Where Winds Meet is probably one of the most ambitious open-world games I’ve seen in a long time. The interactive world combines Chinese history with fantasy, amazing martial arts skills, and even some interesting and innovative ways to travel the vast new world.
Set during the darkest era
Where Winds Meets takes place in between two Dynasties, marking one of the most chaotic and dark times of China. You play as a young swordsman who is destined to hone his skills and become to hero the world so desperately needs. It’s a story of a mysterious faith so you can expect a lot of surprises and plot twists along the way. During the demo, I got a glimpse of the story and I must say I loved the visual style of it, staying true to Chinese history but adding a nice fantasy layer to keep things fresh and engaging for the player. It’s one of the better-looking games I’ve seen here at Gamescom and judging by the scale of the map this is a rather impressive thing to do. It feels like the team is really finding that difficult balance of creating an interactive world without forgetting the importance of a good story.
As ambitious as they come
Where Winds Meet is easily one of the most ambitious games here at Gamescom and focusses on three main features. The first one is combat, which combines traditional weapons with martial arts but adds a bit of humor to the mix. If you’ve seen Jacky Chan movies, you’ll get an idea of what to expect. At its core, our protagonist is able to learn and master a crazy amount of different techniques which you’ll be able to upgrade and select in an enormous skill tree. During the presentation I saw the protagonist scaring off a bear by yelling into a giant bell. It doesn’t have to be all that serious constantly and that’s the charm of the game for sure. It’s not disclosed how many techniques you’ll master during the game but it really looks like a sea of endless possibilities to be honest.
The second main part is the open-world itself where you can do and become everything you dreamed of. From fishing and relaxing to petting cats and even becoming a doctor or bodyguard, the game allows you to do whatever you like. It’s crazy to think how much work went into the game in order to create this level of freedom but the demonstration provided enough proof that the game is way more than just an ambitious brainstorm session. Besides the freedom you can also learn different martial art techniques to travel through the open world faster. If you manage to control the winds for example, you can soar above the map and fast-travel towards your next mission.
The last main portion is the multiplayer, which wasn’t showcased in the demo but the point here is that you’ll be able to play the game with other players online, which is even more crazy considering the vast size of the project.
Early conclusion
Where Winds Meet looks absolutely bonkers. It’s crazy to see a game this good-looking while giving you an unseen amount of freedom in a gorgeously created open world. If the team manages to deliver on their promises, this will easily become the new standard for open world games.
