The puzzles in The Wild at Heart are no joke and will be a challenge even to veteran puzzle solvers. Kirby can also command the Spritelings just as Wake can, so things get rather complicated, and I found myself scratching my head on several occasions. As Kirby joins Wake, this also allows you to be in two places at once since you can switch between each character at will. There are five different types of Spritelings, each with its own sets of unique skills.Įventually, Wake runs into his best friend Kirby. Each new ability in The Wild at Heart comes from obtaining newer Spritelings. Wake uses these little guys as the main gameplay mechanic as he can gather swarms of Spritelings and use them to unlock all the different puzzles on the Deep Woods.Īs with any game worthy of the metroidvania title, the Deep Woods is seemingly fully accessible right at the start but with each area blocked off by a puzzle that can only be solved by gaining new abilities. Inside these Deep Woods, you meet all manner of creatures, but your main allies are the Spritelings. Instead, Wake gets lost in the woods surrounding his home and finds himself inside a mysterious hidden realm called the Deep Woods.

While you are running away from home, Wake is supposed to meet up with his best friend Kirby as they have been planning this for months. Metroidvania meets SurvivalĪs mentioned earlier, you start off playing as the boy named Wake. And while the opening hour of The Wild at Heart feels like it’s going to be a deep, serious journey into Wake’s struggle for love, self-fulfillment, and reconciliation, that all falls away rather quickly as you get into the heart of this game. With trash bags, beer bottles, and past-due notices all around, the kid is clearly not living the life of luxury. At the game’s opening, you play as Wake, a young boy who seems to be running away from a neglecting parent. The Wild at Heart is a game about two children running away from home only to find themselves on a wild adventure to save a magical realm from an encroaching darkness.

The wild at heart kirby