Review Windbound - Journey to the Far East on Switch

Publisher:
Koch Media

Developer: 5 Lives Studios

Release date: March 15, 2019

Platform:
Switch

The genre of survival games has been around for decades, the proliferation of indie games has at the same time brought a new breath of life to help survival games feel like experiencing a renaissance, like Metroidvania and Metroidvania. roguelike genre. Windbound - the latest release from 5 Lives Games - is the latest survival game in this age-old series, with the main highlight here having clear influences from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

All comparisons aside, Windbound has actually implemented its survival mechanics well enough to give itself a solid place in the hearts of fans, and although this is not exactly a game The game makes you experience it right away, but it's still a game worth giving it your attention.

Windbound's story begins with the protagonist Kara, unfortunately, being shipwrecked and eventually having to continue on a lonely journey after a dangerous encounter with the giant Kraken. Of course, Kara's goal is to find her way back home, but the real story isn't just that. Things will gradually unfold when Kara stumbles upon a series of mysterious magical shrines scattered across the islands of the strange sea she's lost in.

Overall, the plot of this game tells about the rise and fall of an ancient civilization, and provides more stories about the Kraken you encounter on your journey. All interesting in its own right, Windbound gives us a beautiful setting that is quite suitable for you to chill in your spare time.

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Windbound is at first glance a roguelike survival game that focuses on activities that include constantly searching for food and materials to make tools. However, there will be quite a few other factors revolving around that make it impossible not to feel the influence of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild also mixed in. Elements like exploring the ruins of an ancient civilization with the use of advanced technology or learning about everything without limits will surely remind you of the special open world adventure. Nintendo colors. However, the similarities mainly stop there, because compared to Zelda, Windbound does not have any decoding features and combat skills are also kept at a very simple level.

The typical process of a level in Windbound consists of five almost indistinguishable openings and endings. Each episode tells the story of Kara and her ship getting caught up in a huge vortex in the ocean, her mission is to sail across the islands to find three magical seashells to unlock the portal (and one random upgrade) so she can be stronger. The islands are randomly generated and scattered around the map, the resources they contain are also unpredictable.

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These islands with a lot of surprises are also the source of the most interesting things that Windbound has to offer and will surely keep you hooked for at least a few hours. Kara has a stamina gauge that governs her ability to run and perform actions. That gauge will drop as Kara does her daily activities or explores the islands. If it runs out, her health bar will start to disappear until she completely dies.

Your main goal is to find all those shells, but to pursue that goal you will necessarily have to search every nook and cranny on the islands to simultaneously find the necessities to help you survive. Okay.

There comes a time when you come to an island and find that there are no animals to hunt and eat, but keep looking because there will be some berries to quench your hunger and some palm leaves to help you build. New mast for his boat. But, contrary to the above luck, you never really know what you will be facing next in Windbound and that is also one of the things that really appeals to you.

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That sense of suddenness makes every decision you make meaningful and effective because you constantly have to balance your costs with the risks. Do you try to take down that Gorehorn to get its parts, or do you choose to avoid combat because your spear is likely to break mid-match? Do you sail to that island on the far horizon or stick with a closer island where you are certain you won't find the food you need?

Whichever option you choose, you will certainly be allowed to upgrade some useful things to make the journey a little easier. Kara can use various materials she finds during her journey to craft things like a stronger boat, new weapons, and new tools for better resources. Of course, not every upgrade is necessary, you can go on the whole journey with just the knife you get at the beginning of the game without anything else, but it will probably be much more interesting when you Set yourself a series of small goals like upgrading something to make it easier to get through the game.

Except for having to do survival missions, playing Windbound makes me feel quite light and relaxing. There's not much to do, which means plenty of time for you to explore the islands at leisure, letting your boat drift with the ocean breeze. Chilling moments like these are also another good point of the game Windbound.

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Once you've got yourself a stockpile full of ingredients and a decent amount of tools, how to survive becomes simpler than ever, but the game also becomes less fun. The reason comes from Windbound not being creative and adding a lot of new content as you move through different parts of the game, which can make the overall experience inconsistent and too lengthy.

The visuals are a Zelda-influenced element, and I feel this quite well as the art style almost perfectly reflects Link's adventures. The characters have realistic proportions, but there's an overall slant of animated shading that creates a soft and pleasing image. The monster designs are mostly cute, and the game world itself has a vibrant and varied color scheme that keeps the seascape quite alive.

Windbound is definitely not the perfect Zelda-lite adventure you'd expect, but the developer has really put a lot of effort into bringing a survival experience that is quite impressive and interesting enough for you to enjoy. walk for a few hours. The open-ended storyline, pleasant art style and slow pace of the game make Windbound a pretty good suggestion for those who love the survival genre.

Kareem Winters

Update 05 January 2022