To the rejoice of Wild Hearts players, especially those experiencing framerate issues on the PC version, the first performance patch for the game has been released. Shipped with numerous bugs, the PC version of Wild Hearts has received the immediate support it direly needed.
Released on February 17, 2023, Wild Hearts is developer Omega Force's first foray into the monster-hunting genre. With favorable reviews and enough innovation to distinguish itself from its obvious comparison in the Monster Hunter franchise, Omega Force appears to have a hit on its hands. Unfortunately, the PC port of Wild Hearts arrived with more than its fair share of technical issues, resulting in in-game stuttering, FPS drops, and numerous reported audio issues, even on high-end PCs.
The first patch for Wild Hearts has been released, promising improved performance and alleviating many of the technical issues that have kept players from enjoying the game. Among the proclaimed issues fixed are the CPU bottlenecking issues, unplayed or delayed audio cues, the default resolution for first-time players, a rendering issue for AMD users, and a bug that would result in a corrupted save file. While it remains unclear what damage was done to the sales and reception of Wild Hearts in the long term with these launch issues, a quick turnaround on addressing them certainly goes a long way with the fan base.
Sitting at mostly negative reviews on Steam for the first few days after its launch, Wild Hearts now has mixed reviews. The leading sentiment is that underneath the myriad technical issues is a stellar entry in the underrepresented monster-hunting genre, that has a deeply satisfying gameplay loop with solid combat and serviceable online features. The console versions of the Wild Hearts are not without their issues, but are in a better state, overall, and the critical reception has been encouraging. If Omega Force continues the trend of its first performance update, ironing out the game's kinks, Wild Hearts has the potential for real staying power.
While Wild Hearts is not technically a live service game, it would make sense for Omega Force to keep building on top of its foundation, perhaps in the same way that Monster Hunter titles receive DLC and expansion packs. It is a good sign that the developers seem intent on fixing the game's technical issues before delving into fresh content, and once the PC version is stabilized, according to some critics, the game might be a dark horse contender for game of the year.
Wild Hearts is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.