Wild Assault is a team-based third-person hero shooter that pits 20 players against 20 more in massive battlefields. Read on to learn everything we know, our review of the early access, and more.
Everything We Know About Wild Assault
Wild Assault Plot
The Unclaimed Zone—formed from the aftermath of nuclear fallout, disasters, and global pandemics—is a lawless wasteland abandoned by the world. Though crime runs unchecked, flickers of hope and light remain. Those who dare enter are known as Valiants, brave enough to confront both the darkness and the light within.
Following the Cold War, whispers of the mysterious Feral Relic emerging in the Mojave Desert stirred global interest. Tensions escalated as competing factions closed in, with the Desolate Legion refusing to back down.
After brutal clashes, the Valiants regrouped at their base, ready to advance to the next battleground.
Wild Assault Gameplay
Wild Assault is a third person hero shooter where players are thrown into a massive battlefield. Each player can pick between a multitude of anthropomorphic heroes called "Valiants," each with their unique abilities and roles, and engage in an objective-based 20 vs 20 battle. Fights typically last anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how fast either team can rack up points or capture areas of interest.
Each Valiant can be customized to the player’s preference, allowing them to change their weapons, secondaries, attachments, and even costumes.
Wild Assault Release Date
Wild Assault released via Steam Early Access on April 11, 2025. The developers have mentioned that they plan to keep the game in Early Access for 12-18 months until their target full release window of Q2 to Q3 of 2026.
Wild Assault Review (Early Access)
Wildly Competent
I know it’s nice to dive into arena shooters every now and then—those kinds of games where your individual performance doesn’t matter as much compared to, say, a battle royale, where one screw-up means getting kicked back to the main menu… usually after receiving a few "kind words of encouragement" from your teammates.
Nevertheless, there’s a weird kind of relaxation you get from the chaos of dozens of players shooting at each other without forming any real personal connections or lasting impressions. For example, despite all the harsh things I said about Delta Force last year, I actually kept playing it for a few more weeks before eventually getting bored.
Wild Assault falls into that same category. It’s fun, mostly brainless, and quick to get through whether you win or lose. That’s just the nature of shooters without ranked modes. And since it’s still in early access, you can’t really fault it for not having one yet.
Anyway, Wild Assault is a 20 vs 20 team-based shooter where players are tossed into huge maps to fight over objectives depending on the mode. You pick from a roster of Valiants—each with their own specialties and loadouts—and dive in (or pounce in, for the predator types).
Then, you use those weapons and abilities to persuade the other team to stay away from your objectives with as much gentleness as an armor-piercing round can afford. But that’s honestly where Wild Assault as a concept ends—it’s a simple game, no matter how you spin it. The only real variety in any given match is whether you win or lose. That’s it. Binary.
Good Gunplay Packed in Dull Game Modes
That said, I’ll give it credit: the gunplay’s surprisingly solid. Besides the cool wolf guy (Jack, the best character by the way) that walks you through the tutorial, the first thing that stood out to me was how heavy the weapons felt. Each one kicks hard—like it's trying to break out of my mouse-hand prison. Even the pistol somehow has bite, and the bolt-action rifles actually make you work for each shot.
The feedback from every shot is crisp and satisfying, too—even with the occasional janky hitboxes and unclear bullet drops. But hey, that’s how guns should feel. Without that punchiness, the 20 vs 20 chaos would just dissolve into a mess of randoms spraying heavy machine guns in every direction.
Unfortunately, that’s where I run out of compliments about the base gameplay. Because, at launch, Wild Assault only has two noteworthy game modes: WA-Raid, which you can play right away, and WA-Conquest, which unlocks at level 5. And yes, WA probably stands for Wild Assault, in case you were wondering.
WA-Raid puts one team on offense and the other on defense. Offense tries to push through the map and capture objectives to move the frontline forward. Defense just needs to hold them off or bleed the offense’s shared lives until they run out. Simple stuff.
WA-Conquest is symmetrical—both teams fight over the same set of objectives. Capturing one gives the attackers points while draining the defenders’. Each team’s points are like HP that tick down based on how many objectives they hold. For example, controlling two objectives means you only lose one point per second, while holding just one makes you bleed two points per second.
See the pattern? It’s all about capturing and defending objectives. The only real difference is whether it’s symmetrical (WA-Conquest) or not (WA-Raid). Honestly, if the game had a Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag mode, it would’ve added some much-needed variety. But nope—you’re attacking or defending objectives, and that’s all you get.
Cool Character Concepts are Cool
I never thought I’d say this, but now I understand why so many people liked Lycaon in Zenless Zone Zero... Anyway! I really like how every character in Wild Assault was conceptualized—gameplay-wise, I mean. Definitely. It certainly gives a break to the monotony of doing the same thing over and over again, regardless of the mode.
Each character falls into one of four distinct classes, depending on what they bring to the table. The Assault class, naturally, excels at assaulting enemy positions. Scouts have great map awareness and a wide attack range. Specialists come with a variety of abilities that make them super versatile. And Supports, well... they support.
Skills are easily the most important aspect of each Valiant. They make or break how a character plays and drastically change your approach. For example, my boy Jack—The Lone Tracker, aka the "sniper" of the group—has a skill that essentially gives him wallhacks within a certain radius. But more importantly, despite being a sniper, his other skill and ultimate deal massive area damage to specific locations, which kind of makes him more of an artillery unit than a traditional long-ranged assassin.
That means we're probably gonna get an actual sniper in a future update—one more specialized than Jack. And honestly? The concept behind these skills is just cool. Back to Jack for a second: his artillery barrage is basically him calling in his wolf pack to shell the target zone, so you can hear distant howls before the area gets absolutely peppered with explosions. It’s awesome.
Then you’ve got Marquez, a skunk who uses toxic clouds and traps to deny enemy access to entire areas. Because, you know... skunk. Norman, on the other hand, just likes to maul people in melee because he's a tiger and that’s what tigers do. Amazing stuff, all of it.
Praise the Lack of Friendly Fire
I don’t know if it’s a skill issue on my end or just a rising trend, but just like with 2024’s Delta Force by Team Jade, it’s weirdly hard to tell who’s on your team in the middle of a fight. The only indicators you get are blue and green markers above your allies’ heads—and those turn so transparent when you aim down sights that they might as well not exist.
At that point, all you can do is trust your instincts as a gamer™ and only pull the trigger if the furry feline in your sights is acting sussy. Just kidding. Fortunately, the game doesn’t have friendly fire. The worst that'll happen if you shoot a teammate is a quick shot of secondhand embarrassment and the realization that maybe you're a little too tense for a casual title with no ranked mode.
Still, yeah, they really need to make allies easier to identify. Maybe more prominent uniform colors or bolder outlines?
I Can Pretend It Has No Monetization
I’m a firm believer that if you have to pay for a game, there should not be monetization that gives you any advantages. But for free-to-play titles? Sure. Go wild—just make it optional and don’t make it pay-to-win.
Thankfully, Wild Assault’s monetization, at least for now, mostly plays fair. You’ve got two versions of the same battle pass—free and premium—and… that’s it. Seriously. No cash shop. No gacha. Nothing else I could find, or I’m actually blind. You can use premium currency to unlock the premium lineup of the battle pass or buy levels in it, and that’s about it.
Even better? The pass only gives you XP items, cosmetics, and stuff to pretty up your profile. Nothing gameplay-changing. Nothing locked behind a paywall that you can’t just grind for. Hopefully, this trend sticks around for the long haul.
Oh, and There’s Kernel Level Anti-Cheat
This one’s more of a heads-up than anything. The game uses kernel-level anti-cheat—in this case, Easy Anti-Cheat. I personally don’t mind it, but I know a lot of people steer clear of games with kernel access. So just be aware of that before jumping in.
And always remember: Jack is the best character.
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Wild Assault Product Information
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|
| Title | WILD ASSAULT |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 11, 2025 |
| Developer | Combat Cat Studio |
| Publisher | Combat Cat Studio |
| Supported Platforms | PC |
| Genre | Shooter |
| Number of Players | 1-4 |
| ESRB Rating | TBR (IARC 12+) |
| Official Website | Wild Assault Official Website |
