I finished Ori and the Will of the Wisps last week and have been mulling over what to play next, bouncing between a variety of Xbox Game Pass titles. There are a lot of games I was drawn to, but ultimately, they either looked more difficult than I wanted to play, or they were basically Ori clones (puzzle platformers with glowing white protagonists). Wanting to play something but not really wanting to play anything too serious, I finally chose Wandersong, the thumbnail featuring a rainbow hued bard and friends.
It seemed cute, and I was curious how it would play, so I tried it.
Friends… I love it.
I am, of course, drawn to the tales of bards as non-traditional heroes, and they’re my favorite class in any game that offers them as a choice to play. Wandersong is no exception. A fun, technicolor romp to save the world from being restarted by the goddess Eya, so far, I’ve saved a town from ghosts, met a band of pirates, had coffee for the first time, met some mermaids, and saved a town from a smog-pumping factory that manufactured a very creepy “Happy Kid” toy, all with the POWER OF SONG.
Combat, puzzles, and dialogue
all make use of the right control-stick to interact with the world. “Combat” is
composed (heh) of singing different tunes to match or counter the enemy’s music
output or movement, like pushing forward against a troll’s yelling, or matching
the pattern of a ghost’s movement. You can use the power of song to direct different
puzzle elements, from gusts of wind and growing plants, to shaping bubbles or
moving blocks. And dialogue choices are, of course, selected with song,
including giving your bard a name with a limited selection of letters. I settled
on “Pleb”.
As the story progresses, eventually you meet another hero on a very different quest, and as the player, you get a chance to play as that hero, using the same controls to direct a sword against monsters.
I’m only to Act Four so far, so there are likely many other surprises waiting for me in the game. What starts out as a silly musical romp quickly develops an interesting and compelling story in the bard’s quest to stop the goddess Eya from restarting the universe.
I highly recommend it.
Wandersong originally released September 2018, so it’s been out for a good while, and it’s available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox for $19.99 retail, or it is included in Xbox Game Pass.
About the game…
Description
Wandersong takes you on a whimsical, musical journey across the globe. Eons ago, the goddess Eya put the universe into motion with her music--now, as she does every epoch or so, she's going to sing a new song and reset existence. You play as a lowly bard tasked with finding the pieces of a mysterious melody called the Earthsong, which is said to be able to preserve the planet. Use your singing to help characters, solve puzzles, and save the world!
History
Wandersong was first made by Greg Lobanov, inspired by his 5,000 mile bike ride across the United States, and went into development in October 2015. After a successful Kickstarter in February 2016, he brought on sound designer Em Halberstadt (known now for her exceptional work on Night in the Woods) and musician Gordon McGladdery (A Shell in the Pit, known for music in games such as Rogue Legacy, Viking Squad, Bunket Punks, etc). The game is made in Gamemaker: Studio, software that Greg first learned to make games in about a decade ago, but expanded with a wide array of in-house dev tools including a shape-and-color based level editor and fairly advanced audio editor.
Features
- 10-12 hours of adventure!
- Use singing to interact with the world!
- 150+ characters to meet and discover!
- 150+ characters to annoy with your singing!
- The DANCE BUTTON... dance anytime, anywhere!
- Whimsy!
Website: https://wanderso.ng/
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