Wild Hearts vs Monster Hunter: 5 quintessential features that differentiate the games

Wild Hearts, the latest monster-hunting game on the block, has made quite a splash and changed the genre in quite a few ways. It offers unique, exciting gameplay and some truly stunning visuals. While there have been a few monster-hunting games to come up over the years, few show as much promise as this one does.

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What makes Wild Hearts special compared to Monster Hunter?

5) The monsters fit the environment and make sense

In the Monster Hunter series, many of the monsters are over-the-top, fantastic creatures. Animals or even mythical beasts might inspire them, but they don’t always fit the world they’re attached to.

In Wild Hearts, the kemono, most times, blends right in with the environment. They feel like they belong here. There is a significant amount of plant-based kemono, so they look like they could blend perfectly with the background. I rather like the idea that these monsters feel like they’re a part of the ecosystem.

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4) Wild Hearts focuses far less on items

There are so many items in Monster Hunter. Potions, traps, various ammo types, and many things to craft. It’s often overwhelming how many tools, traps, bombs, whetstones, and potion types a player will carry around. While this is great because you have a wide variety of tools at your disposal, juggling them all can be frustrating.

Wild Hearts has pretty much no items to craft. You have Healing Water, perhaps your food, and that’s it. The karakuri building structures are the items you use in the game. You have to know what works well together and what items you need for a situation, and you also have to know how to use them well.

While this creates a potentially steeper difficulty curve, it is less about how many items you have and how well you use what you have.

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3) Smaller teams make for a greater focus on teamwork/communication

Teams of four would have made the fights too easy, thanks to the fantastic Karakuri tools and weapon skills. With that in mind, parties of three are how the game will function. It could change later.

It’s much easier to carry in Monster Hunter. It’s always felt like. One or two powerful players can carry a group of four simply enough if that player stays out of the way. Each player on a team will feel like they have more value and weight. Strong communication and teamwork will go a long way in this latest monster-hunting game.

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2) Wild Hearts characters aren’t hunting down monsters to kill in the arena

It’s not uncommon to see an Arena in Monster Hunter games - you capture powerful monsters and bring them back to kill over and over. It’s a great way to learn combat strategies but also senseless slaughter.

Wild Hearts has a different feel to how the characters treat the world around them. Kemono defeated in battle are spoken of with respect after a battle, and it’s a genuinely distinct change of pace. I don’t recall seeing this much reverence for the world in any monster-hunting game I’ve ever played.

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1) The unique Karakuri system completely changes the game

The Karakuri system has never been done in a Monster Hunter game. You can conjure up blocks to serve as a platform or distract/block incoming damage from the kemono you fight.

You only have a limited number of threads to create these items, so you must consider what you’re doing. You can make vine systems to travel on - that can also pierce enemies. You can do a lot with Karakuri, making each Wild Hearts battle unique.

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While Wild Hearts shares a genre with Monster Hunter, it’s pretty clear that it’s not trying to copy the formula that’s already been put down for years. Whether it is a success remains to be seen, but the signs are positive.