Windbound Critic Reviews

Windbound is a delight. With a few UX issues and a bit of repetition holding it back from all-time-great status, this game is still a wonder to explore and discover. The sailing is fantastic, the island exploration is intriguing, and the sting of dying isn't so bad that it should scare away roguelike-haters. The world of Windbound is so well made that you may want to dip into it just to hang out for a while. Fun, exciting, and rewarding.

Overall, Windbound is a genuinely enjoyable experience. With its charming visuals, rewarding gameplay, and earnest game design, it has successfully sailed across the sea of mediocre single-player survival games and reached a new high.

Windbound is a pleasant and not too challenging survival game, ideal for those who love the sea and want to explore incredible natural landscapes.

Windbound presents itself as a serene experience, full of gorgeous locales and charming visuals. Underneath this nomadic glamour, hides a core of rogue-like brutality and the ever-present threat of death, with an inevitable restart to the beginning coming to those who brazenly disregard the dangers. This difficulty will divide many, but with perseverance, the game turns into an experience worth taming, with rewarding exploration, fun seafaring gameplay and a constant sense of rewarding progression.

Where the game really excels is in its beautiful, colourful graphics and the relaxing atmosphere they help to create. There is also a deep lore to discover as you travel across the archipelago, culminating in a seafaring experience that’s sure to make waves.

An atmospheric adventure with some tense highlight, but unfortunately not reaching its full potential.

Windbound has several interesting ideas and is very nice to look at and listen to, but unfortunately the experience suffers from some flaws – for example, the procedural generation doesn’t make for particularly interesting level design. But above everything else, it lacks rhythm.

Windbound is pretty much a breath of fresh air for the sandbox-survival-crafting scenario where the sense of exploration is the real protagonist. It’s easy to pick up and easy to play, but one would wish the enemy AI was smarter and technical side as a whole, less buggy.

Windbound is a game that presents a great approach, but fails to execute. However, despite its mistakes, it manages to stand out thanks to its artistic design, its own identity and a solidity in its survival system.

Windbound is a beautiful, relaxing experience that uses its survival mechanics not to force tension, but encourage you to keep moving forward. Its art style is absolutely stunning and the soundtrack – while occasionally sparse with periods of silence – is moving and invigorating. Despite its minor bugs, Windbound is like a great, narrative-driven introduction to the world of survival mechanics and something that is infinitely replayable.

Windbound’s direction blows in the wind. It wants to be a relaxing seafaring simulator, an unforgiving survival struggle, and a haunting tribal tale all at once. As such, you will have a polarizing experience depending on what you look for - and this is a mixed bag. But, even if you want to give up after going in circles or dying of hunger, the colors and stunning vistas you shall witness will surely sweep you away.

Windbound’s visual appeal is sure to lure in players expecting an entirely different experience. That said, I grew to love a game that I initially couldn’t stand. It’s beautiful, charming, captivating, and completely brutal without apology. One of my favorite games of the year so far.

With its wind sailing gameplay and island exploration, Windbound takes a unique method of adventure and makes it into a game that players can sink their teeth into for a long time. The driving force of trying to find out what's beyond the next island is going to be something many gamers enjoy, and the gameplay loop doesn't require much more than that to keep players invested. Windbound is a great game and, while it isn't perfect by any stretch, it's well worth checking out for anyone intrigued by its unique blend of aesthetic and gameplay.

Windbound is a game that requires a lot of patience and by combining survival and adventure gameplay into one, it successfully creates a unique identity. There are a few shortcomings with sailing and crafting could use some additional depth, but 5 Lives Studios have brought us an entertaining adventure. if you can put these issues aside, this is an experience that comes recommended.

Windbound is a good survival game, but it fails to deliver a real vibrant story and a good rhythm during exploration and crossing phases.

Kara's vicissitudes lack the right bite to keep the player glued to his seat and keep one's attention, although the art direction remains delightful overall. Unfortunately Windbound is plagued by a basic monotony that permeates the plot, the islands explored, and even the music. Very pleasant but soon repetitive.

Windbound is a fun experience that breaks the survival game mold. The boat crafting and sailing are innovative features that were exciting to explore. Although the positives were very strong, the quality of life issues made the experience tedious. Windbound excels in standing alone in a saturated genre, but doesn't shine through enough.

The more I played the less the goings-on of the narrative bothered me, and the more I relished the wavelike rhythm of the action: the roll and crash of sailing and breaking to alight for supplies.

Windbound is a personal journey, a rogue-like survival action RPG that you will love or hate.

Windbound is a chill survival game, a sort of an ASMR videogame. Unfortunately, its narrative is poor and evanescent and it restricts the game experience.