Screenshot: Deep Silver
Six minutes into Windbound, I died. Quickly after the game began, I found myself stranded on an island with nothing however my wits and a knife. I saw a boar-like creature. It wasnt bothering me, however it had something I needed. So I did what computer game have actually taught me to do and struck it with my knife.
Windbound, out now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One (where I played), and PC, is a survival game set in an oceanic world called the Forbidden Islands. Developed by 5 Lives Studios, Windbound was first revealed in April, through a PlayStation blog post. It gained some attention for bearing resemblance to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
While Windbound might share some DNA with that modern-day classic, its no Zelda game. You do not explore puzzle-packed dungeons and get rid of wicked males with unhealthily orange hair. Your goal, as far as I can tell from 6 hours playing, is to explore the horizon. In each chapter, you have to find 3 bronze ammonite shells, all of which are perched on top of an imposing stone structure that you have to seek out. As soon as you find all 3, youll be able to open up a portal to the next chapter– if you can sail to it prior to you lack stamina.
Deadly error.
The next run went a bit better. I developed a boat. Third run: An enormous swell took control of my boat and sent it careening into a rocky protrusion.
G/O Media may get a commission
Windbound doesnt provide you a compass or waypoints or anything of that nature to help with your journey. Even the map of each level starts off fully shrouded in fog, though it gradually clears as you sail around. Ultimately, youll craft a sail and even a 2nd hull, turning your vessel into a rudimentary catamaran.
Screenshot: Deep Silver
Even in bluebird conditions, when youre that far out, the swells can, well, swell to uneasy proportions. On those days, discovering your method back to safe harbor becomes an adrenaline-pumping workout where, yes, you still have control, but you feel like it can be wrenched away from you at any minute.
At the same time, there are few things more peaceful than kicking back in a small breeze and getting rocked carefully by little waves. Windbound nails this dichotomy. Its a sensation most video games– including, sorry, the age-old Wind Waker– dont fully grasp.
There are two trouble settings in Windbound. Survivalist, “the full Windbound experience,” sends you all the method back to the very first chapter upon death. Writer is a bit more flexible: You keep your chapter progress. A start-from-scratch roguelite structure works well in action-packed video games like Wizard of Legend or Dead Cells. Windbound is a sluggish burn, and passing away can eliminate a lot of laborious progress, so Ive chosen using Storyteller.
In between chapters, youll find yourself in watery passage phases where you require to sail from one portal to the next. For your efforts, youll be rewarded with the alternative to acquire an irreversible ability for your character. (Theyre not exactly game-changing, however some, like one that reduces your stamina deficiency, are reasonably helpful.) In those levels, the music kicks up, and the ocean swells reach typhoon status. Its here where Windbound truly shines for me.
Crafting occurs in real time, kind of like it performs in The Last of United States. (Make sure no boar-beasts are close-by!) You begin with just one crafting recipe, however will slowly find out more as you play. Its a good quality-of-life touch: You dont need to hang around hunting for dishes. Theyll simply appear in your crafting menu.
Windbound also has some roguelite elements. By style, youre forced into circumstances in which you lose over and over again, respawning each time with just the products on your individual. At the start, your inventory is pittance, and consists of some crucial items– for instance, your reliable knife or, ultimately, an oar with untold magical homes– plus seven other slots. It does not help that Kara, the gamer character, isnt precisely made from steel. You have to see both her health and her endurance bars. Endurance progressively diminishes over time, the longer you go without discovering food. Go too long, which appetite will cut into your health bar. Even if you dont get whipped by a wild animal, death in Windbound is near-certain. Wisely curating those 7 slots is essential.
Ive cruised through the first few chapters now, and still havent killed any creatures. Far, I havent needed to. I hope I dont need to.
More sailing the 7 seas:
Windbound, out now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One (where I played), and PC, is a survival video game set in an oceanic realm called the Forbidden Islands. While Windbound might share some DNA with that modern-day classic, its no Zelda game. Even if you do not get mauled by a wild animal, death in Windbound is near-certain. Survivalist, “the full Windbound experience,” sends you all the method back to the very first chapter upon death. Windbound is a slow burn, and dying can remove a lot of tiresome progress, so Ive preferred playing on Storyteller.
