Windbound

Impulse GamerJohn Werner

Marooned and separated from her seafaring tribe during a vicious storm, Kara must rebuild her boat and discover the truth behind a long-forgotten battle

Gaming NexusLee Mehr

8/10

More enticing systemically than it is narratively, Windbound nevertheless succeeds as a sojourner's adventure of striving for survival and greater understanding.

VideogamerJosh Wise

7/10

The more I played the less the goings-on of the narrative bothered me, and the more I relished the wavelike rhythm of the action: the roll and crash of sailing and breaking to alight for supplies.

Nintendo LifeMitch Vogel

7/10

Windbound is most certainly not the Zelda-lite adventure that you may have expected it to be, but it still manages to pull off an impressively well-made survival experience that’s fun to roam around in for a few hours. The open-ended progression, pleasing art style, and relaxing pace make this one an easy recommendation for fans of the survival genre, though it’s held back from greatness due to issues with repetition. Still, it’s tough to go wrong with what’s on offer here; you might want to give this one a look.

Worth PlayingAndreas Salmen

6.3/10

Windbound pits a stranded warrior against the elements and fauna across the mysterious Forbidden Islands, with each isle posing unpredictable challenges as players explore, hunt, craft, and sail their way to new discoveries.

This tedium would be unacceptable in an action game, but Windbound is a survival game. In survival games, death is supposed to mean something. Loss of progress represents the stakes; repetition is the barrier of entry. For players ready to take that plunge, there are some far-and-few-between moments of Windbound which are exhilarating. There’s nothing quite like stalking down the player’s first Gorehorn or Gloomharrow and seeing the game’s possibilities open right up as a reward for some intrepid hunting skills. But that being said, it’s a kind of enjoyment which needs to be really scr…

DestructoidJordan Devore

6/10

From a distance, Windbound is a gorgeous oceanic adventure with a fun sailing system that isn’t afraid to push back, but up close, the cracks start to show. The game makes a great first impression that ultimately wears thin by the time you’ve mastered its repetitive resource-gathering roguelike loop.

TechRaptorGeorge Glynn

6/10

Windbound loses its potential in getting bogged down by unbalanced survival mechanics that distract from it's best features.

Press StartJames Berich

5.5/10

Windbound is a beautiful artistic accomplishment in terms of presentation, but fails to make good on its promise of bringing together an open-world single-player game and typical crafting-survival elements. Despite attempts to make it approachable for all, it is an ultimately frustrating affair that squanders its potential with the same rigid survival mechanics that we've seen in a lot of other games and that's a real shame.

Game RantJonathan Ammerman

5/10

Windbound is a pleasant oceanic indie. It does a very fine job of balancing itself between being a calming experience in a deserted island world and a title that is genuinely tense thanks to its survival and permadeath nature. The inventory management is extremely frustrating early on, but eventually, the crafting nature of the game clicks and it becomes enjoyable to create helpful tools and a resourceful boat to explore the world. The objective of the game, unfortunately, becomes repetitive just as the other aspects of the title come into their own. But simply traversing the islands, discover...

WCCFtechChris Wray

4.5/10

Have you ever been to the Caribbean or seen pictures of the Caribbean Sea? The clear as glass water, the beautiful coral reefs all lit perfectly by the overhanging ball of fire. It's impossible not to immediately be gripped by it, the prospect of that beauty surrounding you while you take in everything the area has to offer. Windbound is that picture.

VGChartzJacob James

4/10

Whatever potential Windbound had went down with the ship.Windbound is a survival adventure game with rogue-like progression and procedurally generated islands. The main focus is centered [...]