Wild Hearts S is the Nintendo Switch 2 port of the often forgotten but fairly impressive monster hunting game. During its original release, it was an attempt from EA to dig into the goldmine and profit that Capcom’s success of Monster Hunter World back in 2018. Though the support of Wild Heart’s original release was dropped completely in cold turkey fashion, that didn’t necessarily mean the game was a failure in all its prospects.
Our review of the original release boasts very favorable views and features throughout the game. The hunting style genre isn’t often done in the modern age of gaming, especially with how Monster Hunter has grown to such overwhelming success. Games like God Eater, or the Toukiden series, had attempted to reap this cash cow genre, but could never quite catch that mainstream success, despite being fun games in their own respect.
How does Wild Hearts S stand as the only monster hunting option for the Nintendo Switch 2? Join Niche Gamer in the hunt as we once again face the encroaching Kemono Beasts that aim to shift the environment geosphere.
Wild Hearts S
Developer: Omega Force
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2
Release Date: July 25, 2025
Price: $49.99
Not much has honestly changed in Wild Hearts. Story, quests, and generally everything is completely untouched from the original release. The only main differences are technical game features, such as now being able to play in a hunting party of 4, instead of 3.
The removal of the EA account system will please many, as it was a rather nefarious requirement to begin with. And the last, most notable addition is that all the endgame content is readily available once reached. Some additional armor designs can also be earned. With all this being addressed, the port does have some drawbacks as well.
Crossplay has been completely removed, so those hoping to play with your friends from other platforms are rendered completely out of the question. This is particularly frustrating as crossplay at this point should be a standard, not a feature.
Storywise, many familiar with monster hunters can expect the narrative to take a warm backseat. Large monsters are causing environmental shifts due to their magical properties, and it is up to the hunters to lay waste to them with their powerful gear, gleaned from their very corpses. Wild hearts, however, have a very unique feature that completely separates them from the usual hunting game.
Introducing the Karakuri system, which is best described as “Wooden magic,” allowing you to create objects, tools, and even travel vehicles on the fly. One particular creation, the Glider karakuri, will allow you to take flight at any given moment, preparing you to attack Kemono beasts from above, or in its more conventional use, efficiently explore higher elevations of the land.
Another simple Karakuri is to create basic crates that also spring you in the air for simpler aerial attacks. These can eventually be learned into a more advanced form of karakuri magic, where building a bunch of them together will instead form into a bulwark, perfect for stunning charging beasts.
“Fusion” Karakuri are where you get the most out of the magic, as they often are the most devastating and reward results, mid-combat. For those familiar with the “flash bombs” from Monster Hunter, a similar version of that is found through the use of the Firework fusion karakuri. The more you progress and learn more karakuri, you will quickly realise that this eliminates the need for an inventory.
Everything you need to assist you during exploration and hunting is done purely through the use of this system. Need to Travel Fast? The Vehicle Karakuri hamster wheel car has you covered.
Is there a cliff that’s way too far from your current position? The Flying Vine device can get you there. There’s Karakuri magic enough to impress even those who enjoy Fortnite or Tears of the Kingdom.
Combat against the beasts feels perfectly varied. This is also reinforced not only by the growing list of Karakuri magic, but the many weapon types available to your hunter. Boasting between 8 different weapon types, there’s always another method of combat to learn and study.
My personal favorite, the Bow, followed by the Karakuri katana, were my go-to choices during my playthrough. I prefer the bow during multiplayer sections, however, as their more powerful abilities tend to leave you immobile.
Large creatures seem to be masters at being the living daylight out of you if you aren’t familiar with their move sets initially; however, that is intended, since to gain equipment from them and their many materials, proper study and battling them over and over is an enticing journey all in itself.
In many cases, I would encounter a beast that had a very alluring armor set for my hunter, leading me to face the same beast over and over until I had all the materials I wanted from it. This led me to become a master at facing this beast. Once I had a similar situation with another large creature, the process would repeat itself.
This loop of rewarding gameplay is what it’s all about. Learning how to farm your desires by getting better at it and getting stronger along the way. Possibly learning a few tricks too, thanks to the vast Karakuri magic system.
My only major takeaway during the game had to be none other than the inconsistency of texture quality and strange land design. This becomes very noticeable if you fly around to higher areas of certain mountain and tree environments. It’s almost as if the map design was never intended for players to travel to certain places, yet they give you the full toolkit of being able to do so.
Wild Hearts S is a fine port, and released at a very good window for those in need of a good progression-based game on the Nintendo Switch 2. Sadly, it won’t likely get any support if the original release is anything to go by, so don’t expect it to be the most long-term solution for multiplayer. Aside from that, and some poor texture qualities scattered throughout the game, Wild Hearts S is a hunt worth taking, especially for those who did not play it in the initial release.
Wild Hearts S was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2 using a code provided by Koei Tecmo. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Wild Hearts S is now available for Nintendo Switch 2.
