Windward Horizon

About

Windward Horizon is a single player and multiplayer role playing game. It was developed by Tasharen Entertainment Inc. and was released on May 22, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Windward Horizon is an RPG-adventure set on the high seas, a sequel to the game Windward released on Steam in 2015. Trade, quest, fight, or just sail the world and fish -- it's your choice, and you can do it alone or together with your friends. You will start as a young, unaffiliated pirate with the whole world open for you to explore. Before long, you will run into various other faction leaders,…

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 349 reviews

story15 positive mentions

grinding20 negative mentions

Great value for the price, offering a lot of content and gameplay options.
Fun and relaxing gameplay with a variety of mechanics including trading, fighting, and exploration.
The developer is responsive to feedback and actively works on updates and improvements.

Multiplayer experience can be frustrating due to frequent disconnections and issues with player scoring.
Lack of clear documentation and tutorials makes it difficult for new players to understand mechanics.
Endgame content feels lacking and progression can become tedious over time.

story
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
85%
5%
The game's story is criticized for being lackluster and poorly implemented, with many quests feeling repetitive and lacking meaningful engagement. Players often find themselves grinding through fetch quests and side missions, with few unique or compelling main storylines to follow. While there are some interesting faction quests and character interactions, the overall narrative experience is marred by bugs, convoluted quest requirements, and a lack of clear progression, leading to a sense of frustration rather than immersion.
- “The storylines that are written in the game are pretty decent so far.”
- “You can join a number of different factions for story quests and bonuses, and you'll eventually want to join them all and start raising your reputation with each one.”
- “The world becomes alive, and there are always quests to do, and the factions don't sleep.”
- “The story is pointless – wall of dialogue with no weight or purpose, and some of it is just plain weird or immersion-breaking.”
- “There is no big, overarching story or real goal to the game, but a constant striving to get stronger.”
- “The engine and game mechanics are decent, but the questing and storyline make the game a bore.”
gameplay
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
66%
5%
The gameplay is generally enjoyable, featuring a variety of mechanics that allow players to engage in trade, combat, and exploration, with customization options to tailor the experience. While the core mechanics are well-designed and accessible, some players find the gameplay loop repetitive and the onboarding process challenging due to complex systems. Overall, the game offers a mix of strategic planning and action, appealing to both newcomers and experienced players, though it may suffer from pacing issues and a lack of engaging content at higher levels.
- “The game offers many different routes for gameplay, in the sense that you can focus on trade, fighting, or exploring, and each is still a viable way of completing the game and getting at least all the public achievements.”
- “The gameplay is accessible, making it suitable for both experienced gamers and newcomers.”
- “The graphics are well-crafted, and the gameplay offers a balance of strategic planning and action, with plenty of opportunities for customization and progression.”
- “The engine and game mechanics are decent, but the questing and storyline make the game a bore.”
- “Launch issues crippled the multiplayer scene right out of the gate with atrocious enemy scaling, needlessly grindy skill progression, and a woefully underbaked skill system that doesn't change anything about the gameplay besides giving you a tiny number of skills.”
- “I could already feel the gameplay loop getting stale after 100 minutes.”
graphics
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
26%
11%
The graphics in the game have received widespread praise for their beauty and smooth performance, with many reviewers noting significant improvements over the previous installment. Players appreciate the vibrant art style and the ability to customize ship appearances, contributing to an immersive experience. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing the gameplay and making it enjoyable for both new and returning players.
- “The graphics are fantastic, frames are smooth as the sailing.”
- “Having played the first incarnation of Windward, this brings stunning graphics to a fuller level of involvement... it truly captures life on the high seas... 10 out of 10 on all accounts.”
- “The graphics are well-crafted, and the gameplay offers a balance of strategic planning and action, with plenty of opportunities for customization and progression.”
- “It is mostly boring with you watching a little ship graphic sailing around.”
- “Did you play the original Windward and wished it had better graphics but was worse in every other way?”
- “Computer AI sucks, trading/crafting is stupid; go back to Windward 1 style of everything except maybe graphics.”
grinding
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and overly repetitive, particularly in single-player mode. While some enjoy the challenge of upgrading ships and managing resources, others criticize the need for excessive grinding to achieve incremental rewards, especially when enemy scaling negates the sense of progression. Overall, the experience can feel frustrating, especially when quests are broken or when players are forced to start over after purchasing new ships.
- “This forces you to play the game as a make-your-own base and upgrade it, but that locks you in a grind for just supplies to upgrade your towns. When you add quests that can give you those supplies, and don't forget that some quests are broken, things start feeling more limited and more grindy in the wrong ways.”
- “Hours and hours and hours of grinding quests for incremental rewards.”
- “The game is really way too grindy for what it is.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The game's music is generally praised for its charm and pleasantness, contributing to an enjoyable gaming experience. While many players appreciate the soundtrack as fun and calming, some criticize the repetitive combat music and occasional technical issues that disrupt the overall enjoyment. Overall, the music complements the game's visuals and casual gameplay, though it has its flaws.
- “The game is gorgeous and the soundtrack is great.”
- “Music is fun to listen to and visually it's pleasing.”
- “From the music to the art style, this game was made by someone who appreciates quality and understands what casual gamers want in a game.”
- “And here, have some repetitive anti-chill combat music while you are locked out of skill trees, town interfaces, and what-not.”
- “Now wait another 10 seconds while we let the music fade until you can resume your activity.”
- “The combat music can become stuck playing indefinitely.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is criticized for being buggy, particularly in multiplayer mode, with several quests also experiencing issues. Despite these problems, some players find the game enjoyable enough to overlook the bugs, especially considering its low price point.
- “In short, it's still a buggy mess, designed for multiplayer, but not tested for multiplayer.”
- “Of course there are quests, but some are buggy.”
- “Started on a negative review because I was annoyed troubleshooting, but for a $20 game that is still fun, I can overlook some things.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some users experiencing performance issues and resolution problems. While there are notable improvements in graphical fidelity and quality of life enhancements, network performance is hindered by the use of TCP instead of the more reliable UDP protocol.
- “The improvements to the performance and graphical fidelity alone are impressive, but the quality of life improvements are where the title really shines.”
- “I had a friend trying to get into it who was having performance issues and something wonky with resolution.”
- “I had a friend trying to get into it who was having performance issues and something wonky with the resolution.”
- “The game seems to make use of TCP rather than the industry-standard UDP, leading to unreliable network performance.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While some users feel that the game's replayability may stem from artificial length, others highlight its exceptional replay value, particularly praising "Windward Horizons" for its remarkable ability to engage players repeatedly.
- “What truly sets Windward Horizons apart from other games in the genre is its extraordinary replayability.”
- “[h2]Endless Horizons: Remarkable Replayability[/h2]”
- “I always enjoy a good sandbox game that has infinite replay value.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, providing enough laughs to enhance the experience, especially when paired with rewarding gameplay elements like finding good gear.
- “It's funny enough, and sometimes with the good gear you can find, it feels rewarding.”
- “The humor in this game is spot on, making even the most mundane tasks enjoyable.”
- “I love how the game incorporates witty dialogue and hilarious situations that keep me laughing.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is described as genuinely fun and engaging, particularly in the early gameplay, where exploration, building, and collaboration with other players foster a social and enjoyable environment.
- “The atmosphere is genuinely fun to be in, and early gameplay especially is engaging.”
- “You’re encouraged to explore, build, and collaborate with other players, creating an enjoyable and social atmosphere.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as feeling like a cash grab, disappointing players who had positive experiences with the original title. Many users express regret for not trying the demo first, indicating a lack of value in the current offering.
- “I am sorry I should have tried the demo first, but I thought this was a safe bet. Sadly, it really is not... it honestly feels like a cash grab from the developer. It's a shame because I enjoyed the original Windward a lot.”