Windbound platforms series#

Some islands can be large and dense with resources, while others might possess a single defining feature and a few sparse gathering spots. Even then, the wind may or may not always be at your back, so you’ll need to plot out what locations you visit strategically and make sure you maximize the resources on each. You’ll start with a simple canoe, which can be gently paddled from one island to the next, but more efficient sailing will require a raft, equipped with pontoons and a sail. If you want to get back to where you were, it’s a slow and steady crawl across several islands in order to do so.Įach chapter of Windbound has the player activating a trio of beacons in order to progress further, which are located within a somewhat vast, but ever-randomized enclosure of sea. Death is a harsh penalty in Windbound, as the default difficulty will kick you all the way back to the beginning of the first chapter with only your crafted tools at your disposal – no boat, no weapons, and no food. You need food to survive, as a lack of sustenance will drain your stamina, and no stamina whatsoever will then drain your health. Windbound is more or less a nonstop mission to gather materials, whether for crafting additions or enhancements to your boat, Kara the player avatar, or for new weapons to hunt and slay animals. Your food, whether carved from a dead carcass, plucked from a tree, or cooked over a fire, won’t be good forever, and though animals will respawn on the various islands you visit throughout your journey, there’s more to be done than simple survival. There are many items in Windbound that will break – tools, weapons, your boat itself – but there’s also the degradation of consumable resources at play, here.

So much of Windbound is all about scavenging for resources in a way that is a bit more permanent in comparison with Breath of the Wild’s own, transient systems.

This is where the similarities end, though that shouldn’t, and in fact doesn’t, make these inspirations any less evident. Windbound is a combination of Breath of the Wild’s survivalist theming and gameplay mechanics with Wind Waker’s sailing. But what if The Wind Waker were an RPG? You might say that the game would need an extensive crafting system, a progression of tougher enemies to handle in the mid-to-late game, and maybe even some roguelike elements? Eh, sure, why not? Throw in some big boat mechanics, and maybe you’ll have something decidedly not-Zelda, less of a Wind Waker and more of a… Wind BOUND.

Windbound platforms series#

Yes, I know that The Legend of Zelda series immediately sprung to mind, which is good! There are plenty of entries in the Zelda series that wouldn’t make the cut as RPGs, one in particular being The Wind Waker.

Imagine, if you will, a game that isn’t an RPG.