Have you ever dreamed what would happen if you were to become shipwrecked on an island – not deserted, but inhabited by people, and strange animals you have never seen or even thought existed? Then Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is the game for you (and me)!
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (Yonder for short), was originally released on the PlayStation 4 and Steam in 2017, but got the Nintendo Switch treatment by the studio Prideful Sloth which calls themselves “a micro-AAA developer known for technical excellence in world-building and a focus on player-driven experiences” – and they indeed deliver on these promises. I went into Yonder without any prior knowledge, since I only saw some of the stunning imagery and was hooked by the art style. The game begins on a boat, which made me reminisce about Oceanhorn, and even a bit about Zelda – but Yonder takes a different turn and combines the best of a few different worlds..
Story
After the shipwreck incident, you wake up in a cave after a thousand year .. no wait, that’s Zelda. You do wake up in a cave, but not in your underpants – fully dressed you go out into the world and meet the lovely residents of Fairmont, one of the many villages of Yonder. Most of the quests focus on getting items for and from people or clearing the lands of the poisonous substance called ‘Murk’. Step by step you discover more of the land and where this ‘Murk’ came from, with the help of some fairy-like creatures, called Sprite. I can’t go into much detail about the Sprite or Murk, since I would spoil the story too much, so you’ll have to discover the secrets of Murk for yourself. If you only complete the essential storyline of Yonder, which is all based on repairing the Cloud Catcher, you’ll see the ending in 6 till 8 hours, which isn’t long. But if you embrace the Harvest Moon x RPG setting Yonder throws at you, you won’t be done for another 20+ hours. Even if you only play the game for the main storyline, you’ll be in for an emotional rollercoaster of self-discovery.
Gameplay
The controls of Yonder are great. They respond well in handheld and TV mode, which makes the game easily playable on all locations (although I shouldn’t try and play it in the shower..). Quests are stored in a magical compass, which gives of a nice ray of light in the direction you’ll have to go, so you’ll never feel lost .. or do you? Sometimes the quest information was a little lacking, which made it difficult to complete the conditions for certain side quests. Same goes for the fast travel system I discovered really late in game, since you had to craft the tools to make it possible. I think the game could have been a little more helpful in this area, since crafting is a big part of the game. You can specialize in different occupations, like brewer (fireworks), carpenter (wood structures) and tailor (cosmetics). Crafting and running around in your underpants aren’t the only parts of the game though. I already called it Harvest Moon RPG once, and that’s because you can be a farmer as well. The Island has different animals, so you can create a total of five different farms, with flowery pigs, huge rabbits, clay producing foxes, and much more. I spent a lot of time on my farm and running around, looking for crafting materials, since it was fun – not since I had to for a quest. I wanted to create the best farms for the island – with lots of different animals and flowers/trees.
Graphics
Yonder looks stunning on the Switch. It’s really a color explosion with a very cool night/day system, which creates a lighting feature I haven’t seen in any game so far. The character design reminded me of Playmobil, but then modernized into a game. They also added seasons, which will make the game turn from spring to summer, to autumn to winter – with snow, brown leaves, sunny weather and heavy rainfall as it’s guests. It makes the game feel alive, just like the game world. The animals aren’t static icons, they are migrating over the island and sleep when it turns dark. A nice feature and I’ll hope we’ll see more of Prideful Sloth.
Conclusion:
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a journey of self-discovery, which you can take as quickly or slowly as you want. If you only want to play the main storyline to see what’s the game all about, you’ll be missing out on the unique world Prideful Sloth created, with lots of unique animals and people. If you liked Oceanhorn and Harvest Moon, and you can’t wait till a new game of both IPs will be released? Then try Yonder, a farming-RPG with more emotional depth than the average Young Adult novel. You can get it on the Nintendo E-shop or physical at your local retailer.
