Windbound (2020)

 PC
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. Malditos Nerds
    Sep 9, 2020
    80
    Windbound is a survival game that takes inspiration in both Breath of the Wild and Wind Waker, two iconic games in the Zelda franchise. The work done by 5 Lives Studios results in a rather nice game experience—especially the sea sailing—that, sadly, feels constantly restricted by its own limitations.
  2. PC Games
    Aug 28, 2020
    70
    Windbound tries to combine Zelda: Breath of the Wild with survival gameplay, and altough it doesn’t completely fail in this endeavour, the end result still leaves a lot to be desired. There’s bugs, there’s repetition, there is, in general, just not a lot of interesting things to do. Which is a shame, because the game looks pretty and has a very nice atmosphere.
  3. The Indie Game Website
    Aug 28, 2020
    70
    Windbound is a lovely little adventure game in a beautiful world. You don’t always have to kill things, and you can generally be a little more relaxed as you journey from island to island and watch the wildlife. It’s not perfect, but I enjoyed my time in the world, and the emotional ride constantly swaying between immensely chilled out and “god d*mn it I died” was one I found quite fun.
  5. PC Invasion
    Sep 2, 2020
    65
    Windbound has lovely visuals and some solid ideas. But it's held back by how old the game's loop gets. Plus, the sailing is so slow and janky that it really . . . takes the wind out of the game's sails. Okay, I'm sorry about that one.
  6. Vandal
    Aug 29, 2020
    60
    Windbound is a beautiful game that offers a great sense of discovery, although it ultimately fails to offer a meaningful experience. Poor combat and a repetitive formula make it hard to recommend if you’re not a big fan of the genre.
  7. IGN
    Sep 1, 2020
    50
    Neither compelling as a survival simulation nor captivating as a story-based experience, Windbound is all at sea.
  8. Wccftech
    Sep 5, 2020
    45
    Windbound wants to offer a deep story backed up by rewarding exploration, crafting and survival in a beautiful open world. However, it only really lands the beautiful open world part of this, with it getting close to the line with the rewarding exploration and crafting aspects. The problem is that for all it wants to offer, Windbound is just too shallow and repetitive and offers no real replay value.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 30
  3. Negative: 12 out of 30
  1. geralto
    Jan 20, 2021
    9
    This game is not for everyone, but that does not mean it's a bad game. I really enjoyed it and it felt like a journey. I loved the scenery,This game is not for everyone, but that does not mean it's a bad game. I really enjoyed it and it felt like a journey. I loved the scenery, which is truly peaceful and beautiful, the sailing mechanics are very interesting and the sailing is my favorite thing to do in the game, and building your own boat is also exciting. Although I have played around 200 games, this was my first survival game, and I didn't like the survival mechanics at first, because I was bad at it, but I have learned to like it as I got better at it. What also helped me appreciate the game more is that Moana is my favorite movie and it reminds of that a bit, and the fact that I have played it in the summer which has also helped with the immersion. It felt like a relaxing trip on a warm summer day. I haven't encountered any bugs btw, and I truly appreciate the work that was put into this game.… Full Review »
  2. crestnest
    Feb 7, 2022
    9
    I create account on Metacritics solely to post this comment.
    I think the game is great. Some people didn`t like it - and I get it (it is not    I create account on Metacritics solely to post this comment.
    I think the game is great. Some people didn`t like it - and I get it (it is not for everyone). But I found it beautiful. I like how sailing works. I like crafting. I like the style of visuals. And simplistic story was actually nice.
    Most of all I really REALLY like sailing (especially with strong wind). You almost feel the speed and wind in your hair. The game started shining for me from the point when i create my first mast...
    I`m very sad that the game gets so many negative reviews. It is sad to see. I hope at least people get enough money from creating this game. I personallu would like to see if not Windbound 2, then at least some game of same quality and style.    … Full Review »
  3. ClikeX
    Jul 6, 2021
    4
    The premise of this game is intriguing. It offers Wind Waker nostalgia in a sandbox(y) setting. And on paper, I should love this game. Yet,The premise of this game is intriguing. It offers Wind Waker nostalgia in a sandbox(y) setting. And on paper, I should love this game. Yet, it's interesting mechanics clash so drastically that it ultimately strips them of their enjoyment. This is a game where luck matters more than skill, most of the time.

    Windbound starts you of in an ocean with a few procedurally generated islands. The goal is to activate 3 towers and then go to a large shrine to go to the next chapter. Each chapter increases the ocean's size and available islands. Meanwhile, the player needs to maintain a boat, craft equipment, and feed a hunger meter.

    While the survival aspect does add a certain flair to the isolation of the story. The game regularly fails to generate appropriate resources for the player to use. At times, I've found resources I'd have no use for yet early in the game, while giving me nothing that I could use. Forcing me to leave it behind since I wasn't able to craft any storage yet.

    The most annoying thing is when it fails to generate enough food to satiate the ridiculous hunger meter. Which depletes at such a high rate that it forces you to rush from island to island. Which in effect kills the seemingly calm aesthetic that the game is trying to push.

    This clash in mechanics could've been forgiven somewhat if the controls were smooth enough. Unfortunately, these are just as unpolished.

    Combat feels sluggish, and unimpressive. Combat tactics usually boil down to standing on a boulder and throwing rocks at an enemy, as they are unable to reach you here. I know there's better weapons and skills later on. But the starting combat is so unsatisfying that you'll be likely to turn off the game before getting to that point.

    Meanwhile, the required towers feels like they were just an afterthought. Jumping to a ledge doesn't trigger the climb animation a lot of times. For such an integral piece of the game, this should've been polished a lot more. It's not even that the towers are a challenge to climb, but the annoying ledge mechanic makes them a tedious chore.

    In the end, Windbound feels like a great concept. The procedural generation needs to be balanced to have a better spread of resources, so the game doesn't feel like it's punishing players for bad luck.

    As it stands, this game feels like an Early Access indie title, and not a final release.    … Full Review »
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