Review: Wild Hearts S Fills a Switch 2 Monster Hunting Need

We already know that, as a whole, Wild Hearts originally appeared as an Omega Force approach to the monster hunting game genre. It pulled in Japanese mythology, involved unusual takes on beasts, and incorporated building structures into the expedition and attacking process. We also thought it was really good! Wild Hearts S is doing the same, only now it’s running on the Switch 2 for the first time. It’s still a neat game with fascinating lore, but it doesn’t run as well on this system. However, it does give us an above-average Monster Hunter-like to play while we wait for the console’s library to expand. 

Wild Hearts S follows the Monster Hunter sort of pattern, even though it is an original work by Omega Force and Koei Tecmo about hunting monstrous, otherworldly beings known as Kemono. Your character is a hunter who headed to Azuma in search of such challenges, and learns there is a remaining village of hunters like them there called Minato. After an encounter with a strange man named Mujina ahead of a fight they fail, they are saved and given the power of Karakuri to establish camps, prepare for hunts, reach new areas, and face Kemono. 

In terms of gameplay, Wild Hearts S does feel like other monster hunting games. There are multiple weapon types, with melee ones such as a Karakuri Katana, Nodachi, Bladed Wagasa, Clawblade, Maul, and Karakuri Staff, as well as a few ranged options like the Bow and Canon. I especially like the Bladed Wagasa, as it doesn’t feel like any weapon from these style of games due to being a bladed umbrella not unlike Setsuka’s weapon from Soulcalibur. These all feel rather unique. However, while moves feel more methodical in a game like Monster Hunter, I sort of feel like Omega Force borrows more from Musou titles to make attacks more combo-reliant and swift.  

Karakuri structures play a large part in these fights, further helping to set Wild Hearts apart. Hunts involve constructing towers to find the monster. Basic items, such as crates, springs, and stakes, can be used to block creatures, jump for an aerial attack, or grapple onto them. Creating things like Bulwarks and Shield Walls allow you to defend, you could create a Pounder or Repeater Crossbow for extra firing support, and it’s even possible to prepare healing for your hunting group with Healing Mist or Healing Vaporizer. I will say it is a bit frustrating sometimes to get construction done in a frantic fight if you aren’t working alongside other players. However, in ideal circumstances, especially with the Wild Hearts S Switch 2 version allowing parties of four instead of three, I found it isn’t as much of an issue. 

In general, the additional number of players seems great! Especially when you’re early on in Wild Hearts S on the Switch 2. I was playing in the best circumstances, which was right at launch and tackling early quests initially. I’m still not having too much trouble finding at least one person to work with, especially if I play during peak after-work and evening hours. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but I will say I started seeing fewer people around when I got to when I unlocked the Harpoon Karakuri. So people might start seeing fewer folks later in the game as players fall off. Especially since there isn’t cross-play, so you’re only working with other Switch 2 owners who also picked up Wild Hearts S and not folks who own it on other consoles or PCs. On the plus side, we can just hop in and not need to worry about an EA account this time around.

But the big compromise with Wild Hearts S is that it doesn’t look as good on the Switch as the original game did on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The framerate is the biggest issue. Which isn’t surprising, as I experienced FPS issues on the PS5 back when I went through the game on there. While our hunters, some NPCs we meet, and Kemono may look good, the environments everyone is running around in don’t always look great due to the sacrifices that needed to be made to even get the game running on the system. 

Though, in a way, I suppose I’m even thankful that Wild Hearts S is even on the Switch 2 and playable considering everything. I wanted to play it on a handheld gaming PC at launch. The Steam Deck can’t run it. While I did notice more prevalent FPS drops in Handheld mode on the system, it was still playable and enjoyable! It’s quite a success in that regard. But again, you do need to know going in that it might hiccup a bit or not always run as well as it would when docked. 

In many ways, Wild Hearts S is currently filling an important gap on the Switch 2, as it is the go-to monster hunting multiplayer game on the system. The decision to up the player count for this version helps cement that role. Especially since it does act as a definitive edition with the Karakuri Edition extras and post-launch updates included. However, frame rate issues still exist here, only they feel more evident than on the PS5 and are especially notable when in a group of four, it doesn’t look as good as it does on other consoles, and some effects from attacks or weather conditions aren’t look great. I do think Wild Hearts S is worth playing and is a solid addition to the Switch 2 library, but recommend trying the demo first. Especially if you primarily play the system in handheld mode.

Wild Hearts S is available on the Switch 2, and the original game is on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.