Video Game Review: The Wild At Heart

Developer: Moonlight Kids

Publisher: Humble Games

Genre: Adventure

Nintendo Switch

Two children stumble into a magical world full of magical creatures and perilous beasts. Here, the children get separated, and one must take command of the Spritelings Pikmin style to find his friend. The Wild At Heart is a gorgeous journey through the wild that borrows some of the Nintendo’s best mechanics.

Those who want more games like Pikmin will be delighted at the gameplay of The Wild At Heart. A good chunk of the gameplay is manipulating the little Spritelings to help players get past obstacles and enemies. Each Spriteling has unique abilities and can be used in optimal ways to push the player forward. They can do things like break rocks that are in the way or clear out some poisonous gases. The amount of Spritelings early on is limiting, but throughout the game players will be able to cultivate more Spritelings to make everything go smoothly.

They will need to cultivate tons of Spritelings too. The Spritelings are rather fragile, and will die pretty often throughout combat. To create more, players will need to collect and use materials used for cultivation. As players progress through the game and collect more items, they will be able to hold more Spritelings, making the game easier to enjoy. The collectables add plenty of incentive to explore the environment. The Wild At Heart isn’t an open world game, but it is open enough.

When players aren’t collecting items and overcoming obstacles, they will be solving puzzles. The puzzles are delightful yet simple. They are a main part of the experience, but players won’t spend forever on them either since they aren’t all that difficult. There are a variety of puzzles throughout The Wild At Heart, ensuring that the game stays fresh. Thanks to the variety in both the game’s puzzles and combat, The Wild At Heart will never get dull throughout the 10+ hour journey.

Visually, The Wild At Heart is spectacular. The storybook art is full of expressive faces and imaginative creatures. Every design is full of creativity, making the world of The Wild At Heart one full of wonder. The environments are full of lush colors, only adding to the storybook magic. The music adds to the beauty of the game, though there aren’t enough tracks. The OST will start to lose its magic, but it never becomes annoying or unpleasant to listen to.

There are a few control issues here and there, but that doesn’t stop The Wild At Heart from being a delightful little adventure. It’s certainly not one of the best games of the year, but it does enough to delightfully entertain those who want some Pikmin action.