The Wind and Wilting Blossom

About

The Wind and Wilting Blossom is a single player tactical role playing game. It was developed by Picklefeet Games and was released on December 11, 2020. It received very positive reviews from players.

Navigate the war-torn lands of a randomly generated Heian period Japan in this FTL-style roguelike.

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Single-Player

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93%

Audience ScoreBased on 150 reviews

gameplay19 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Engaging and strategic turn-based tactical combat reminiscent of Heroes of Might and Magic with low randomness, rewarding skillful play.
Beautiful, unique ukiyo-e inspired art style and atmospheric Japanese folklore theme, complemented by a fitting soundtrack.
Well-designed roguelike progression system with multiple leaders, unlockable weapons, charms, and units providing extensive replayability.

High difficulty spikes, with some battles feeling unwinnable and the difficulty balance between easy and normal modes uneven, frustrating players.
Limited content variety, including a low number of bosses, static map layouts, repetitive events, and somewhat shallow tactical depth.
Some quality of life issues such as clunky UI, lack of tooltips/explanations for certain mechanics, no undo move button, and occasional bugs and crashes.

gameplay
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
63%
5%
The gameplay offers a smooth and accessible blend of FTL-inspired map navigation with turn-based, hex-grid tactical combat, featuring straightforward mechanics that balance challenge and depth through unlockable characters and items. While some find it lacks significant innovation or event variety, most praise its engaging, well-paced battles and solid progression that make it both fun and replayable. Overall, it combines familiar but refined systems into a compelling roguelike experience with a welcoming and polished presentation.
- “Everything is simple and smooth in design while producing complex and interesting gameplay, which is the perfect combination.”
- “There is a good bit of variety of gameplay once you start unlocking new characters, and the game is difficult but rarely in an unfair way.”
- “The basic gameplay is intuitive and engaging, the battles are short and fun, the animation and soundtrack are gorgeous, the story and the world are a blast.”
- “There's literally nothing special about it, enemies have generic attacks, mechanics are lackluster, and the game seems hellbent on punishing you for exploring.”
- “Mechanically, The Wind and the Wilting Blossom is a surprisingly awkward game.”
- “I didn't feel like the extra mechanics on the strategy layer added a lot, either.”
graphics
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
5%
The game features a distinctive and consistent hand-painted ukiyo-e art style inspired by classical Japanese woodblock prints, which many find visually striking and well-suited to its feudal Japan setting. The graphics, though not highly animated, are praised for their clarity, historical influence, and integration with a fitting atmospheric soundtrack that enhances the overall immersive experience. While some note the style may be an acquired taste, it generally receives acclaim for its uniqueness and contribution to the game's engaging tone.
- “The graphics are a unique two-dimensional, hand-painted art style that looks wonderful. It is a joy to look at as every monster, unit, hero, terrain piece, item, map and even the game’s font share this art style.”
- “The artwork is taken from historical paintings and documents, so even though there's not a lot of animation involved, it still looks really cool.”
- “The art style and sound design are beautiful and really draw you into the setting of the game.”
- “And don't let the weird visuals put you off, especially that skeleton in the logo that is a bit too cartoony for me.”
- “The controls do get frustrating at times as I found that when I clicked a unit that was graphically behind a couple of enemies, I couldn’t see my unit’s armor bar.”
- “+ underutilized setting and artstyle”
music
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
53%
9%
The music in the game is widely praised for its evocative, traditional Japanese-inspired style that perfectly complements the art and setting, creating an immersive and atmospheric experience. While some find the soundtrack repetitive over extended play, it remains soothing, fitting, and enjoyable, with many highlighting its ability to enhance the game's tone and cultural theme. Overall, the music is considered a strong and integral part of the game's appeal.
- “The music is phenomenal and works beautifully with the art style to evoke feudal Japan vibes that should make any otaku squee in delight.”
- “The soundtrack provides sufficient gravity to battles and a more contemplative, soothing atmosphere for maps.”
- “Plus, the art and music are fantastic; the music in particular has a way of worming its way into my head.”
- “Music might become repetitive but that's pretty much it; the game looks gorgeous.”
- “-Music gets a little repetitive after a while, partly due to the oriental theme being more distinctive as opposed to other games.”
- “-Music is very competent, a bit repetitive but fitting.”
story
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
64%
7%
The story is set in feudal Japan with a dark, immersive narrative centered on pursuing an evil sorceress, enriched by historical and mythological lore. While the tale is engaging and well-told with varied events and resource management adding depth, it remains largely linear with repetitive story beats across multiple playthroughs, limiting replayability. Nevertheless, the atmospheric storytelling, unique leader backstories, and blend of tactical combat with narrative elements create an appealing and immersive experience.
- “The storyline is dark and there's a lot of cool lore tidbits about each character, if you're into that sort of thing, because it's based on real historical figures.”
- “The basic gameplay is intuitive and engaging, the battles are short and fun, the animation and soundtrack are gorgeous, the story and the world are a blast.”
- “Fantastic turn based tactical war game, with some wonderful art and story telling.”
- “The story is basically: evil sorceress/necromancer takes over job of villain dad after he buys it and the hero (whichever you play) is chased around the countryside trying to catch up to her in time to kill her.”
- “Base gameplay is fun enough and replayable due to all the unlocks and varied leaders that come with unique items, but it offers nothing different event, locations, or main storyline wise with each playthrough really hurting the replayability once you quickly see everything.”
- “None of the characters are even different when it comes to their success or failure with events and they all follow the same story, ending, and say the same things leading up to the end.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
54%
The game offers strong replayability through numerous unlockable characters, loadouts, and varied leaders with unique items, enhanced by randomly generated campaigns and different difficulty levels. However, some feel the lack of varied events, locations, or storyline changes in each playthrough slightly limits replay value after experiencing all content. Overall, the abundance of unlockables and engaging gameplay make it highly replayable and enjoyable over time.
- “Lots of replayability due to the many weapons, playable leaders, and potential allies - all of them easily unlockable.”
- “There is some replay value as there are 3 levels of difficulty, plus each campaign is randomly generated so you aren't quite sure what will happen on any given advance.”
- “The ever-changing landscapes and engaging selection of units and items lend themselves to a high level of replayability.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is often considered tedious and repetitive, with some achievements feeling unnecessarily grind-heavy and unengaging. While farming mechanics function correctly, the monotony can lead to boredom and reduced motivation to continue.
- “My only mild criticism is that about one-third of the way into grinding for the achievements and unlocks that look reasonably fun, I get bored and stop playing.”
- “The game becomes more tedious.”
- “The achievements range from dumb to grindy as hell and most of them are not things you'd do normally.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its sharp graphics and immersive soundtrack, which effectively balances intense battle gravity with a soothing, contemplative mood, creating a compelling and atmospheric experience.
- “The soundtrack provides sufficient gravity to battles and a more contemplative, soothing atmosphere for maps.”
- “It's a bit like a rogue-like tactical RPG with nice music and atmosphere.”
- “Graphics look sharp and the music is atmospheric.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is a mix of funny, creepy, and strange elements that help maintain player interest despite repetitive gameplay. The quirky storytelling by the picklefeet characters adds a unique and engaging charm.
- “The storytelling in a highly repetitive game is key to keep the attention, and the Picklefeet guys seem to have plenty of funny, scary, strange, and interesting ideas about how to channel that attention.”
- “Sometimes they look funny, sometimes they are creepy.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express emotional frustration primarily due to feeling helpless against uncontrollable game factors like attrition, adverse events, and poor resource availability, which impact their experience negatively.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game's optimization is generally solid, with stable performance and minimal bugs, contributing to a smooth gameplay experience.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Wind and Wilting Blossom is a tactical role playing game.

The Wind and Wilting Blossom is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

The Wind and Wilting Blossom was released on December 11, 2020.

The Wind and Wilting Blossom was developed by Picklefeet Games.

The Wind and Wilting Blossom has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked The Wind and Wilting Blossom for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

The Wind and Wilting Blossom is a single player game.

Similar games include Astronarch, Knock on the Coffin Lid, Urtuk: The Desolation, Star Renegades, Trials of Fire and others.

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