When I heard Electronic Arts was teaming up with Koei Tecmo on the following nice looking sport, my creativeness ran wild with visions of a supernatural hero monitoring down fantastical beasts and combating them in epic battles. Wolves and tigers, perhaps? Even a dragon.

Following its announcement final month, and because of a latest hands-on preview occasion, I discovered Wild Hearts is aspiring to be a mystical sport “where hunters craft ingenious mechanisms to face giant nature-infused beasts in fantasy feudal Japan,” with some modern and entertaining new options followers of this style are certain to get pleasure from.

Tame a World Gone Wild

Wild Hearts, coming to Xbox Series X|S early subsequent 12 months, is an action-adventure sport playable both solo or with as much as two different gamers on-line (with cross play help) in a roughly 30-hour story marketing campaign. When enjoying with different gamers, you possibly can expertise a single battle, the whole marketing campaign, and even the aspect quests. Difficulty is scaled primarily based in your get together dimension and loot is distributed randomly, not primarily based on particular person efficiency. You may customise your own home base, which is on show to different gamers who be part of your sport. While there’s a little bit of gathering, farming, and crafting, Wild Hearts is primarily all concerning the looking, and because the trailer reveals, “taming a world gone wild”.

Welcome to Fantasy Filled Feudal Japan

Wild Hearts takes place throughout 4 massive open-world places set in Azuma, a fantasy world primarily based on feudal Japan. Each of those landscapes are themed with a season, together with a area with an enormous cherry blossom tree for spring; a distant island in the midst of the ocean for summer time; a war-torn fortress for fall and a citadel frozen in ice for winter. Each of those areas are accessible from a spot referred to as Minato, a centralized mission hub the place you possibly can plan your quests and staff up with pals and fellow hunters.

The world is extremely stunning and transports you to a really plausible medieval Japan, proper all the way down to the smallest element. Landscapes stuffed with conventional Japanese structure, stone ruins, lanterns, cherry blossom bushes, and cranes wading by means of streams actually carry a way of awe. Couple this with a tremendous soundtrack and good voice appearing, and also you really really feel such as you’re in “the land of the rising sun.”

Choose Your Weapon Wisely

Weapon availability throughout my time with the Wild Hearts demo was restricted, however I’m informed the complete sport is alleged to have eight distinctive weapon varieties, every with a number of configuration choices leading to a whole bunch of variations. These will vary from katanas, bows, hammers, and even a bladed umbrella, and their effectiveness towards your prey varies primarily based on its kind and the way the weapon has been upgraded. Quite a lot of armor choices may also be out there and upgradeable.

Craft Ancient Technology

What makes Wild Hearts totally different than different fantasy looking video games is a singular characteristic referred to as Karakuri, a particular skill primarily based on historic expertise enabling you to craft objects on the go to assist in fight, traversing the terrain, and extra. Some of those had been out there within the demo, together with platforms and springboards to assist achieve a top benefit over your prey (or counter their incoming assaults). I’m informed there can be many extra instruments out there to hunters, together with gliders, zip traces, catapults, flares that may stun your prey, and bombs that do large harm. Karakuri will also be used to craft beauty and sensible objects to your residence base, together with a campsite and blacksmith desk.

Beware of the Creatures of Unusual Size

Wild Hearts, at its core, is a looking sport, however earlier than you go and begin feeling sorry for the wildlife, most of your encounters are with savage creatures in search of their subsequent meal (you). These beasts are often known as Kemono, mystical beings that fuse animals with nature, and are largely impressed by actual world animals.

Many of the encounters I had within the demo and showcased within the gameplay trailer had been these present in Japanese folklore, like rats, boar, and a really menacing ape-like creature, solely they’re infused with nature, and fairly massive. One Kemono was coated in moss and in a position to have an effect on the encompassing vegetation by forcing vines to shoot up by means of the bottom, whereas one other was bonded with lava. All the Kemono have this in widespread although: they’re large, lethal, and intention to complete you.

Wild Hearts is being developed by Omega Force, the Japanese growth studio at Koei Tecmo, and creators of the fabled Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors collection. Wild Hearts is ready to reach within the Xbox Store for Xbox Series X|S on February 17, 2023. Keep it tuned right here to Xbox Wire for extra particulars on this sport and lots of others, and take a look at the official web site or observe them on Twitter for the most recent information and bulletins about Wild Hearts.