10 Shameless Video Game Rip-Offs (That Were Actually Great)
3. Wild Hearts
Ever since Monster Hunter: World released in 2018 and helped popularise the series with Western audiences, we've seen a glut of insistent imitations coming down the pike, the most recent of which is Wild Hearts.
Developers Omega Force have made absolutely zero attempt to disguise their action-RPG's influences, given that Wild Hearts similarly centers around players defeating ancient monsters and pilfering their remains, with even an extremely similar mission structure and aesthetic to boot.
In effect, Wild Hearts is a more accessible and streamlined version of Monster Hunter, which might perhaps seem a little too straight-forward for long-time fans of Capcom's franchise, but for newcomers it's basically a solid gateway drug.
In spite of its lack of originality and the brutal performance issues on PC, this is a ludicrously entertaining facsimile of Monster Hunter that sensibly ditches some of that series' tedious busy-work, while including a few creative innovations - like the Karakuri building system, allowing players to build defensive constructs to aid them in combat.