If I had to describe Where Winds Meet in just one word, it would be ‘massive’. This upcoming open-world action game is absolutely crammed with content, including a humungous single player mode that takes more than 150 hours to complete.
This is on top of a robust co-op system that allows you to progress with up to three friends and, if that wasn’t enough, a multiplayer mode set in a shared world with team dungeons, massive player-versus-player battles, and countless group activities.
Having played for just under four hours at a recent preview event hosted by publisher NetEase Games, plus a further chunk of time in the ongoing closed beta test, I feel like I’ve barely been able to scratch the surface of everything here.
While the game will be a timed PlayStation 5 console exclusive, it’s also coming to both PC and mobile with full cross-progression which should make it easy to drop into its vast virtual world wherever you may be.
I’m a fan of that
Customization is at the heart of Where Winds Meet and you’re thrust straight into a character creator. It is impressively extensive, and there are countless options to play around with. This includes a wide range of sliders for different facial features, plenty of ornate hairstyles and loads of makeup with fully adjustable color palettes.
If, like me, you’re a fan of the character creation tools found in games like The Sims 4 or Inzoi, you’re going to adore this and it’s seriously impressive for a free experience.
There’s even the option to switch between an overall ‘Elegance’ or ‘Realistic’ style, with the former focusing on fantastically radiant skin and fairy-tale-like beauty and the latter giving you a more gritty, historical appearance, which seems like a smart way to appeal to players after a slightly more grounded experience.
This all gives way to a flashy introductory cutscene and a brief tutorial that outlines the combat mechanics. While the mix of heavy and light attacks, parries, and dodges as you whittle down enemy health bars feels like it came straight from the likes of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it’s undeniably well-implemented and feels suitably slick and responsive.
I do appreciate the optional auto-parry system, though, which slows down time to make parrying oncoming hits substantially easier and would be a blessing if you were playing on mobile with touch controls.
What sets the combat in Where Winds Meet apart are your Mystic Arts, more than forty supernatural abilities inspired by wuxia cinema. These include powerful melee strikes, bombastic finishers, and even the option to spray burning fiery breath to scorch your foes. Every move is elevated by elaborate motion-captured animation, lending each fight plenty of cinematic flair.
Although you start out with a basic sword, there are several weapon types to master when you venture out into the open-world. There are, of course, conventional picks like swords, spears, and dual blades, but also plenty of more unique options such as the rope dart, fan, or umbrella. With the option to equip two types of weapon at once, I was drawn to both the fan and the umbrella as both seemed like a perfect fit for my graceful-looking character.
It turns out that the umbrella is anything but dainty, firing magical projectiles like some kind of ancient machine gun. It even lets you hover in the air, unleashing aerial barrages that tear through waves of enemies.
The fan, in contrast, is more of a support weapon, creating a healing zone in between hits. It’s not as powerful on the offensive, but seems like a good choice for your secondary slot for when your health bar gets low.
The bear necessities
Set in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the huge open-world presents the perfect mix of the historical and fantastical. In addition to the central storyline, which starts with you pursuing a mysterious masked man with the help of an adorable child companion called Lucy, there are loads of memorable encounters to discover just by wandering around.
Early on, I stumbled across the two hilariously named horse thieves ‘Skinny Brother’ and ‘Chubby Brother’ as they were trying to steal a new ride. After a brief back and forth they attacked, only to be taken out in a matter of seconds by my orbital umbrella strike. Better luck next time.
There is no shortage of treasure chests to discover too, often hidden underneath destructible terrain or tucked away in hard to reach corners. Some are guarded by groups of bandits, giving you the chance to test your combat abilities.
Rather than a conventional skill tree, Mystic Arts are obtained through your exploration. While completing an early story quest, I found myself face to face with a giant bear that was busy hitting a tree to get its greedy paws on some honey. Rather than attack right away, I was directed to study its movements with a quick time event, learning its moves for myself.
This unlocked tai chi, letting me catapult the bear into a nearby pile of rocks with a majestic over-the-shoulder throw. Is this more than a little ridiculous? Undeniably, but I can’t pretend that it didn’t leave me with a massive grin on my face.
There are some surprisingly immersive elements that keep the more silly moments in check, though. You don’t quite have to feed your character, this isn’t Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, but you do need to keep an eye on your surroundings. The weather changes dynamically and you can expect to suffer if you’re caught out in the cold. Conversely, hanging out in the sun for too long leads to sunstroke. You’re not even safe when it rains, as wet surfaces can be slippery.
You can even catch diseases, something I only discovered after I was bitten by a gigantic rat in the middle of a dungeon. A pop-up informed me that I had just contracted the bubonic plague, and would need to visit a doctor for treatment as soon as possible.
This all creates an environment that feels surprisingly life-like, especially when you encounter any non-playable characters (NPCs). A passing warrior might come to your aid in a fight or, conversely, beat you up for trying to mount their horse without permission. Actions are designed to have consequences, not only for your reputation. Commit too many crimes and you’ll end up in prison, for example, forced to wait out your sentence in real time.
Although I didn’t get the opportunity to truly experiment with its many systems in my limited hands-on time, I’m certainly looking forward to immersing myself in the world of Where Winds Meet when it arrives later this year.