admin A while ago, a moody image of a warrior standing in the rain caught my attention. Descriptions sell this game as a sprawling epic with triple-A level storytelling. While the final result is certainly bigger than the eye can see, Where Winds Meet isn’t what I expected. The forthcoming mobile ARPG is out now on PlayStation 5 and PC, and I’ve been spending the bulk of my time with Everstone Studios’ debut putting it through its paces on the ROG Ally Z1e.
Where Winds Meet is a melting pot of ambitions. Part of it wants to chase the prestige of telling a thrilling blockbuster story, one akin to Ghost of Yotei or Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Another part of it wants to revel in the thrill of community and shared space in a more traditional MMORPG fashion. Initial setup prompts ask me whether I prefer team play or solo exploration, giving me the option to streamline my experience. It won’t make much of a difference because the developer is throwing everything at the wall, hoping it sticks.
Think of any popular trope in modern gaming, and you’ll likely find it in Where Winds Meet. Just about any idea Everstyone Studios has considered is present, for better and definitely for worse. There’s the usual gauntlet of tasks from many of the best RPGs, whether that is fishing, crafting, or base building. POIs feature a litany of NPCs that wish to do nothing but yap mostly inconsequential babble, revealing the stark tonal shift that isn’t present in the game’s initial marketing. Despite aiming to deliver a rich narrative, Where Winds Meet is actually a very over-the-top and often goofy experience to endure.
It’s brimming with giddy characters, many of them unable to speak at a normal volume. Their highly animated personas stand alongside equally amusing quests, such as throwing live bears at NPCs to reveal new martial arts methods. Don’t ask me why that makes sense here; that’s just the way of the land. Some of these NPCs use AI chatbot features, a touch that is intended to add immersion but feels more obtuse than anything else. Sure, these characters acknowledge my responses, but it isn’t meaningful or tangible.
Underneath all of this, the story puts you in the shoes of your own custom character, one who is looking for a sense of identity. With a mysterious past and secrets ready to be found, your goal is to uncover the real truth of your lineage. The opening moments of Where Winds Meet promise something more in line with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with an outlandish foe to fell in the art of combat. When the game shifts gears into full-on action game mode, this is where it feels the strongest.
Parries, counters, special moves, and abilities make up fights. It’s a mostly satisfying concoction of FromSoftware-style attacks with the sensibilities of Devil May Cry. Certain accommodations make combat more forgiving, but you can turn them off to make each battle a worthy challenge. You may see spamming numerous abilities at once as a cheese move, but here, it encourages laying down an assault on your enemy’s senses.
Learning more moves, upgrading your character, and gaining better gear make each encounter more potent. Yet, even with lower-level items, I still feel like I’m dealing hefty slashes to my rival. This shines in dungeon raiding too, an aspect of the game that can easily become a massive time sink. Loot is already plentiful in Where Winds Meet – trust me, you can stock up every couple of minutes as you wander around. However, dungeons are borderline ridiculous, sending you from rags to riches in one fell swoop. I wonder whether it’s too much at this stage, making it less of a grind and more of a simple chore.
With my time spent in-game on the ROG Ally Z1e, my highest praise for the game is undoubtedly on its performance. At 1080p resolution, you need minimal tweaks to get a stable framerate. There’s a fall in sharpness compared to its PlayStation 5 counterpart, but there’s still a decent-looking experience on handheld here. In most areas, I’m hovering around the 50-60fps mark, with more dense areas knocking it down into the 40-45fps bracket. Performance is nothing to scoff at here at all, but your SSD might say otherwise.
This isn’t a small download by any means. Where Winds Meet requires at least 100GB of free space on PC and 112GB on PlayStation 5. It isn’t quite as egregious as recent Call of Duty titles, but it has me thinking about the upcoming Android and iPhone versions. I can somewhat excuse it on consoles, but I fear for the remnants of space in my Nothing Phone (3a) Pro. Based on the version currently available in China ahead of a global rollout, you can expect to give up around 25-30GB of space on mobile.
Regardless of what version it is, Where Winds Meet so far is ultimately a decidedly confused world to explore. Like your custom character, it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be yet, or how to get there. There’s plenty of time for it to flourish into something worthwhile, but I hope that’s sooner rather than later.
Thinking of checking it out? Let us know over on the Pocket Tactics Discord server.
