EA’s Wild Hearts has 3-player co-op, no open world

Following this week’s reveal of Wild Hearts, more details surrounding the upcoming action RPG have started to emerge.

Developed by Omega Force – creators of the Dynasty Warriors franchise – and published in partnership with Koei Tecmo, this new EA Originals title will launch in February 2023 on PC and consoles and hopes to snag the spotlight from Capcom’s monolith Monster Hunter series.

In an IGN interview with directors Kotaro Hirata and Takuto Edagawa, we were given more details on Wild Hearts, and where the concept came from:

“The ideas that formed the core of the project were Kemono,” Hirata explains. “A fusion of nature and animals; and Karakuri, a craft element that was added specifically to suit the hunting elements of this game. We believe that Wild Hearts, born from these core ideas, is a hunting game that offers a new and innovative experience.”

As we mentioned in our first look at Wild Hearts, there’s plenty of overlap with Omega Force’s Toukiden series. Although this new game features an authentic Japanese style, it won’t have an emphasis on slaying demons, instead pitting players again giant monsters.

Other differences include the additional of Karakuri, hunting tech that can be used while out in the field. Examples we spotted in the Wild Hearts trailer included a glider as well as a foldable tower, both allowing players to better position themselves against enemy monsters.

Edagawa explains that the presence of Karakuri influenced Koei Tecmo’s devision to make this a 3-player experience, potentially due to the amount that can be happening on-screen at one time. The developer also revealed that they will not implement an open world, as some had speculated. Instead, it will split each map into zones though these can be swiftly navigated using Karakuri.

Wild Hearts will launch on February 23, 2023, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam and Epic).

Source: IGN