Wild Hearts Uses Separated Zones Instead Of An Open-World

thegamer.com:

Wild Hearts, a new Monster Hunter-like game from Dynasty Warriors developers Omega Force, won't feature a traditional open world with seamless transitions between different regions. Instead, the upcoming title uses "a zone-based system" with large separated areas, which the team believes is more suitable for this type of gameplay.

The debut trailer for Wild Hearts just dropped, providing us with a glimpse of its dynamic combat featuring giant fantasy creatures, alongside the unique ability to craft hunting traps right in the middle of a boss battle. If you expected the game to also offer a vast open world brimming with side activities, that's not the case here, which Koei Tecmo director Takuto Edagawa told IGN.

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"Wild Hearts uses a zone-based system, which we believe has significant advantages in a hunting game in which the player repeatedly hunts," Edagawa-san said. "Each separated zone is a large area and players can reach almost any point in a zone using Karakuri [the game's crafting system] so it is possible to enjoy it like an open world game in which you actively explore the world."

Although traversing huge zones, gathering resources, and exploring every corner of the map might be appealing to some, it also shifts the focus from the hunt itself, which is at the core of Wild Hearts. Presumably, players will spend much more time in combat, which should result in short and intense sessions.

The interview also revealed that Wild Hearts will offer up to a three-player co-op option, which "provides the best balance for maintaining a sense of tension" during combat. Additionally, in the director's words, it's easier to gather a party of three players, so