Everything we know about EA’s new monster-hunting game Wild Hearts

EA isn’t typically the name you associate with games set in feudal Japan, but the publisher’s new partnership with Koei Tecmo is exploring new territory. Wild Hearts is a brand new “hunting” game published by EA and developed by Omega Force, the studio behind the long-running Dynasty Warriors series. The hunting genre has hit proved to be tremendously popular in recent years, mostly due to the overwhelming success of Monster Hunter. So even though you might call it a “hunting” game, it’s more of an action-adventure game than anything that resembles Big Buck Hunter. Although it bears the EA Originals moniker, Wild Hearts looks incredibly ambitious, so here’s everything we know.

When is the Wild Hearts release date?

Surprisingly, Wild Hearts' initial reveal included a released date, and one surprisingly soon as the game launches on February 17, 2023. That means there are only about five months from announcement to release, but according to an interview with IGN, Wild Hearts has been in development for four years.

What are the Wild Hearts platforms?

Wild Hearts will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Origin, Steam, and Epic Game Store. It seems like the title has been built exclusively as a next-gen title, so it’s unlikely Wild Hearts will ever see a release on PS4 and Xbox One. Because of this, Wild Hearts is also going to release at the standard price for PS5 and Series X games and will cost $69.99.

Is there a Wild Hearts trailer?

Yes, Wild Hearts was revealed alongside a trailer that mostly shows the game’s setting, massive creatures, and unique gameplay mechanics. While there’s currently only one trailer, EA has announced it will debut an extended gameplay trailer on October 5.

What is the Wild Hearts story?

Wild Hearts is set in a fantasy world named Azuma, which is heavily inspired by feudal Japan, and inhabited by massive creatures called Kemono. Here’s the official description via a press release from EA.

“Wild Hearts takes place in Azuma, a fantasy landscape inspired by feudal Japan, that is now rampaged by the once peaceful Kemono — altering their environment at the cost of citizens’ lives. The Kemono range from plant-infused squirrels to the massive Kingtusk wild boar. After a dreadful fight with the winter wolf Deathstalker, players become bearers of a life-sustaining technology and are compelled to restore balance across the region.”

Past the initial introduction, we don’t currently know a lot about Wild Hearts’ story, however, it’s not unreasonable to expect that the game won’t be narrative-focused. Wild Hearts is a hunting game along the lines of Monster Hunter, and the genre typically puts gameplay first and foremost.

Is Wild Hearts gameplay like Monster Hunter?

The core gameplay loop of Wild Hearts will revolve around hunting the dangerous Kemono and upgrading your equipment to take on ever tougher enemies. Wild Hearts is described as a “twist on the hunting genre where ancient tech gives you a fighting chance against giant beasts.”

This ancient tech is known as the Karakuri, and the reveal trailer gives us a glimpse of how things will work. In the trailer we see the Karakuri being used to construct various traps or pieces of equipment, like a propeller that can be used to jump and glide over a beast. Other examples in the trailer include a giant hammer, some kind of bomb, and a rope caster to tie down enemies. Past that, players will be able to choose from different weapons, and so far we’ve seen a katana, bow, a sword-whip hybrid, and some kind of umbrella weapon.

While you can play Wild Hearts solo, it’ll also support up to three-player co-op with full crossplay features on all platforms. The thing we don’t know right now is how Wild Hearts’ hub area will work, although Omega Force has confirmed the game uses a zone-based system for its world, like Monster Hunter.