Wild Hearts S is an attempt to revive the flawed but entertaining 2023 release of Wild Hearts. Whilst it’s a solid game, I can’t help but feel like there are better choices in Koei Tecmo’s back catalogue that would have been a better fit to bring to the Switch 2 in an initial batch. I had played about 30 hours of the original release back on PC, and whilst I had a lot of fun with it at the time, it fell short of becoming something great. 

Like any Koei Tecmo game in recent memory, the game starts with a solid intro that sets up the world before throwing you into an incredibly in-depth character creator. Arriving in the world of Azuma to cleanse the world of the monsters known as the Kemono. Whilst there is a story to follow, I find myself forgetting the details just as quickly as they happen, as it exists mostly as an excuse to bring in monsters and move you around the world. 

 

Wild Hearts 

Wild Hearts S follows a basic gameplay loop that everyone should be familiar with at this point—finding and hunting down monsters to craft some new weapons and armour that will help you hunt down bigger and stronger monsters. It’s a tried and tested formula that works, and Wild Hearts rarely ever strays from it. Progression is satisfying with extensive skill and weapon trees providing more mechanics and cooler-looking gear the more you play. 

The monsters you fight, whilst not a lot of them, are, for the most part, excellent. Combat is fluid, and the controls are still responsive, with each weapon having a wildly different moveset that can be difficult to master. Wild Hearts does streamline a lot of the core monster-hunting mechanics; you won’t need to worry about the different types of potions or periodically sharpening your weapon mid-hunt. 

To help you, you’ve got a variety of six different weapon types. From your standard longsword, greatswords and bows. To create more unique and standout weapons, such as claws, cannons, and the standout weapon, the Karakuri Staff, which transforms into different weapons itself, providing one of the most flexible and interesting weapons in the genre. It’s a relatively small roster of impactful armaments. Of course, you will be upgrading these at a steady pace by hunting monsters for their materials, with multiple pathways that provide different benefits when fighting each of the game’s Komono. 

Whilst it may seem like a standard Monster Hunter experience, Wild Hearts does enough to really set itself apart with some genuinely unique mechanics. First up is the crafting system known as Karakuri, which allows you to create your own camps to rest and improve your gear, watch towers to find monsters, and ziplines to get around the map with speed. In many ways, this actually feels a lot like Death Stranding, in which these will persist not only in your own world but may actually appear in other players’ as well. 

This also extends into combat. Anytime in combat, you can craft special crates to launch you to elevated positions, fling you out of a creature’s path with a leap pad or even craft an entire wall to not only block but also stun a monster that was charging you. There are a lot of complexities in the Karakuri system that become apparent the further you play. As a whole, there’s a lot to like about Wild Hearts, and if you are a fan of the genre, this one is well worth checking out. It’s pretty light on content, but there’s still enough here to justify a purchase. 

 

Is the Switch 2 version worth it? 

So what’s actually new to Wild Hearts S? Not much, actually. The most notable improvement is the addition of four-player cooperative play, which is exclusive to the Switch 2. There are also some balance changes improve the progression, and that’s about it. There are not many changes here, and if you weren’t a fan before, this won’t likely entice you. Whilst veterans won’t see much reason to return to this one. It’s a shame not much has been done here, as the Wild Hearts franchise does have the potential to compete in this genre, but Wild Hearts S won’t be the game to do it. 

The original release of the game looked reasonably solid, and whilst it didn’t push the boundaries, it had a striking visual aesthetic that just worked wonderfully well. The world of Azuma is terrific, with tons of locales that each feel unique and different, and there are tons of secrets to find on top of that. Animations are also wonderfully done, with each monster having well telegraphed attacks and filling the screen with plenty of effects. However, this does have an impact on the game’s camera, which at worst can be an absolute nightmare with constant clipping. 

For the Switch 2, I played primarily in handheld mode, and as you would expect with a handheld port of a demanding game, there are some sacrifices made to achieve a playable state. The first thing you’ll notice is a much lower level of detail, with more rampant pop-in than ever before and a lower resolution. Often, textures will look muddy and distant trees blur into a single mess. It’s a somewhat messy technical display that is held up by excellent art direction throughout. Things do fare a little better up close, and fighting monsters does remain a spectacle where the bad disappears. It looks much better in motion than it does in stills. 

As for the performance, this is surprisingly acceptable in my opinion. We don’t get locked in 60fps. During the heavier boss fights, you can tell the frame rate is dropping. Hopefully, some patches can improve this a little more, but at the time of writing, I wouldn’t worry about the performance or visual fidelity. It’s perfectly adequate and patches have already improved this somehwat.

I have a soft spot for Wild Hearts. It’s a solid monster hunting game that has enough unique mechanics to stand out and deliver something a little unique. However, at the same time, it doesn’t go far enough. Wild Hearts S is an attempt to bring some attention back to the game, but it doesn’t do much to do so. I do hope we see some more from Wild Hearts, though, because there’s a lot of potential here. 

Graphics: 6.0 The same beautiful world of Azuma is present here, albeit at a lower resolution when compared to PS5, Xbox Series S/X and PC.	Gameplay: 7.0 Wild Hearts does just enough to stand out, though it’s light on content, and performance issues persist. A few balancing options have been added, but for the most part, it plays just like the other versions.
Sound: 7.0 Solid soundtrack and environmental sound effects.	Fun Factor: 7.5 For better or for worse, Wild Hearts S doesn’t do anything new to improve on the original release. It being available on a portable system is already its biggest appeal.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Wild Hearts S is available now on Switch 2.

Reviewed on Switch 2.

A copy of Wild Hearts S was provided by the publisher.