Why Did I Wait So Long To Play This?

Many moons ago, my brother, who is also an avid gamer, recommended a game to me. That game was The Wild at Heart on Nintendo Switch. Being that good younger sister that I am, I took his recommendation to heart. I bought the game on my 34th birthday.

It sat on my shelf.

Four years later, I decided it was time to finally play the game, which leads us to today.

I always intended to play this game in autumn, but it just never happened. This year, I compiled a mini backlog of games that I’m committing myself to play in 2026. This game made the list. And yet, when I was contemplating which game to play this January, I almost didn’t pick this one. I found myself wanting to save it for autumn. But one screenshot changed my mind.

This wintery scene, found on the back of the Switch game case, was exactly the vibe I was looking for. You see, I have developed this cozy habit where I like to play games that match the current season. We’ve had an unusually warm winter for my neck of the woods, and I was craving a snowy wonderland.

In the Wild at Heart, you play as Wake and Kirby, who have both run away from home. They find themselves in a mysterious forest where they can command herds of Spritelings. These Spritelings have abilities that help you solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and explore further in the world.

This world is an autumn dream. Yes, I was looking for a winter wonderland, but fall is my favorite season, and I suppose I can appreciate fall vibes during IRL winter.

The game art is absolutely gorgeous. I haven’t seen a game capture those warm autumn tones better than this game. Well, except for maybe Witchwood, but that’s a story for another day.

Going into this game, I knew that it would be like playing a Pikmin game, but I had never played a Pikmin game myself. This was a new experience for me, and I soon realized that Pikmin-style games are actually a lot like the Lemmings games from the 90s. I did play Lemmings growing up.

Similar to both Lemmings and Pikmin, your Spritelings are not immune to danger. However, it’s not nearly as stressful as accidentally sending all your Lemmings over an edge and into a pit of lava.

As you progress, you build up your army of Spritelings and unlock different types of Spritelings that can handle different enemies better and interact with different objects.

At its core, this is a puzzle game. Unlocking new areas and acquiring key items all require you to solve a puzzle. I loved this part of the game. The puzzles were just difficult enough for you to use all that gamer brain-power without feeling frustrated. Although I will admit that I had to use a guide on two occasions.

If you’re into collecting, there are also hidden cats around the world. Sadly, I did not find all the cats. As you can see, I’m not a completionist by any means. Oh, but finding the cats… requires solving a puzzle. I can think of at least one cat that I left behind because I didn’t solve the puzzle and moved on with my playthrough… woops!

I feel weird that I used the word puzzle six times in this section. I don’t think there is another word for puzzles… seven.

In the end, when I review games, a big part of my experience is how they make me feel. Don’t get me wrong, game performance, functionality, controls, and mechanics are all very important. But when it comes to my final rating, how I feel when playing a game will determine that last star. I rate all my games on a 5-star scale. The Wild at Heart was a cozy experience for me. One that had me excited to play every night before bed. I felt immersed in the world from the setting and the music to the puzzles, which I couldn’t get enough of.

My final rating for The Wild at Heart, is 5-Stars.

Don’t sit on this game. Buy it, don’t put it on your shelf, play it. You can thank me later.

P.S. I forgot to mention that ‘scary’ guys come out at night. Have fun!