Wild Hearts – Hands-On Preview

EA Originals × KOEI TECMO × Omega Force take a fresh swing at the hunting-action genre.

The partnership between EA Originals, KOEI TECMO and Omega Force seemed to appear out of nowhere, but it makes instant sense once you play Wild Hearts. It inevitably invites comparison to Monster Hunter, yet its nature-twisted beasts (the Kemono) and on-the-fly creation system (Karakuri) give it a distinctly kinetic, inventive feel—especially for newcomers.

Exploring Azuma: a hunter faces a Kemono

Across ~3 hours with a preview build, I played an opening chapter, built a custom hunter (including pronouns), and stepped into Azuma—a fantasy landscape inspired by feudal Japan. Early scraps with smaller creatures teach light/heavy strings and a charged finisher; the combat reads snappy, but preparation and positioning matter more than raw combos.

My first one-star Kemono—a rat-like brute blooming with leaves and flowers—made the thesis clear. Chipping at its limbs worked, but progress was slow until the game introduced Karakuri. After a near-death encounter, ancient tech fuses with your hunter, letting you conjure utilities in real time. A simple box let me spring upward for diving slashes or scale cliffs; later a spring pad launched me into aggressive engages (sometimes a little too aggressively—hello, quick KOs).

Mid-hunt Karakuri placement for aerial attacks — Karakuri turn defense and traversal into offense.

Three hunters coordinating against a massive boar Kemono

Wild Hearts supports three-player co-op for the full game with cross-play at launch (no cross-progression). Opening my session to matchmaking immediately elevated the second hunt: we chained our Karakuri, revived each other, and finally felled the giant boar from the reveal trailer after a tense, 20-minute push. Communication felt almost implicit as our builds interlocked.

Outside combat, Karakuri are persistent until a Kemono demolishes them. Springs for quick traversal, zip-like tools for verticality—your world becomes a custom playground. Guests to your session can use your placed contraptions, and vice versa.

Play

With limited preview time I only dipped into crafting, but the armor and weapon mixing looks flexible and readable. Basic RPG logic applies—don’t bring −10 fire resist into a flame-infused hunt—and the loop seems tuned toward patience, scouting, and smart tool use rather than labyrinthine upgrade trees.

During a virtual media Q&A, EA framed the project as fitting the EA Originals mantra of backing “the boldest and best” rather than a specific studio size or genre box. Between the Kemono’s nature-twisted designs and the centrality of Karakuri, Wild Hearts feels like a genuine spin on a lightly contested space.

Release: February 17 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.