I was under the assumption that by choosing story mode, this meant that I would retain my items and not have to go back to the beginning of the game but that wasn't always the case. By this I mean that when I died, it was a toss-up whether or not I would start on the same island or if I would come back on the very first island. I found that this happened sometimes and then other times, not at all. Granted, I was still within the same chapter, but this meant that I had to get the materials again to craft a boat and make my way around the island again. "For me, Windbound could have been an incredible game if more care was put into it from a gameplay perspective."Īt one point in the game, I ended up dying by falling through the map which brought me back at the very beginning of where I started. This lead the game to become dull and extremely repetitive. From my time with Windbound, there were no puzzle elements to speak of other than, at most, pressing a symbol or inserting a Nautilus key you also pick up from these shrine-like towers. Maybe a puzzle or the need to decipher some symbols, but simply pushing myself up some stones to reach the top without any effort and just pressing a button felt like a major missed opportunity. As I said in my preview of the game, I would have liked to have more of a challenge here to obtain the blue energy that mysteriously gets soaked into Kara's necklace. Climbing these towers is your main objective and again, it's a rather cumbersome ordeal. When you're not getting distracted by the animals of the island, you'll notice tall towers with a ball of blue light enclosed at the top. I found that all of the creatures I came across on Windbound's islands pretty much followed the same behavioral patterns and even though you do stumble across new and interesting to look at animals - on land and sea - they lacked imagination. The best way to encounter a Gorehorn, in my experience, is to get enough materials to craft a bow and then shoot at it from a distance because getting up close and personal isn't a thrilling endeavor at all. For example: tackling the horned beast is slow and moving out of its way sometimes can see you getting its business end up your butt, knocking you across the grass. The combat mechanics are sluggish and in need of reshaping. Whilst taking on a boar is relativity simple, going up against a Gorehorn is a lackluster and frustrating experience. Going around the land you'll find the items you need to craft items like a spear and other weapons. To do so, you'll need the proper equipment. Of course, in order to get food, you'll need to hunt these animals for things like leather, horns, and meat. This is also where the game almost immediately lost its appeal for me.Īrriving on the next island you're greeted with some rich pastures, trees, creatures like boars called Gorehorns, and cute little rabbit-like critters called Bleenks. Unfortunately, you do need to eat in order to survive so getting yourself onto the next island is a must. As the waves lap against your boat and gently sway you accompanied by an unbelievably relaxing score, you will want to stay there forever. When you approach other islands, you'll notice the wonderful color scheme of the game's coral reefs made up of striking blues, reds, and a host of other shades. The ocean really is a beautiful and inviting feature in Windbound. There could have been some very basic settings like being able to change Kara's hair, shape, or skin color but, unfortunately, that wasn't available and I feel for the immersion value, this option would have been welcomed. Even though this wasn't a deal-breaker for me, I think it's important, to a degree, to allow the player to feel like they identify with who they are playing, especially so when the title offers up to 40 hours of gameplay. I was saddened to see that other than being able to change in and out of the Ancestral outfit, the standard Hunter gear, or any other outfits maintained throughout the game, I wasn't able to customize Kara. Since this particular copy of the game was a pre-order bonus, I was equipped with the Ancestral customer pack for Kara, Windbound's main protagonist. The Survivalist is obviously a little harder meaning that if I died, I would be taken straight back to Chapter one again without any of the held items in my inventory. I chose the Storyteller difficulty setting which would let me enjoy more of the Windbound tale and retain items I acquired if I happened to die. Thankfully, you have a choice on how you want to play the game and that's always a great start to any title. No words are spoken so you gage the gameplay by what you see, learn, and discover. Windbound is a third-person survival game with roguelike elements and a subtle environmental narrative. "I found that needed a lot more work if it wanted to sail into the sunset with greatness."
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