TudoCelular for this review!