I really only have two complaints about Windbound, both of which became more manageable the more I played. But I never got myself in a situation where I was genuinely concerned about my boat being trapped. But, while odd, this is probably a good thing since it would make it very easy to get the boat out of any tight spot. “Push” is putting it mildly though punt is probably more accurate because it gets some air. When the boat lands on the shore, it’s possible to push it back out to sea when you want to resume your journey. The boat itself, while I occasionally managed to hit a reef, or crash into what some may call an obvious rock, never got stuck. I never rubber-banded off the deck or had to worry about suddenly drowning in the middle of the ocean.

This is where most games with moving vehicles struggle a moving character model on top of a moving vehicle usually feels really odd but Windbound does a great job of optimizing the physics. Once you actually have a sail you can leave it unfurled while at sea and move around your boat to tend to your campfire and manage your inventory. The sailing mechanics have been designed to emulate the feeling without being too much of a chore and it strikes a good balance. The boat physics themselves are some of the best I’ve experienced in a game. It’s a mobile base that will stick with you through each chapter of the game. As you explore more islands and gather more resources, you’ll be able to add a sail, expand your boat with platforms, and construct improvements like campfires to cook with and baskets to store your supplies. You start off by building a simple grass canoe and you have an oar to row along with. I think the core features of Windbound are found in the boat building and sailing, and they really are the best aspects of the game, as they should be. There are subtle story elements present throughout but first and foremost the focus is the gameplay. There is a standard survival mode where death means restarting from the very first chapter, and then another mode that lets you restart at the beginning of whichever chapter you died on. There are five chapters to progress through and two difficulty settings. Windbound features a rogue-like procedurally-generated survival world, in which you take control of Kara, a warrior abandoned on the Forbidden Islands – her clan missing after being separated in a violent storm.

Windbound game review