The name of thepreviously reportedEAandKoei Tecmomonster-hunting game has been revealed; Wild Hearts, and its full reveal trailer is coming later this week. It was two weeks ago when an officialpress releasedetailed that the EA Originals Label would be publishing an Omega Force game, describing it as “the next great hunting game.“Omega Force is a subdivision of Koei Tecmo, and they are most known for titles likeDynasty Warriors,Hyrule Warriors, andPersona 5 Strikers. These are what some call Musou games, in which the player has to fight an exaggerated number of enemies at once while trying to strategically maintain advantages throughout a larger battlefield. However, Omega Force has more under their belt than just Musou games.RELATED:Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Won’t Have Difficulty ModesThe studio has also developed monster-hunting games before, such as the 2013 title Toukiden: The Age of Demons, and its 2016 sequel, Toukiden 2. As the name suggests, these titles were focused on hunting ‘oni’ instead of wild beasts, those being demons of Japanese folklore. Interestingly enough, the original press release for the then-unnamed project described Wild Hearts as a “AAA experience based in fantasy feudal Japan.“Toukiden was also a fantasy game loosely based in medieval Japan, so it was previously speculated that this title could have been a Toukiden sequel or spiritual successor, but its name and banner art suggest this project will have a more naturalistic fantasy take. You can check out the reveal trailer premiere on September 28, 10AM ET righthere.
Omega Force’s monster-hunting game history with Toukiden may also shed light onto why the company decided to team up with EA. Unless they are working on previously established IP (as they often are), Koei Tecmo has effectively functioned as the studio’s publisher. However, in the original press release, Yosuke Hayashi, Executive Vice President of Koei Tecmo, expressed how “adding the global resources of EA with our own will help us introduce a new kind of hunting game to a global audience of players and expand our reach into global markets.”
Toukiden was a much softer hit than the likes ofMonster Hunter, and a contributing factor to this could have been the lack of a relevant marketing campaign in the west. By partnering with EA and leveraging their presence in western markets, a louder advertising strategy could place this game as a relevant competitor to theCapcompowerhouse.
