Luminous, durable and impossibly sharp, this blade cuts as well today as it did a hundred years ago. How or where the ancestors acquired these Sea Shards remains a mystery, but few would deny their efficacy. Nevertheless, this salt-treated wooded oar remains sturdy and functional, despite its age. The Oceanic Gyre was revered in times past, though its true significance is enigmatic to Kara’s people today. Windbound provides slings and bows and arrows for this, letting you reclaim arrows from enemies after killing them. Since hunting is key part of the experience, so is crafting weapons, and discovering which weapon is best for each situation. This treasured garment – fit for either a warrior or a priest – has been handed down from generation to generation, and now the time has come for Kara to honour her past. Kara needs to eat so she doesn’t starve, as it ties into the game’s stamina system. Though the tale of their downfall has been lost to time, their legacy lives on in these artefacts that have endured to this day. Hunters, fishers, warriors, poets and philosophers, their stories tell of a people who lived in perfect harmony with the natural world and swam the deep waters in the company of gods. The story is all still a bit of a mystery, but based on just an hour or so with the game I’m already intrigued to learn more and see where the waves take me next.To Kara's tribe, the exploits of her ancestors are legendary. Windbound It’s a familiar formula in a foreign package that effortlessly blends together elements of survival/crafting games along with roguelikes and procedurally generated sandbox adventures. It’s just silly enough to be endearing but not wonky. Character animations are surprisingly fluid, especially while climbing and swimming, with a really slick physics system behind it all that reminded me a little bit of Breath of the Wild when Kara inevitably falls or gets hurt. Another unexpected standout is just how good it felt to explore and roam around the islands. It’s fast-paced and just a tad bit floaty, something I liked since it made things feel unique. You’ve even got the ability to dodge roll and be stealthy by crouching and sneaking. There’s an enemy lock-on function, plus a variety of weapons from your indestructible knife to spears, slings, and bows. “Speaking of combat, since Windbound is a third-person action-adventure style game from a gameplay mechanics perspective, the flow of battle is better than most in the survival genre. On Storyteller you keep your entire inventory, don’t lose Chapter progress, and combat is a bit easier. However, the main difference is that you get to keep any items in the ‘Held’ section of the inventory, but lose anything in bags. But for now, it’s time to set sail with Kara on a heroic voyage that will see her overcome challenges that test her resolve and will to survive. On Survivalist, when you die, you’re booted all the way back to the start of Chapter 1 when you first awake. Windbound, the new survival-crafting, open-world role-playing game, has launched digitally today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia and PC via Epic Games Store & Steam. There are two difficulty options: Survivalist and Storyteller. Battling the ebb and flow of the water, while maintained balance, gets tough. Not only is wind direction a thing, but the waves can be downright perilous at times during big storms. After building a ship by combining various parts like multiple hulls and types of sails together, you can set off on your own. Each island is procedurally generated, ensuring you won’t have the same adventure twice, so once you hunt all the creatures, gather all the resources, and exhaust what’s available you’ve got to move on and continue crossing the Forbidden Islands. So instead of farming the same areas for identical resources forever, Windbound requires you to stay mobile. From the very first island creatures are immediately outlandish and the game’s general focus on becoming a traveling nomad immediately fosters a sense of constant discovery, which is a welcomed change of pace for a genre that’s usually about doing the same things over and over again. There are hints of a really intriguing story here, or at least a well-realized setting that has room for lore expansion. Within the first few minutes I had found an ancient, stone altar that imbued my necklace with powerful, glowing blue energy. Rather than simply scrounging for materials, there is a heavy ambiance of mystery and discovery at the core of Windbound. That’s not very original, but the execution is where it truly soars. The goal is to explore and adapt to the landscape around you and embark on perilous adventures. You’re hungry and ill-equipped to survive. You awaken in a deserted region of the idyllic Forbidden Islands as Kara, an abandoned warrior, surrounded by stormy seas. Windbound begins much like many games of this type, but doesn’t take long to feel fresh and unique.
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