Windbound....

While I may be looking forward to playing Bomber Crew in this month's Games with Gold; The other game, Windbound did grow in my interest. Mainly due to my need to see if the game mechanics were as 'bad' and 'quirky' as I'd read they are.

I took a quick look.

Long story short, they are and it's true that the game doesn't offer you any motivation to play it. 

Maybe it's just not a game for me. Maybe I'm missing something(or a lot). Maybe I'm being harsh towards it because it's a free game; Or I have preconceived expectations of a survival game. That said first impressions matter.

The game looks good and I like the art-style as I do the music and sounds overall; But even on the 'easiest' difficulty it's like walking a tightrope of game mechanics. Fine when you play by it's rules but try to veer off and it will either fail you hard or not allow you to do what you want. So initial wonder at exploring a new 'world' is smashed in the face by lots of 'no'.

The start, at least for me, made me question the story and the main character's motivation. Raft sinking and then having to walk into a bright light wasn't motivating me to play a survival game if you catch my.... drift.

From the get-go the game has rubbed my up the wrong way. I'd have rather had more mystery, with the character waking up on the beach from the start. 

On face value the basic systems are fine. Collect things, make things. Collect long grass make make grass rope etc etc. 

Kill pigs to get bones and skin but not meat seemed odd given the hunger situation.

The game is a survival game for sure. Scarce resources. With only berries to eat on the first island and pigs not offering edible meat it felt harsh. 

In crafting, one needed material was a tusk; Yet killing the biggest bore gave no tusk. The start of my frustrations. 

My crafting needs then pointed to getting palm leaves for the 'next' craft-able item. Good a goal as anything! But the only palm trees are visible on a distant island..... Gotta swim it right.... 

Nah, barley halfway and all stamina was gone.  Sinking.... Fade to black and it's back to being face down on the beach. That's a thing that happened a lot as I tried to do and figure out things. There was no fun in it just frustrations.

By this stage I couldn't take the game seriously. Game systems that felt like they were only there to troll and  mess with the player. Play by the rules or not at all felt too restraining.

There's 'mystery' in the narrative that's there but for me it wasn't compelling. It just is... The mystery quickly fades when you see that it's shoehorning you in a specific way. A not by choice push that really feels like it. No real mystery to figure out, no real exploration to get lost in.

As for other world narratives, I've no idea what they are or why I should care.

In trying to get to that island I should have made a grass boat but I was too fed up of the game already I have zero motivation to press on.

Given swimming the smallest distance from the first island to the rock beside it, swimming 100 meters and getting an achievement.... An achievement that less than 8% of players had gotten... Speaks volumes!

Yea it's not a game for me. If a player can get into the game mechanics I'm sure it's a game that will feel like it falls into place for them. If it clicks it clicks and good for the player.

For some reason this games art style kept reminding me of Aragami(a far better game(no wonder really being a Ninja game(like here, here and here)); Yet the second game never clicked with me.

I'm looking forward to Bomber Crew in the next week. When it was free on PC(ages ago) I've a friend who claimed it on PC on my recommendation. He couldn't get into it. He nit picked it's game mechanics and didn't want to play it to gain the in game upgrades that would have negated his early game dislikes. I don't know anyone who has or does play Windbound so I've only the internet to lead me and I'm agreeing with the majority. That said my friend also claimed and played Subnautica and similarly didn't like it.... Only in the last few weeks has played it again and is now really into it.

For Windbound, maybe time will tell for me, maybe not.