Wild Hearts launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on February 17, 2023
Electronic Arts, Koei Tecmo, and Omega Force have revealed their new hunting game. Wild Hearts will be available on PCs via Origin, Steam, and Epic Games Store, as well as 5th-generation consoles—namely the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S—on February 17, 2023.
Omega Force had been known for previously working on the Toukiden series of hunting games. The game's directors Kotaro Hirata and Takuto Edagawa revealed in an interview with IGN that the team decided to create a new IP and work with Electronic Arts to make the new title more appealing to the global audience.
The first assets for Wild Hearts already show that it will have many differences from Toukiden. The previous series had players fight against Oni (demons), while the monsters in Wild Hearts will be generally known as Kemono (the Japanese word for beasts). Toukiden also had an emphasis on using spiritual powers to destroy and lock the demons' body parts. The key gameplay system in Wild Hearts will involve a unique shapeshifting device called Karakuri (the Japanese word for machinery).
The English and Japanese introduction pages for Wild Hearts also reveal that the Kemono will have different names between the language versions. The iconic wolf, Deathstalker, will be known in Japan as Rasetsu (Japanese word for Rakshasa). The boar-like Kingtusk will be Yamaugachi (mountain piercer), the fire ape Lavaback will become Jigokuzaru (hell monkey), and the Earthbreaker will be named Kuninarashi (country flattener) in Japan.
Find the first trailer and official press release for Wild Hearts right below. The hunting game will have voiceovers in not only English but also Japanese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. While the game will only have up to 3-people multiplayer, it will support cross-play across all platforms. Electronic Arts and Koei Tecmo will publish an extended gameplay trailer for the new title on October 5.
Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and KOEI TECMO officially unveiled WILD HEARTS™, a new kind of hunting game featuring unique crafting mechanics, coming February 17, 2023 to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Origin, Steam and Epic Game Store. Published under the EA Originals label and developed by Omega Force, the team behind the popular WARRIORS series, WILD HEARTS whisks players away on an epic adventure set in fantasy feudal Japan. There, they’ll battle against giant nature-infused beasts called Kemono with the help of Karakuri, sophisticated mechanisms crafted from a lost, ancient technology.
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.
In WILD HEARTS, players journey through Azuma as a lone wolf or pack-hunt with up to two friends thanks to the game’s co-op and crossplay features across all platforms. Players can expand their battle plans and go on special missions while pack hunting, join other hunters in the world or take on Kemono on their own. The game will feature voice overs in English, Japanese, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
