Windbound Preview

Windbound is developed by 5 Lives Studios and will be available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, NS and Stadia on August 28. It is a single player survival game, and its watercolor art style is somewhat similar to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Sailing on a ship, the ancient mystery sounds whispered in the ears. These distinctive settings highlight the whimsical charm of the game. This work feels like a stand-alone version of Corrosion after the combination of Raft and Wind Waker. Recently, I was lucky to try this well-made survival game. I played it for a while from the early stage of the game, and then used a certain save in the mid-term to experience some specific processes. In general, this game impressed me.

At the beginning, Windbound seemed to be the traditional routine of survival games, but soon, fresh and unique content came in. After the protagonist Kara wakes up, he finds himself in a barren land in the Forbidden Islands of the idyllic windy islands, surrounded by only the storm-ravaging sea, so the drama "Abandoned Warriors Survival on the Isolated Island" kicks off. At first, the protagonist was hungry and poorly equipped, and struggled to survive. At this time, players need to begin to explore gradually, adapt to the environment, and gradually go deeper into the adventure. Although this form is not a pioneer, the real uniqueness lies in its specific performance. 

The content of Windbound is by no means confined to collecting materials. The core of the game is the numerous puzzles on the island and the player's journey of exploration. In the first few minutes of the game, I discovered an old stone altar that injected a certain blue power into my necklace. Various clues are scattered around the island, all hinting at the hidden mystery of the plot, and also providing a broad space for the expansion of the background story.

When I first saw island creatures, I was attracted by their peculiar appearance. The game encourages players to travel around the island and keep exploring. Compared with other similar games that overemphasize the repetitive and tedious work of collecting materials, this game can be said to be a significant improvement in gameplay.

In Windbound, players don't need to brush fixed materials in a certain area all the time. On the contrary, this game encourages players to keep moving. Each island is generated procedurally, so players will never encounter two identical islands. When the player has hunted and killed all the creatures on the island, collected all the necessary resources, and drained all the value, they can board the boat and head to the next island of the archipelago.

However, sailing itself is also full of challenges. After the player prepares various materials and builds the sailboat by himself, he gains the ability to sail. However, in the course of sailing, players should not only pay attention to the wind direction, but also be careful of the dangerous waves during the storm. It takes a lot of effort to sail through the tides just to maintain balance.

There are two difficulty options for this game, namely Survivalist and Storyteller. In the survival mode, once the protagonist dies, the game will restart from the beginning of the first chapter. At this time, the player will lose all equipment and props except for the items with the "reserved" option. In the story mode, the player will not lose any items after the protagonist dies, and the level can be renewed directly, and the battle will be easier.

Speaking of the combat system, since Windbound is a third-person action adventure game, it is superior to most other survival games in terms of combat mechanics. Moreover, this game has a wealth of weapons, from small knives that will not damage to spears, slings, bows and arrows, and it has an enemy lock function to assist players in combat. Players can avoid attacks by tumbling and other actions, and even sneak attacks. In general, the fighting rhythm is fast and elegant, and the style is unique, which is quite to my taste.

In addition, the game experience of exploring islands and roaming everywhere is also great, which is quite unexpected. The characters move smoothly, especially in animations such as climbing and swimming. Thanks to the excellent physics engine, when the protagonist Kara falls or gets injured, there is even a sense of sight of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The characters' movements are cute and not excessive, which deserves recognition.

Windbound uses familiar formulas to make unique dishes that combines elements of survival creation genre and Roguelite rules to provide players with a new sandbox adventure game. The story narrative of this book is full of fog. I only played for an hour and I was attracted by the wonderful content. I can't wait to continue the game and explore the mystery of the unknown island in the wind and waves.