WILD HEARTS

WILD HEARTS is a hunting action game for players who want big monsters, crafted gear, and a hunt loop that is more about timing and positioning than pure button-mashing. By our assessment, its most distinct idea is the karakuri building, which lets you place small structures in the middle of a fight and changes how encounters flow. That same system is also the trade-off, because it asks the player to keep a lot in their head while moving fast. In practice, it has the feel of a modern monster hunt with extra improvisation layered on top. It sits closest to Monster Hunter in spirit, but it tries to give each chase a more hands-on, build-as-you-go rhythm. WILD HEARTS is a good pick for people who like planning while fighting, and less appealing if a cleaner, simpler action loop is what they want.