Alright, so here’s the deal. The Nintendo Switch 2, or the shiny new console everyone’s been buzzing about, has been out for like two months and things are getting real. It’s like, okay, the game library is expanding and as someone who plays on different platforms—I mean, who doesn’t these days?—I’m still kinda seeing it as my go-to for Nintendo exclusives. But now, it’s giving me this new-fangled excuse to dive into ports of games I totally missed before. Enter Wild Hearts S, the Switch 2 edition of this 2023 monster hunting game from Koei Tecmo. Why didn’t I play it before? Who knows. Timing, maybe.
So, Wild Hearts S, right? It’s sort of a showcase, you could say, of the Switch 2’s potential for these third-party ports. This little machine looks ready to handle games that would’ve laughed in the original Switch’s face. Remember Cyberpunk 2077 at launch? Yeah, picture that, but hey, Wild Hearts S doesn’t quite hit the graphic brilliance you’d see on like, PS5 and all that jazz. We’re talking slightly better than the PS4 and Xbox One. Sometimes the textures don’t jump out at you, and when things get hectic, the framerate kinda fumbles. But if you’re more “substance over style,” you’ll find some joy here.
Jumping into the game, you’re this character you make up, and you’re hunting down these crazy “kemono” creatures. Sounds fancy? Sometimes you just bump into little kemono that don’t really care about you. But the real thrill? That’s when you go after the big ones—the ones that mash up animals with Mother Nature herself. Picture a bunny or boar wrapped in vines. Or maybe they’ve got these strange bulb things that they just whack you with because why not, right?
Man, the kemono can be downright unbelievable—or nightmarish. There’s this one turtle with coral growing all over its shell, very docile. I sorta regret smacking it to dust before trying to pet it. Oops. Other kemono, like the boar boss—good luck trying to just “admire” that guy unless you want to get flattened. They’re not wrong, you are there to hunt them, duh.
The game’s like this cycle of discovering and tackling these huge beasts. You search areas, spot your target, and then there’s this whole build-a-thing vibe with these karakuri, which are like magical wooden bits that help you out. The more kemono you hunt, the more building options you unlock—it’s kinda like reminding you to stack boxes to make a wall because some giant boar’s charging at you. Throw together three of these springy things to make a swinging hammer, or put up three gliders for a healing mist. It sounds weird, yet somehow it fits in this odd universe.
Once you find those kemono, it’s game on. With your karakuri tools in tow, the battles are a sight to behold—Epic is quite the understatement. The fights feel like they stretch on forever, taking you from day to night under a sky full of stars. Fight a Kingtusk for 20 minutes, but in the world of the game, you’ve been slugging it out for who knows how long. It’s immersive, to say the least.
Now, the first interaction with a Lavaback? Shut up and take my money. You know how some games show enemies fighting each other just to give their world a bit more life? Here, the Lavaback tosses a Spineglider like it’s just a ragdoll. I mean, I’d just fought one and now this? Felt like the game was whispering, “Welcome to the jungle, buddy.”
And there are some camera quirks if I’m honest. Being not-too-cozy with the Monster Hunter vibe, it sometimes felt like being thrown into one of those FromSoftware duels. The camera gets, shall we say, “intimate” with the kemono models, even giving you this delightful inside view occasionally. Add in the romantically sweeping views when you wander too close to a cliff and, well, it ain’t perfect. But you roll with it.
Despite the quirks—and let’s face it, life’s full of ‘em—Wild Hearts S is a blast. As part of the Switch 2 collection, it’s a solid pick. It’s not winning any awards for graphics, but really, who’s expecting that on a handheld? It’s about diving into this high-octane monster hunting adventure and loving every chaotic minute of it. Can’t wait to hunt more while I’m chilling on the go.
