I’ve always been a fan of the Monster Hunter-likes we saw other developers release through the years. I thought they always did something interesting for the formula, with Bandai Namco’s God Eater and Koei Tecmo’s Toukiden series being highlights in addition to the likes of Sony’s Soul Sacrifice Delta. We also had some not-so-great attempts at the formula, like Freedom Wars. Koei Tecmo’s Wild Hearts, published by EA Originals in 2023, was by far my favorite of the lot despite its shortcomings. I was blown away by the weapon possibilities, monster variety, and also the superlative music that all came together in a package that needed more time to cook, but one I enjoyed for hundreds of hours across platforms.
Given the lack of any paid expansion, I thought Wild Hearts was done and that made me sad. Fast forward to today and Wild Hearts has been enhanced and released fully by Koei Tecmo as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive in the form of Wild Hearts S. This was the port I was most curious about because it is a very demanding game on current platforms despite its appearance, and it is also one that runs abysmally on Steam Deck and is barely playable on ROG Ally. I’ve now spent over 25 hours with Wild Hearts S across the full game and the demo save data, and, while I still enjoy the game a lot, this is another Nintendo Switch 2 port that needs some additional time in the oven or a few potential easier fixes that would dramatically improve the experience for me.
If you’re completely new to Wild Hearts and Wild Hearts S, this is an action RPG from Koei Tecmo and Omega Force that blends elements of Monster Hunter games with those of building in the form of Karakuri. Karakuri (or building) isn’t just tacked on for the sake of adding a new mechanic, but it is perfectly intertwined with the core gameplay and progression. As an example, in the early hours of play, you unlock the Spring Karakuri that lets you dodge out of the way with some invincibility frames, or you can craft the Torch Karakuri that lets you imbue your attacks with fire.
Your aim is to hunt large monsters known as Kemono, collect their parts, upgrade or craft better gear, and attempt to take on harder Kemono and progress the story on your own or with the help of others. I say with the help of others, but this isn’t a completely seamless online experience where you and your friends can do the entire story together. Speaking of the online, Wild Hearts S improves on Wild Hearts by letting up to four players play together for hunts rather than the three player co-op the original game had.
Getting around the various maps isn’t easy at first. You need to explore and find Dragon Pits to power up with the help of crystals. You can then craft additional Karakuri near them. Crafting a tent will give you a fast travel point. The way the maps are structured, you get some freedom over where you want to set up Tents and basically get to customize the experience. You can even craft these Karakuri in the main hub with the Flying Vine helping you get around the map more easily.
Speaking of the hub, the Wild Hearts S demo stops you before you can enter the main hub of Minato. I see why because the performance and visual downgrade is more evident there than in other parts of the game. Minato is also where the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions saw regular dips from 60 frames per second (fps) because of how many NPCs there are, so I wasn’t surprised to see regular issues on Switch 2. I also noticed performance is worse in parts than the demo in later areas, but there were also some areas where it felt better.
Wild Hearts definitely felt like the team at Omega Force looking at Monster Hunter World for reference because this game improves on that in interesting ways, but still feels very inspired by it. I say this because you even have a large Zorah Magdaros-like quest where you are shooting at a gigantic mountain-sized Kemono to try and repel it with the help of NPCs. I also think the map design was inspired in a way, but the integration of the Karakuri makes for a better experience. All of this would’ve really come into its own had the game seen more technical polish on console and had the PC version not been one of the worst PC ports of that year.
Revisiting Wild Hearts with Wild Hearts S has just reaffirmed that I love it more than the base game releases for Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise. Note that I said the base releases and not Iceborne and Sunbreak. I thought Wild Hearts had tons of potential with its challenge and mechanics that could be reached with a potential paid expansion because it had the build variety, unique monsters, and weapons that had me coming back for more. I also enjoyed the few updates we saw on PS5 and Xbox in the launch year to add in harder Kemono and more. On Nintendo Switch 2, Wild Hearts S arrives with all prior updates included, the Deluxe (Karakuri Edition) cosmetics included, and the pre-order bonus from the old version included. There is no additional weapon or Kemono here, but the value offered is really good considering this is a budget price release.
On paper, Wild Hearts S should’ve been a slam dunk, but the visual cutbacks combined with performance issues that are much worse in multiplayer hold this back from an easy recommendation. If the team were able to implement proper VRR for handheld play, that option would’ve been great to have. Right now, the frame rate just feels bad in busy hunts in handheld mode. The biggest draw for this version to me was handheld play, considering the PC version is not even worth downloading to check on Steam Deck.
This is what made Wild Hearts S on Switch 2 a fascinating port to experience, and is also an advantage of consoles versus PC. On PC, Wild Hearts on Steam Deck or lower-end systems still uses the full-blown PC version. This results in awful performance on devices like the Steam Deck. For Nintendo Switch 2, Wild Hearts S sees bespoke cutbacks below other versions to get to a playable state. Despite those cutbacks, it still looks and feels like Wild Hearts, but the biggest visual issue I have is the sharpening, which is very strong and results in a not-so-great-looking image.
On the performance side, Wild Hearts S is a lot more playable when docked. I played it on my 1080p and 1440p displays, and aside from hunts against particle-heavy Kemono in multiplayer with 4 players, I think it is very playable and a fun experience. You will need to get used to a very variable frame rate here since it can go all the way up to 60, but can even dip below 30fps depending on what’s happening on screen. The load times are very good, thankfully. I also want to comment on the HD Rumble, which is well-implemented in Wild Hearts S. I thought the team did a great job with the DualSense haptics on PS5, and I’m glad to see them deliver with rumble on Switch 2 as well.
One last thing I want to comment on is the soundtrack. With EA out of the picture for Wild Hearts S, I hope Koei Tecmo is able to release the game’s superb soundtrack from Masashi Hamauzu. I’ve waited years for it, and I hope this self-published release means we finally see it released for everyone.
I think Wild Hearts S is a few patches away from being a great game, both docked and handheld. If an optional 30fps cap is added for handheld play and a 40fps cap for docked play, I would be satisfied with this port, all things considered. It is a demanding game on other platforms already, with drops below 60fps there, and while Wild Hearts S runs a lot worse across the board than when I played it on PS5 and Xbox Series X, I still enjoyed most of the time I’ve put into it docked. I just wish the handheld experience was better.
Since Wild Hearts S has a demo, I recommend downloading it not only to see if you’re ok with the performance, but also because save data carries over. There is no downside to playing it. If you finished that and are wondering how the full game is, I still think Wild Hearts itself is excellent. Wild Hearts S brings all of what I loved from the original together in a lower-priced package for a new platform with improved online play, but it is held back by performance and visual issues that bothered me more when playing in handheld mode. I just wish it had an optional frame rate cap for a more consistent experience for those who want that. Hopefully, it gets some post-launch optimization updates, and that this isn’t the last we see of the IP.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review copy provided by Koei Tecmo
