Windblown Review: A Delightful Roguelite Experience

About a week ago, I was checking out my Steam ‘Discovery Queue,’ looking for a new game that I didn’t need. As I neared the end of my queue, I accepted that I may have to tackle my backlog. However, on my next click, something caught my eye. As soon as I finished the absolutely stunning trailer, I knew that I wanted to write a Windblown review. While the game was released in early access, I could tell that it was going to be a thrilling and beautiful experience from the start.

Windblown is a roguelite created by Motion Twin, the same studio that developed Dead Cells. A roguelite is defined by a few characteristics like: progressing as you die, unlocking new gear/upgrades, and more storyline elements than a roguelike game (which tend to be more harsh on the player, with elements like permadeath). Since I played Crypt Custodian, I found that I actually have a lot of love for action games. Particularly ones that both have a little mercy on the player and include some absolutely gorgeous settings. Windblown checks these boxes and so many more!

Story – Leap Into the Vortex

In Windblown, you and many others live blissfully on a floating village called the Ark, which orbits a dangerous Vortex. However, the peace has been disrupted. The Vortex is threatening to swallow the Ark whole! As a result, you become a Leaper. Leapers are tasked with entering the Vortex and defeating the Sentinels within. Along the way, you’ll be able to unlock ‘memories’ from the Leapers before you. They’ll grant you gifts to help on your current adventure and sometimes even new weapons to bring along next time. The hope is that within the center, you’ll be able to find some answers in order to keep the Vortex at bay.

It’s no easy task, and you will die. A lot. Luckily, the Ark has some great technology and plenty of helpful people inhabiting it. You’re outfitted with a ‘Pulsor,’ which is what allows you to come back to life and return to the Ark each time you die. You’ll be able to unlock new weapons and upgrades as well before jumping into the cannon to be blasted right back into the Vortex.

As the game is still in early access, this is all we know about the story so far. We’re highly likely to get more details with further updates, or when the game is fully released. Even so, I’m intrigued! I want to know what’s at the center of the Vortex and how we can help save the Ark.

Gameplay – I Hope You Like Dying

While the gameplay in Windblown is simple, it’s far from easy. The game is very cyclical (as most roguelites are), in the sense that you start a run, die, upgrade and do it all over again. You begin your journey each time in the Golem Gardens, gloriously fighting your way through a variety of enemies. While the biomes are always in the same order, they change a bit each time. From the paths you choose to take to the random roster of enemies or hidden pathways, it’s difficult to become bored in the Vortex. Remember to also look out for lost members of the Ark! Once you find and return them, they’ll help out in various ways back on the Ark.

The beauty here really lies within building the perfect combination of weapons, trinkets, boosts and gifts to maximize your runs. Trinkets are essentially secondary weapons that come with a cooldown. Some examples include freeze bombs, whirlwind attacks, and grenades. If your goal is to ‘beat’ the Vortex each time, you’ll quickly become frustrated. You’re supposed to die! Once I changed my mindset to finding the best combinations for me, as well as focusing on unlocking more upgrades, the game became a lot more fun.

Co-op: The Real Star of Windblown

If you’re playing Windblown alone, it can sometimes get frustrating that you can’t get past that one boss or that you died before you got that one last hit in. A lot of the time, I’m barely surviving on my own. I’m not saying that it’s impossible (there’s a high chance I’m just not that good), but you know what they say: four weapons are better than two, right? Something like that.

If playing this game on your own is a fun challenge, playing with your friends is truly gratifying. I was able to convince my boyfriend to buy the game as well so we could play together, and we had an absolute blast. We didn’t necessarily get any farther than I did on my own, but the deaths didn’t feel so personal. We were able to compliment the other’s weaknesses and laugh about them at the same time.

Not only does co-op (for up to three players!) make the game feel a lot lighter, but it’s done extremely well, too. One of my biggest gripes with co-op experiences is when you feel like whoever you’re playing with is holding you back, even if that’s just your perception. I can get frustrated when the cameras are locked together, or when your teammate leaves you in the dust. Windblown addresses these problems and so many more. Your cameras are independent of each other, but if you get separated, you can teleport directly to them in just a few seconds. Also, there isn’t much room for fighting over loot, as most of it’s shared equally between the team. You can even find boosts that benefit everyone!

There’s Room to Grow

Of course, being in early access means that the game is still in active development. However, I’d like to point out a few things that I think could help improve the game a bit from its current state. One of my biggest complaints is the lack of a true ‘pause,’ particularly in single player. It makes sense to exclude this feature in co-op, but I just can’t see a viable reason for it when you’re playing alone. Currently, when you ‘pause,’ everything in the background continues on. I actually died because of this once, not realizing that enemies were still actively attacking me as I stepped away to grab a package. It was not only frustrating, but unnecessary.

I also can’t help but feel that as of right now, the game is designed for co-op. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad thing! Still, I think that the game could use a bit of balancing for single players. The grind is a large part of roguelites, but there’s a fine line between finding that rewarding versus punishing. It’s not horrible, but big bosses in particular felt like incredibly large challenges as a single player. I have faith that the developers will keep a close eye on this, though!

Lastly, when playing in co-op, when there’s only one player left, ‘sudden death’ activates. The developers have already addressed this a bit and acknowledged that this mechanic, while intense, isn’t very fun. They explained that their goal was to build a strong incentive to work together and keep the entire team alive. While I understand the original idea, it’s just too brutal. I’m really glad to see that they’ve already recognized this and plan to continue working on it in the future.

Audio & Visuals – The Cherry on Top

Listen to me. This game is beautiful. You probably guessed that from the stunning trailer up above, and I did as well, but I was still blown away (pun intended) when I actually loaded in to the first biome. The colors, lighting, camera angles… all of it comes together to create a gorgeous setting, even though almost everything inside of it is trying to kill you.

Each biome is visually satisfying in it’s own way. While the Golem Gardens blew me away with it’s waterfalls and lush grasses, the Factory had me in awe of all of the moving pieces and awesome machinery. As I was ziplining and dashing through the different platforms, I couldn’t help but marvel at the world around me. Unfortunately this is as far as I’ve gotten, but I imagine the other biomes have just as much thought put into them. I’m certainly excited to find out!

Audio – An Eccentric Affair

Audio is easy to overlook in a game, but Windblown does a fantastic job of weaving it into your experience in a way that’s hard to ignore. The ark and each biome has it’s own music to help set the scene. Sometimes even certain places within a biome has it’s own audio to discover, like the hot springs. As you check your weapon at the door and slip into the serene waters, the music seems to stop, leaving you with a rare moment of true peace.

The music in this game is a bit hard to describe. Sometimes it feels like lo-fi, and other times I swear you’d find it in an anime intro. Across the board, though, it’s an exquisite addition to the game as a whole. I don’t often choose to listen to game audio, instead opting for a podcast or my own music, but I found myself putting on headphones just to enjoy what Windblown was offering. In this game, the details really bring the whole thing together, and the audio is no exception. If you play the game for yourself, I highly recommend throwing some headphones on and immersing yourself entirely, at least for a little while.

Verdict

When I first stumbled upon Windblown, I had a feeling it was going to be a great game. I wasn’t disappointed. Although it’s still in early access, this game has a lot to offer. If you’ve been thinking of trying a roguelite for the first time, I think Windblown would be a great place to start. It’s challenging enough to give you the full experience, while also having just enough mercy to keep you playing for hours. Of course, it’s not perfect, but the developers seem to be keeping a close eye on player feedback. In just the last week, they’ve put out two updates and hosted an AMA to address some of the known issues.

If what you’ve read here interests you, you should definitely check the game out for yourself. I’m very hopeful for future updates/content, and I can’t wait to see what the developers will add. All in all, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Windblown. Now, if I could just beat that second boss…

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