Windbound

64%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,214 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Windbound Game Cover
Windbound follows Kara as she must rebuild her boat and discover the truth behind a long-forgotten battle between the land and sea.
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"Windbound" is a single-player Role Playing Game with an interesting plot and good mechanics, featuring a shipwrecked warrior, Kara, who must explore and adapt to survive on uncharted, mysterious islands. The game boasts masterful graphics and music, while also being somewhat grinding and buggy. Players must hunt, craft, and defend themselves against wild creatures, uncovering the islands' secrets and potentially finding their way home.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

64%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,214 reviews
gameplay141 positive mentions
stability107 negative mentions
  • Beautiful graphics and art style that evoke a sense of wonder.
  • Engaging sailing mechanics that provide a unique experience.
  • Relaxing gameplay with a soothing soundtrack.
  • Combat mechanics are clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating encounters.
  • Repetitive gameplay loop with limited variety in islands and resources.
  • Inventory management is cumbersome, with limited slots and resource scarcity.
  • gameplay496 mentions

    The gameplay of Windbound is characterized by a mix of beautiful sailing mechanics and frustrating survival elements, leading to a divided reception among players. While many appreciate the relaxing exploration and stunning visuals, they criticize the clunky combat, harsh death penalties, and repetitive mechanics that detract from the overall experience. The game offers a solid core loop but struggles with balance and depth, leaving players wishing for more refined mechanics and variety.

    • “The sailing mechanics are spot on.”
    • “The story is pretty solid, the art is gorgeous to look at, exploration is fun, and the core gameplay loop is pretty solid.”
    • “Windbound offers an enjoyable blend of survival and adventuring gameplay, though some technical issues and a tricky difficulty can make for some frustrating moments.”
    • “Survival: one of the worst survival games to date; there are multiple other games with much better survival/crafting mechanics and gameplay than this one.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely tedious.”
    • “Dying in this game is frustrating and not in a good way; you lose so much time and resources, and it doesn't really feel like you need to lose anything; there's no gameplay element to justify this, it's just an inconvenience.”
  • story454 mentions

    The story in "Windbound" is generally described as simple and somewhat lacking in depth, often conveyed through minimalistic means such as environmental storytelling and text snippets. While some players appreciate its intriguing themes and beautiful visuals, many criticize the narrative for being short, repetitive, and overshadowed by gameplay mechanics, leading to a mixed reception regarding its overall impact. Overall, the game offers a cozy exploration experience, but those seeking a rich, immersive story may find it underwhelming.

    • “The story makes it worthwhile, and I find myself coming back to it even after fully completing the game many times over.”
    • “The silent and progressive storytelling is great, and the story itself has kept me interested enough to where I want to reach the end and see it all (which is a lot more than I can say for many of the more popular titles out there).”
    • “The story is intriguing and fun, the mechanics are enjoyable, the graphics are evidently cartoonish but very pretty and captivating.”
    • “The story is abstract and insipid, and the music very underwhelming/amateurish.”
    • “The story is bland and mostly told through a couple cryptic sentences.”
    • “The story is very thin, and mainly serves as a backstory to the main point of the game, which is just to survive to the end.”
  • graphics289 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beautiful cel-shaded art style, reminiscent of titles like "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" and "Breath of the Wild." Many players appreciate the vibrant color palette and atmospheric visuals, which contribute to a relaxing gaming experience, despite some minor graphical issues and a few complaints about the game's overall execution. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing the game's aesthetic appeal and immersion.

    • “The graphics are stunning, and the world is very atmospheric.”
    • “The cell shaded graphics are wonderful to look at and the music really harmonizes with the environment and the overall vibe of the game, which makes just simply being in the game world an absolute pleasure.”
    • “The visuals, environment, and soundtrack were spectacular; it has that strange and peaceful vibe to it.”
    • “Graphically it's pretty lo-fi and the soft and simple color palette is warm and vibrant.”
    • “The graphics look unfinished.”
    • “There are also many graphical errors to be fixed when climbing, sailing and dodging on certain terrain but they are not the main issue, just persistent enough to warrant mentioning.”
  • music271 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread praise for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many players finding it relaxing and fitting for the game's themes. However, some reviews note that the soundtrack can be repetitive and sparse, leading to moments of silence that detract from the experience. Overall, while the music is a highlight for many, its limited variety and occasional absence have drawn mixed reactions.

    • “The music is beautiful.”
    • “I absolutely adore the soundtrack, and you can tell the composer loves his craft.”
    • “The music is really pleasant, fitting, and has the nice touch of being adaptive.”
    • “The story is abstract and insipid, and the music very underwhelming/amateurish.”
    • “The music in the game gets repetitive after 10 minutes, especially when you have 2-3 tracks overlapping each other.”
    • “If you are on an island, you will have a lot of time in a musical black hole.”
  • stability109 mentions

    The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, particularly affecting combat mechanics, character movement, and overall stability, leading to frustrating experiences such as freezing and unintended character ragdolling. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these issues, many express that the technical problems significantly detract from the overall experience, with calls for urgent fixes to improve stability. Overall, the game's current state feels more like an unfinished product, with stability being a major concern for potential players.

    • “There's no glitches nor lag, and the game is pretty amazing.”
    • “On top of that, it constantly freezes and I have to close it, losing progress again and again.”
    • “Oh yeah, my playthrough came to an end this last time because I fell through the floor, and the game autosaved on me, no way for me to die (stuck inside the rock) and quitting and coming back just put me right back there... what I might have given 9/10 gets 3/10 at best, for just how buggy everything feels, it's more an alpha than even 'early' access feel to it sadly.”
    • “A fun and interesting game with a lot of potential, marred and held back by massive bugs, glitches, and poor optimization.”
  • grinding48 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with players noting that resource gathering, crafting, and sailing can quickly become chores rather than enjoyable activities. Many reviewers express frustration with the slow progression, poor drop rates, and the cumbersome inventory management, which detracts from the overall experience. While some find moments of fun in building and exploration, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grind often overshadows these positives, leading to a frustrating gameplay loop.

    • “Combat feels nice, crafting isn't too tedious.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Repetition is fine and all, but there's a line between grinding and doing the exact same thing over again when it takes forever just to get to where you were.”
    • “It is somewhat fun to unlock new crafting options and build up your boat (raft), but grinding materials quickly becomes a chore.”
  • atmosphere45 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its relaxing and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics and fitting music that create a mystical and idyllic environment. While some players note moments of emptiness and repetition, the overall experience is described as enchanting, with effective sailing mechanics and a chill vibe that draws players in. However, a few critiques mention that certain elements, like new enemies, can detract from the oceanic atmosphere.

    • “Overall, the game offers an amazing experience with a really nice and relaxing atmosphere.”
    • “Altogether it creates a really enthralling mystical atmosphere.”
    • “In my opinion, this new enemy doesn't add anything to the lore and ruins the ocean atmosphere.”
    • “Windbound tries to be a lot of things, and while it may not succeed in some of them, it thrives in its atmosphere and sailing mechanics.”
    • “Even though the game has its bugs, I love the atmosphere and general feel of this game.”
  • replayability35 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with some players enjoying the procedurally generated levels and the freedom to experiment with sailing and survival mechanics, while others find it limited due to repetitive tasks and predictable environments. Many reviewers express disappointment in the lack of new content or modes after completing the story, leading to a general sentiment that replay value is minimal. While a few players appreciate the potential for different difficulty settings, the consensus leans towards a lack of compelling reasons to revisit the game after the initial playthrough.

    • “The entire game has a good deal of replayability, as the levels are procedurally generated and hold different challenges and treasures each time you play.”
    • “Good, kindly realistic sailing in a way, very fun, few bugs, good replayability.”
    • “Infinite replayability and respawning depending on difficulty selected.”
    • “Replayability is limited, and after completing it once I don't want to go back.”
    • “I would refund if I could, because it fails to deliver that potential in so many ways, and has little replayability.”
    • “Also if you beat the game there is no replay value like unlocked content, harder difficulties, even a freeplay mode would have been awesome.”
  • humor16 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as a mix of amusing moments and quirky mechanics, with players finding joy in the absurdity of small inventories, comical creature behaviors, and unexpected physics during gameplay. While some comedic elements, like enemies launching into the air upon defeat, can become repetitive, the overall experience is filled with laugh-out-loud scenarios, particularly during survival challenges and sailing mishaps.

    • “I've had really high highs, laughing at seeing a mob helplessly roll down a slope, and other hilarious and hair-raising moments near death with no food or potions, fighting to find the next few scraps to proceed to the next map.”
    • “The sailing mechanic needs some training on the player's side, and sometimes the physics cause some funny animations.”
    • “I think it's funny when you try to navigate in an incomplete boat and it ends up overturned in the middle of the sea.”
  • emotional12 mentions

    The game evokes strong emotional responses, with many players highlighting its heart-wrenching story and beautiful music that enhance the overall experience. While some found the gameplay challenging, the emotional depth and connection to the characters left a lasting impact, often leading to tears by the end. However, expectations for a different style of gameplay may lead to mixed reviews.

    • “The story up until this point (I was past chapter 3) was for the most part very emotional.”
    • “I cried at the end; good game :)”
    • “This is a game with amazing sailing physics, a heart-wrenching story, and beautiful music.”
  • optimization11 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players report smooth performance and high frame rates on PC, others experience issues with direction and gameplay clarity, leading to frequent restarts. Additionally, console performance appears to be less stable, with some users noting repetitive gameplay and challenges stemming from the game's systems rather than its mechanics. Overall, while the visuals and soundtrack are praised, the optimization experience varies significantly among players.

    • “Game runs smoothly on my PC, has an impressive art/visual style with a solid soundtrack, and I haven’t had any issues with crashes or bugs thus far.”
    • “I've seen people mention performance being great, and I managed to get 144Hz+ with max settings on 99% of occasions.”
    • “+Performance: light technically, but other games struggle with less.”
    • “Performance isn't that great.”
    • “Challenge comes from the systems and not gameplay; rigid progression can feel repetitive. Sailing into the wind constantly isn't fun, and the performance is fairly unstable on console.”
    • “Light technically, but other games struggle with less demanding requirements.”
  • character development4 mentions

    While the game features great character design, beautiful graphics, and an interesting story, many users feel that it lacks sufficient character development, progression, and customization to truly qualify as an RPG.

    • “Great character design, lovely soundtrack, beautiful graphics - plus an interesting story and plenty of exploration.”
    • “Not enough character development, progression, or customization to be an RPG.”
    • “Not enough character development, progression, or customization to be an RPG.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization strategy for Satellite Reign has been described as confusing, with mixed signals from pre-release marketing and interviews, yet it ultimately supports a strong gameplay experience.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

65% average critic score

Buy Windbound

Play time

5hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
2-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 20 analyzed playthroughs

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