Blending nature, beast, human, and machine,Wild Heartsby Omega Force and Koei Tecmo presents a new spin on the popular monster-hunting genre. Known for their well-regardedDynasty Warriorand theNiohgames, Omega Force and Koei Tecmo are focused on makingWild Heartsa new pillar for both companies. Helping them out along the way is EA, publishing this new IP under the EA Originals banner–a new direction for all parties involved.
In an interview with Game Rant, Omega Force co-directors Kotaro Hirata and Takuto Edagawa discussed how working with EA has benefited the game, the challenges EA presented to the developers, and how partnering with a western publisher will help bringWild Heartsto a new audience.Omega Force’s road to launching a new IP in the hunting genrehas not always been smooth. Still, the team has learned quite a lot with the help of EA, and they hope that mixing their sensibility for action games with EA’s expertise in accessibility will make for an experience that is appealing on a global scale.
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Bringing Wild Hearts to a Global Audience With The Help of EA
The team behindWild Heartsis no stranger to partnerships with a wide array of publishers who want to deliver an action game that only Omega Force andKoei Tecmoknow how to craft. Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and Nintendo have all called upon Omega Force’s expertise to deliver thrilling hack-and-slash action games using properties likeOne Piece,Dragon Quest, andThe Legend of Zelda. However, publishing with EA under the EA Originals brand is a new direction for a pair of studios that, up to this point, have not worked with a western publisher. Their relationship with EA has brought a series of changes and challenges while developingWild Heartsthat Omega Force hopes will make the game the best it can be, while delivering a product that also fulfills the team’s creative vision.
“With EA, they have a lot of triple-A titles under their belt, so there was a lot that we could learn from them. First off, it was the global appeal perspective. That’s something that EA has experience with, and through all the iterations of Wild Hearts, they brought up various issues that they saw, or they brought up various areas that they thought we could improve on. And so there’s a lot we had to work on, but at the same time, they left it up to us regarding how we resolved those various issues. So they really showed respect for our creativity as a team here.”
EA has certainly been on a new trajectory over the past year or two, launching a handful of high-quality games that many wouldn’t have seen coming not so long ago.It Takes Two,Need For Speed: Unbound,and theDead Spaceremakehave all been welcome surprises from the same company that seemed to be ignoring single-player or narrative experiences in favor of live-service games just a few years ago. Omega Force’s behind-the-scenes look at its relationship with EA demonstrates the company’s current approach to single-player games and how it works with developers. Based on this, it seems EA wants to give feedback where it’s needed and let the teams creatively come up with solutions on their own. However, that doesn’t mean that Omega Force didn’t learn a few lessons where it needed them from the publisher.
Wild Hearts and EA Change Up Accessibility and Tutorials for a New Audience
Omega Force also brought up a fascinating note about how EA brought their expertise toWild Heartsto get the studios out of their comfort zones. Many fans who have experience with hunting games from Japanese studios, or Japanese games in general, may be well aware of how front-loaded the learning experience is for these titles, filled with tutorials and splash screens explaining game mechanics. With a chuckle, the creative directors at Omega Force detailed how EA managed to change up how Japanese developers typically craft tutorials to make it a better experience for all audiences playingWild Hearts. What’s more,EAis helping pave the way for a more accessible style of hunting game.
“Another thing that left an impression on us– it might be a smaller thing–was when it came to tutorials. When we look at Japanese games, often with Japanese game makers, what we do is teach the players how to do everything very step by step. We like to teach everything at every level. However, the way EA approaches it is that you give the users experiences, and through the experiences, they discover the things that they can do. So it’s a very different approach in how you teach users how to play. The last thing has to do with accessibility. Really, when it comes to a triple-A title, you need to look at how it can appeal to a wider array of users, so we really received a lot of advice from them on specific functions that could help enhance the appeal to a broader audience.”
Wild Heartsmakes its mark as a contender in the hunting genreby mixing the thrill of the hunt with crafting and base-building to add some complexity to the same formula of hunt, fight, and repeat that gamers have grown accustomed to. But added complexity means added learning. Accessibility and streamlining that learning experience has been a hot topic as the gaming industry continues to grow and tries to appeal to new audiences and longtime gamers. Finding a balance of both that gets everyone playing comfortably and at a good pace is undoubtedly difficult, but Omega Force believes they have found the sweet spot thanks to the help of EA. While fans still have to wait a bit more to see howWild Heartsturns out, it’s clear that Omega Force is confident that in the product it has made in its newfound partnership and the team is ready to launch a game that everyone can enjoy.
Wild Heartsreleases February 16 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
