It’s easy to look at what lays in front of you, note what items you can likely collect, the critters that are hanging around, and the potential areas you might need to venture to.Īdditionally, I got to see two portions of the game. It’s generally not an overly busy world, which is actually great in the case of this game. The art style is appealing, with memorable designs from Kara all the way to the wildlife you interact with. Even on my somewhat dated laptop, Windbound looked gorgeous. First off, I was playing on the PC version for the sake of this preview. I had some limitations in my time with Windbound. To stick with the rampant Zelda vibes, the islands were Wind Waker-esque. Windbound is made up of different islands none of the ones I saw were all that large. You collect resources, primarily grass and rocks, and explore the world. Playing this early area was very much evocative of the beginning The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Her goal is to survive and get out of this predicament, but a lot of secrets and mysteries seem to be tied to this world she’s wound up in, with talks of ancient peoples and ruins. You play as Kara, a woman who wakes up ship-wrecked on an island with nothing. Striking visuals and wonderful creature design can’t distract from repetition and lack of innovation.Windbound feels like a blend of Zelda games by way of a roguelike structure. Moments of shock, sadness, and excitement all translate brilliantly through her subtle design. With no dialogue, the devs rely on small movements and facial expressions which really come to life with the painterly style of graphics. Kara is a wonderfully expressive silent protagonist. This wouldn’t be an issue if Windbound’s core mechanic of stripping materials, lighting beacons, and then magical sea gates, weren’t so reliant on repeating actions, or if there was a clearer path to where the next island may be – too often I was left squinting to try and find my next destination.Īdd in some frustrating platforming movement, and the charm Windbound creates through visuals, character animation, and flavour text is soon left washed up on the shore. If you find yourself dead, you won’t just respawn back where you left off or at an assigned checkpoint when playing in ‘survival mode’, you’ll start right back at the beginning of chapter one, whereas if you chose ‘story mode’, you’ll start from the chapter in which you died, along with everything you had in your inventory. This mantra applies itself squarely at the centre of the adventure as Windbound takes on a rogue-lite spin. Away from crafting, there’s combat, because everything either wants to kill you, or you it.įighting indigenous creatures feels smooth and exciting, until your spear breaks and you need to craft a new one, thus fulfilling the ‘rinse and repeat’ nature of the survival genre which, despite quibbles, still feels satisfying. The inventory itself is also limited, even with a bag expansion I often found myself having to drop items to free up space for creating tools. The crafting itself is rudimentary, and the game holds your hand through each new recipe – experimentation is off the table. It creates a sense of ownership, knowing you collected all the materials yourself. However, the addition of creating your own ocean craft from scratch is a lovely element. In the basics of survival, Windbound doesn’t offer anything particularly new. Many of the islands feature shrines which must be lit in order to open a gate, allowing progress through the game’s chapters. Windbound takes place within an archipelago and Kara moves from island to island, crafting weapons, boats, and equipment. Following a grand tradition of survival games, we start off by looking for wood and things to eat, while avoiding creatures who want to nibble on us. The task: survive and rediscover Kara’s home and family. Playing as Kara, we find ourselves shipwrecked after an attack by a sea monster.
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