Where Winds Meet

Where Winds Meet is a free to play epic with fair monetization, tons of content, and outstanding overall value.

Where Winds Meet is a casserole of gameplay genres that blend very nicely with each other. This gorgeous game invites exploration and is supplemented by a fun combat system that doesn’t get old. So far there are no P2W mechanics in this F2P game, only cosmetics and a bunch of mats that are easily farmed in game. The amazing experience is only trumped by awful voice acting and overuse of AI chat and voiceovers with bad localization. These are all fixable issues, and I think Where Winds Meet is here to stay.

An unexpected gem from the East that, contrary to its very nature, is full of content, heart and soul that we rarely see in Western games.

Where Winds Meet is one messy and unapologetically dense online game. It tried to mix all the good and the bad of open-world games and staple features of live-service releases -- whether it actually works or not. But it's the first time a wuxia game, or even an MMO in general, has truly felt like a living, breathing world -- not just a theme park of instanced dungeons and fetch quests. Anyone hunting for their next timesink, whether solo or with friends, will find Where Winds Meet surprisingly easy to get hooked on.

One of the most interesting games of this year is free. You will enjoy it mainly in solo mode supplemented with online components. It will open up the rich world of Chinese martial arts for you.

Where Winds Meet delivers an exceptional open-world experience, successfully blending an engaging story, meaningful activities, a solid combat system paired with competent character progression, a wealth of multiplayer options, and one of the most lively cities in the genre. Though some of its features and mechanics suffer from the constraints of the free-to-play model, the good undeniably outweighs the bad, making it a rare title that can captivate even players who typically avoid similar open-world games, easily providing hundreds of hours of content even in its launch state.

Where Winds Meet is a decidedly atypical free-to-play game, which, unlike many of its counterparts, has embraced a philosophy devoid of any pay-to-win mechanics. Not only does this system work, but it is also supported by a combat system and exploration that do their job well and are enjoyable, regardless of whether you decide to play alone or with other users. The only real flaw in this production remains the menus, whose complexity is excessive and could discourage many players who, without this kind of defect, could enjoy the wuxia adventure much more.

Where Winds Meet is over-ambitious, messy, opaque, and inconsistent. It has too many gears that don’t mesh, a lot that’s poorly explained, and it refuses to give the player a moment of unproductive time, even at the cost of coherence and comprehensibility. For all that, Where Winds Meet is a lot of fun. It often looks incredible and the world is certainly filled with content, whether for a single player or in a group. Even without touching the cash shop, Where Winds Meet provides a huge amount of free game play. Right now, Where Winds Meet is a little shy of greatness, but with some technical improvements and time it could get there.

Where Winds Meet is a very ambitious project, which deserves all the attention it received since its launch date. The game has features and activities for every kind of player. Those who like to build can create an entire city, while socially active players can form guilds or even marry each other. There are plenty of battle challenges to satisfy the fighters and enough places for explorers to visit. With its unique blend of elements, this game appeals to a wide range of tastes. So everyone should try this free game and find out if it's the right fit.

Where Winds Meet is a surprising game in many ways, and if you manage to get through its unbearable first few hours, you may well find yourself drawn into its open world with its thousand promises. Completely free, once you get past the skin system, Everstone's title combines the combat of Sekiro with the exploration of Genshin Impact, incorporating MMO components that suit it perfectly. However, it's far from perfect: poor translation, the usual F2P retention mechanics, a lack of overall polish... The experience is good, certainly, but definitely not for everyone.

Where Winds Meet is a massive triumph, mixing genres and embracing the complex world of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. It's a fun game filled with all sorts of interesting things to do, people to meet, and mini games to play. The world is massive and feels real and full, and the combat is varied, flowy, and fun. Unfortunately, it does have a lot of issues with bugs and translations. It is a gacha game, but basically only for cosmetics and a season pass.

Where Winds Meet feels like a jack-of-all-trades in the martial arts world, dabbling in swords, spears and staffs, but never truly mastering any of them. The game's strengths are often undermined by its weaker elements, leaving it as a competent but unremarkable martial artist. There's no denying its skill, but that makes its shortcomings all the more disappointing.

A stunning ingame world filled with tons of entertaining tasks is clashing with too many systems that suffocate Where Winds Meet.

Where Winds Meet is a game that has incredible highs and extreme lows. It has wonderful boss fights that make the combat shine, showcasing that with the right mechanical skill, you can make an intense fight an amazing spectacle. The combat and exploration are the highlights as a whole, but when you’re not in a boss fight, you’ll be exploring, doing puzzles and experiencing the main story. All of which are serviceable, especially as a free-to-play game, but they could have most certainly been handled in a way that makes them more enjoyable. The co-op modes are limited, requiring you to get through a decent chunk of the game before they are something that you and friends can play through and enjoy. Even with all the issues, it isn’t a bad game by any means, and it's fun when you get to the in-depth and interesting portions. It does end up being somewhat limited by the format chosen by the developer, making it difficult to enjoy every minute that you do end up playing.

It's not surprising that Where Winds Meet drew millions of players after its initial release in China. Almost anyone can find something they enjoy in it, and there's enough there to sink hours into. But as a jack of all trades and master of none, it won't likely be many people's favorite.

Where Winds Meet is a massive, gorgeous wuxia adventure that’s fun whether you want to play solo or engage with the community. Combat is fun, the world is beautifully realized, and the storytelling is engaging. Some of the systems can feel a little clunky, but not in a way that would turn players away. Where Winds Meet tells a huge, sweeping story that’ll keep you busy for 150+ hours or more, and with weapons ranging from swords and rope darts to umbrellas and fans, this has all the trappings to let you live out your fantasy as the hero in your own martial arts epic.

Where Winds Meet tries to do too many things at once, which ends up in a way typical for this approach – there are many activities and mechanics, but none of them are particularly impressive.

There is a shocking amount of things to do in Where Winds Meet. If you’re into gacha or are just okay with trying something for free that is pretty rough around the edges, Where Winds Meet does have a lot of content that can be fun to engage in, especially with friends. If you’re just looking for a solo adventure with a good story to digest and cool combat, you’ll probably be let down, as Where Winds Meet doesn’t quite hit the highs that plenty of other games do in the action RPG genre.

We can't help wondering if a narrowing of scope, instead of crowbarred-in construction mechanics or a baffling option to interact with NPCs that function like in-world AI chatbots, may have given this fiction real room to breathe. For now, there are too many winds blowing in different directions. [Issue#418, p.108]

Perhaps there’s a version of Where Winds Meet that isn’t throttled by the storm of its own lofty aspirations. It has a great understanding of what makes wuxia such a compelling subgenre of fantasy fiction, bleeding into the vibrancy of it’s characters and the flair of its combat. But it becomes clear pretty quickly that the attempt to shove many different kinds of experiences into one game – open world adventure, action-heavy MMO, musical rhythm game, card battler, etc. – only ensures that none of these elements reach their full potential. Instead, Where Winds Meet is an amusement park where every ride is being run at half speed, and the sugary treats at the concession stands come with piles of paperwork to complete before you can chow down.

Where Winds Meet has potential. We're starting to see RPGs in a Wuxia setting, and this is perhaps the most compelling one yet. The number of activities varies greatly, and the combat feels wonderful. The game's vastness means that there's loads of longevity, even if the experience can feel like a grind at times. The many systems at play can lead to a confusing experience, especially since the game does a poor job of teaching you the gameplay mechanics. The spotty presentation doesn't do the game any favors when coupled with the lack of translation in places. If you're willing to put up with all of these hindrances from the start, you'll find a game that does a good job of keeping you interested. Most people will be better served by waiting to see if the team can add some much-needed polish before jumping in.