![]() ![]() As you might have already guessed, that gets boring and rather frustrating once bugs come into play. Rinse and repeat until the monster is dead. Much of it boils down to attacking a monster, running to some small one-foot tall rocks, then shooting it with a bow until it runs away. I can’t imagine how annoying it would be on the permadeath mode of the game, seeing how buggy and unfinished it is. The amount of time I spent browsing theĬombat is easily the worst culprit of all, being downright frustrating. Why craft defenses for my boat when the only things attacking it are small crabs that die in one hit? There’s just no point to a lot of it. Crafting new things is great but becomes rarer as time goes on, not to mention some of it is outright useless. It’s there and does what is intended, but it’s very basic and lacks the level of depth that should be there. Quite honestly, I’d expect to see this kind of thing from an Early Access build of a game. Why explore the same island five times unless it’s out of necessity for supplies? Especially towards the end, it just feels better to go to the islands that have towers rather than waste your time with anything else.Įasily the worst aspect of Windbound though is its survival mechanics. Without anything new in the other islands, it removes the excitement of exploring. There was one time where they tried something seriously unique in Chapter 4, but that wore off quickly when it was just one island. Each new chapter does have a few differences for the islands, but these are small and lose their charm after the first island you visit. The exploration takes a similar approach as well. Ascending the same tower and doing the same jumping puzzle isn’t going to be more exciting the next 14 times. It’s a very basic gameplay loop that ends up getting tiring after the first few chapters. The gameplay loop is that you search for three towers in a large circular area, then head to a large monument to complete a challenge and make it to the end. The gameplay at its best is mediocre and at its worst is downright unplayable (more on that later). Where Windbound does atmosphere and story phenomenally, it fails in its aspirations for gameplay. Unfortunately, that’s where much of Windbound’s strengths end. That part of my brain went wild when it came to new tidbits of information. That’s especially true given I really enjoy theory crafting in stories. It’s not a perfect story by any means, but putting the pieces together to understand what happened here is a joy. This is a very basic premise but is expanded upon at the end of each chapter and in small lore pieces scattered around. With just her survival skills and knife, Kara must learn to adapt and find her back to her tribe. Her boat is shipwrecked, following a mysterious storm that separates her from her tribe. Windbound follows the story of Kara, a member of a tribe searching for new lands. Thankfully joining this is a well-written story. Arrow shots feel as impactful as they should, and the waves offer another source of calm. The same of course goes for the in-game sounds, as each noise hits as hard as expected. I’m excited to see what Fyrosand works on next though, as they’re very talented. The only thing I could’ve asked for was more songs for Windbound, as the same one played in many situations and did get repetitive after a few hours. ![]() The piano strokes all stand out but give a sense of calm between the storms of survival. The best one by far is the one used while traveling in your boat. Each piece conveys this feeling of hope, pushing you along your journey. This is all woven together with a great soundtrack, composed by the lesser-known but incredibly talented Fyrosand. I’d even go as far as saying it rivals the art style of Breath of the Wild, even if that game has a lot more places to utilize it. Whether it be ancient ruins, a lush island, or the open seas, everything is crafted to be uniquely beautiful. Around every corner, there’s a set-piece that’s absolutely breathtaking. ![]() As you’ve likely seen at this point, the game is an artistic masterpiece. Strangely enough, the area where Windbound stands out most is not its gameplay, but rather its atmosphere. Windbound seeks to marry engaging survival mechanics with procedurally generated islands to create something unique and special. One such developer is 5 Lives Studios, who recently put out their survival exploration game Windbound. With the success of that title, other developers are looking to give their take on the idea. Its solid survival mechanics, great art style, and engaging combat draw the player in and get them hooked for hours. It’s no secret that Nintendo’s flagship title Breath of the Wild is one of the biggest games you can play on Switch. Where to Buy: Steam Store, PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Switch eShop, Google Stadia Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia ![]()
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