While in Pikmin, the day/night cycle serves mainly to set a ticking clock on your adventure, the nights in The Wild at Heart are perilous and downright scary. The comparisons with Pikmin are inevitable but one of the best things about The Wild at Heart is the way that it acknowledges the similarity and subverts the player's expectations. Comparisons to Dark Souls may be cliché, but the cryptic and varied ways in which the characters present themselves cleverly hint at some strangely tragic backstory. The ancient madness that underlies the whole game comes through each different character through specific vocal tics which help to establish who these people are, even if the characters themselves don't remember. It's almost as if the characters are hearing the music as clearly as the audience.Īll characters are unique in both visual design and speech patterns. It's reminiscent of Metroid Prime: rhythmically channelling the environment itself, the music feels like it's coming from the in-game forest instead of a composer. The contrast I mentioned earlier is also present in the score and sounded oddly familiar. The art style pairs perfectly with the tone that's established in the story, which makes both aspects all the better. There's a great contrast between some of the environmental features that feel vibrant and the ethereal flashbacks or creepy night time sequences. The character designs are unique and pleasant and the environments, being cartoonish and grim, feel alive. The visuals for The Wild at Heart are simply amazing.

The niche that Pikmin fans occupy is relatively narrow, but this ticks all those boxes and then some - this could be the best indie title of 2021.

This adventure puzzle game features two children in a story book style world on a grand adventure to learn more of a lost realm. We're partnered with Skillshare, where you can do unlimited online courses that'll help you create art, make games, and even help you with school/university! Click here for a free 1 month trial.ĭerivative in the best possible way, The Wild at Heart takes a winning formula and wraps it up in a delightfully creepy package.

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