Windward

1. bismar7

   May 23, 2015

   10

   Currently my favorite game to play of the last couple weeks, easily in my top ten all time. I kinda like this game so this is a bit long. ToCurrently my favorite game to play of the last couple weeks, easily in my top ten all time. I kinda like this game so this is a bit long. To summarize, this is a great game if you like arpgs, ship battles, or group play. This is not a game that really supports a single player playstyle.
   
   The first thing I want to say is that if you only play the single player you will be really gimping yourself. The second thing is that this is a freshly released ARPG, much as D2 and D3, I think that the potential of this game is vast. In the last four days I've seen the developer online communicating with the playerbase, on discussions forums, and on the subreddit. The community of windward is one that works together and at odds of one another for pure fun; the initial factions easily swapped and online it can be amusing to watch the pvp as some people may switch sides or go pirate and fight all sides in a zone.
   
   The depth of windward is in its progression. Upgrading the gear on your ship is one type, however so it upgrading the ship itself. In fact I would go so far as to say that the ship upgrade really makes the "gear game" a non-issue (and therefore not a grind). This is the first ARPG where I got to a high level without ever feeling like I needed to just grind out mobs/quests (not to say that you don't, but I didn't notice it).
   
   Killing ships and trying to get enough money to get to the next ship I want was a ton of fun, the multiplayer aspect of it in the early and mid game was fantastic, trying out pvp around level 30 and being able to compete with someone 30 levels above me (due to the server option of having level scaling turned on) was a lot of fun. As I entered the start of the endgame, level 50, I joined the Syndicate. A faction you only qualify for as level 50+. Factions are nothing more than flags you equip in a flag gear slot, they are not to difficult to earn from the various factions either. (I got them all simply by joining combat instances with other players and killing pirates)
   
   The graphics for this game were better than I expected, particularly with a single developer behind the wheel. The gameplay is very well polished, there are a few bugs (being slung 1/2 way across the map on to land after a MASSIVE 8 ships to ships collision was hilarious) but nothing that interrupted my fun. The community is fantastic, the veterans of this game consistently invite and help out lower level players (and are encouraged to through the way the Heroic system works), spawn ships for loot, and the developer himself is in touch with the people playing.
   
   One downside of this is that the game is very much made for group play, if you want a single player experience I would not recommend this because it is fundamentally designed for more than one player at a time. At a certain point (I think 70) all instances are scaled to be completed with 3+ players and there is a minor trinity system in place with the specializations, equipment, and ships. You can be a Tank, Offensive damage, or support (Healing/buffing/Debuffing). . Heroic instances make use of this with a max of 12 ships in the instance. There is normally a 1-4 Ships of the line (Tanks), 5-8 damage specced ships, 1-3 Support specced ships... and its a BLAST. Due to the way the level scaling works you can get into these at level 50. You unlock the Orange faction (Can I just say the legendary faction?As in being a legendary captain?) at level 150, and then you continue to unlock very interesting abilities as you increase in level.
   
   I find the depth in this game to be in the progression, the community, and in the smaller aspects of gameplay like how the various playstyles fit together. Even though this game is out of early access and IS a complete game, it is still under patch support and revision, much like other ARPGs (*cough* Diablo) the potential of windward is greater than the current rendition of the game and I cannot wait to see what it will play like over the next 6 months.
   Ign: Fortune.… Expand

   • 1 of 5 users found this helpful
2. Exwin0880

   May 14, 2015

   9

   To say this is a great game doesn't go far enough.
   
   It is a game that does all the little things right. It's like Sid Myer's Pirates!, butTo say this is a great game doesn't go far enough.
   
   It is a game that does all the little things right. It's like Sid Myer's Pirates!, but without the dancing, in a completely generated world so it is different each time you play.
   
   You want to quest and trade between cities and be left alone? You can do that.
   You want to blow stuff up and never quest or trade? You can also do that.
   
   The combat is fast and fun, but complex enough to be rewarding.
   
   Each of the factions bring a different approach to gameplay, yet you can be successful with any of them.
   
   The game developer is very proactive with his game and, if you play on a public server, you will probably run into him.… Expand

   • 3 of 8 users found this helpful
4. Elrath

   May 14, 2015

   9

   The game is very addictive. Especially for the price point. ($15) it has been compared to a co op version of Sid Myers pirates and thatsThe game is very addictive. Especially for the price point. ($15) it has been compared to a co op version of Sid Myers pirates and thats pretty accurate minus the dancing and sword fighting. UI pretty bland but does not take away from the game play. I love the instance if you just want a break from the servers To either a Coimbatore trade quest instance The ability to play online is fun but sometimes you just want to not fight every few minutes to quest and trade. At upper levels it does get challenging and the AI pushes you to think and react. Picked this game up the day before release and have not been able to put it down. If you are a fan of the age of sail. Or just want a fun game at a price of a large pizza grab this one.… Expand

   • 3 of 8 users found this helpful
5. Greywolf2001ca

   Dec 24, 2015

   7

   This is a nice casual game where you can colonize, do sea simple sea batttles, and trade... but most importantly have fun with friends. YouThis is a nice casual game where you can colonize, do sea simple sea batttles, and trade... but most importantly have fun with friends. You can compete against other players, or just play with them.
   
   I like this game, it is calm, and there is no stress like some other multiplayer games or wooden ship battles ones.
   
   It is cheap too and has a good quality-price tag.
   
   I recommend this only if you want to play with your friends, the magic is in multiplayer... although I play often in single player mode.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. ninjack

   May 15, 2015

   6

   Beautiful graphics, atmospheric music and sounds, rpg elements and career-like progression. gets repetitive after a few hours, still if youBeautiful graphics, atmospheric music and sounds, rpg elements and career-like progression. gets repetitive after a few hours, still if you feel like spending some time on a top-down pirate adventure, its good fun! (shouldnt be priced more than 10Euro/USD though)… Expand

   • 4 of 4 users found this helpful
7. Timbar

   May 20, 2016

   6

   I was really looking forward to play this game as it looked like the typical game you could play for hours and get a little addicted too -I was really looking forward to play this game as it looked like the typical game you could play for hours and get a little addicted too - upgrading your ship and crew, going on a spree to kill pirates etc... unfortunately I was quite disappointed as it felt very repetitive and grindy after a short while, even when playing with a friend (joining a friend's game was also not very intuitive). I picked it up during a Steam sale, so can't really complain for the price I paid, but after 12 hours of playtime I don't see myself motivated to play more or recommend it.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. ZombieTech

   Jun 26, 2017

   2

   TL;DR SUMMARY: Game is easily a pass; which pains me to say as I typically love anything having to do with nautical, naval, sea, sailing, etc.TL;DR SUMMARY: Game is easily a pass; which pains me to say as I typically love anything having to do with nautical, naval, sea, sailing, etc. (Thank God I got it in a Humble Bundle!) There's three main mechanics to the game: 1. Sail, explore, and pick up items as you find them, 2. Attack and have combat with enemy vessels, 3. Dock at ports via a menu where you get supplies/quests -- wash/rinse/repeat those three mechanics endlessly throughout the entire game on "procedurally-generated" maps. (At least you can also customize the factions/ships, as well as the map layout I guess... fourth mechanic!? LOL.)
   
   Anywho, after perusing around on the webs a bit... seems some devs have "inspiration" (as a developer so eliquently phrased it on the Steam forums) from older shut-down titles/creations to then take said material, roll it around a bit, and rerelease it as their own... sad in a way... to have the ability and opportunity to make something unique and make the most out of the platform/foundation, and instead recycle something that's been done and shut-down numerous times before. :-|
   
   REVIEW: Not to be mean, game has some promise and potential, but it just got so boring with only sailing all the time and ship-combat aside from some (sarcasm) rousing menu-simulator going on.
   
   Having enjoyed the ship-combat in PotBS and AC: Black Flag, decided to give this a whirl... with a focus on just sailing and ship-battles, how could one go wrong.
   
   Well, that's where it begins to massively unravel. Game is okay, customization and configuration at the beginning of factions, and color-schemes, etc is really neat... but when the game starts and you play for awhile, it's the classic wide as an ocean, but deep as a puddle dilemma.
   
   It's another of many "pop up menu at the docks" sailing games with a locked isometric-view, where you're constantly staring down at your ship with no means to zoom it in whatsoever, so the view you start with is all you constantly have the entire game (an ability to pan in behind the ship and have more of a graphical 3D view would be awesome!), with nothing but constantly seeing the water and the ship, which might be okay. But then you just constantly sail, gather, quest (which quests you get at docks and they get put in your cargo-hold like inventory... for some that makes sense, but others not so much), grind, combat, etc. If this released many moons ago on say the NES, SNES, or even the Gamecube, or even early Playstation 1 or 2, might not have been so bad as a quick time-waster console-game... but this is a PC game, that only released 2 years ago in 2015.
   
   It's almost more of a clicker kind of game... since when you come across pirates or enemies, your ship will auto-fire at it and all you really need to do is circle it and watch the battle commence. I was trying my hardest not to doze off while playing this, and I honestly wasn't tired when I originally started playing it... and even more bluntly honest, I wanted it to be much more fun than that! -_-
   
   I'm gonna' have to shelf this again... because if all I did in this the entire time is JUST ship sailing constantly and auto-combat and grinding... I might find myself burned out on other games such as PotBS, etc... which is a shame... was hoping this would be a fun "filler" kind of game when on a cool-down from PotBS and such... oh well, I guess... considering the state of today's gaming-industry, guess I shouldn't be all that shocked. Even if it were more of a pleasure-cruise exploration, there's so much more that could be done and/or added to make it more fulfilling as such. Perhaps allow people to get off on land and piers/town and walk around with a top-down old-school pixelated character (think Dragon Warrior or original Ultima and/or Final Fantasy) that can explore around, dig for treasure, fish, etc... perhaps even build/upgrade a house and/or your faction's village.
   
   Another thing that I found bizarre, is even though it allowed me to customize SIX factions, which I tried to make really unique and interesting, even on the largest map (33x33), it would only allow me to place FOUR factions!? What happened to the other 2 that I customized!? -_-… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

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