Food tends to spoil faster than it’s eaten though, so being mindful of how much you need to carry can free up vital backpack slots. Virtually everything has a lifespan in Windbound, and mostly it’s long enough that it’s not onerous to make another one. Some can be tackled at close quarters, others are best kept at arms length, just make sure whatever weapon you’re using isn’t going to degrade before you’ve got the job done. With a real mix of aggressive and passive creatures where each has a unique item dropped for crafting, you’ll need to learn the tactics to take them down. Whilst there’s a lot of sailing, which manages to be calming and frantic at the same time, there’s also a lot of trekking around different landscapes and hunting wildlife. Gaining that sense of mastery of Windbound doesn’t come easily, and it brings with it a real sense of achievement, especially if it opens up the path to even greater discoveries. Likewise, adding armour panels to the hull will make your craft virtually indestructible and stop those unfortunate moments of hitting a coral reef and losing half the ship into the depths. Here you can strap one to the skiff and take it with you, cutting down on the essentials needing to be carried, and making it way more convenient. With most survival games fire is an essential for cooking and crafting, and building new ones as you explore is part of the heartbeat of the gameplay. Finding better materials and crafting more capable tools means that canoes become catamarans with decks and all manner of useful kit on board. Starting out with a canoe to paddle to the next island is enjoyable enough, but as the distances between shores become greater, and the perils of the deep become more apparent, a few bits of woven grass aren’t going to cut it. Kara’s journey and ability to not suddenly find herself back at the beginning of one of the 5 chapters is weighted heavily towards having a vessel to sail the seas. Oh, and it’s procedurally generated too so dying means a reworking of the landscape ahead. Sure, the hardcore amongst you will want to take this head-on and relish the challenge of the Survival mode, but it’s really good to see a different option available that lets players get more from the game. Of course, there’s the demand to keep hunger at bay and replenish health and stamina, yet the reduced risk of losing loads of progress means it’s not as much of chore as it can be. This subtly changes the pace and urgency of the game and lets you relax into the exploration of the islands dotted within the sea. Death is still part of the gaming cycle, though it only resets to the beginning of the current chapter, and it lets you keep whatever is in your backpack at the time. The latter though is aimed at those of us that really do want to see the end of the game instead of the inside of a shark for the 100th time. The former treats your adventure in the traditional style with all progress being reset back to the beginning of the game if you die, save for a couple of items you’re carrying on your person. Pleasantly, my fears were assuaged within the first few seconds of Windbound when the menu screen offered me the choice of Survival or Story modes. By activating strange artefacts hidden in towers she’s able to trigger a portal that takes her a step closer to home, providing she can make it through a trial that is. Moving from island to island, scavenging materials and fighting off predators is standard survival game fare, though there is purpose in Kara’s journey. The island isn’t what you’d call big though, and won’t have enough to sustain Kara for more than a few hours, so it’s time to get creative and build a boat to head out into the choppy ocean and see what she can find. Waking up stranded on a small island with no food or equipment, she needs to start figuring out what’s good to eat and what to stay away from pretty quickly. The setting of Windbound is shrouded in mystery, the only things known for sure at the start are that you’re playing Kara, a warrior shipwrecked when she’s left behind by the fleet. On the surface it looks calm, welcoming and friendly, so it’s sure to have teeth underneath… right? It’s with that mixture of feelings that I approached Windbound, a new survival action RPG developed by 5 Lives Studios and published by Deep Silver. I just wish that they’d be a bit more forgiving on the likes of us that lack the patience for incremental gains. Of course, that’s the hook that’s built into them to keep you playing where with each incarnation you make a bit more progress and see more of what the world has to offer. I hate playing them at times because they can be so punishing, and the cycle wears me down. I love the idea of the genre and the persistent hardships that need to be overcome by crafting or eating. I’ve a love/hate affair with survival games.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |