Windward Review
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to take command of your very own naval ship
and sail the seven seas in search of pirates and plunder?
Windward shows us all what those adventures could look like, and let me tell you…
It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be…
In Windward you take control of a naval ship and set sail to try to take control of all
the ocean regions from the hordes of pirates.
Before you start, you have the option to completely customize the game map.
Selecting the layout of the regions, how many factions there are and where they will start.
The game will then generate random layouts for each of the regions, making visiting each
area a unique experience every time.
To gain control of an area for your chosen faction, you must capture all the cities in
that region.
Obviously the pirates aren’t going to let you just waltz in, so there’s going to be
some fighting.
The battles are all about outmaneuvering your enemy and using your abilities at the right
times.
But If your not careful, they’ll be sendin ya to davey jones’ lockerrr!
This combat system is Windward is actually surprisingly deep for being such a simple
concept.
It takes practice to learn how to outmaneuver other ships, and timing to execute your abilities.
You will likely find that the most entertaining moments in Windward are spent in heated battles
with pirates.
To add to the depth of the combat, there are a variety of ship types that can be purchased
and upgraded with better crew members, canons and other features of the ship.
The different ships and upgrades will alter your attributes making your ship faster, stronger,
or more durable.
Combine that with the diversity in abilities you can learn, and you are able to focus on
three primary plays styles, Damage, Tank, and Support.
These styles will all require different attributes and ship types as well as the correct abilities
to be executed well.
The depth in the combat is the strongest part of windward.
Customizing your ship to suit your playstyle is not only fun, but extremely effective and
This encourages players to try out the different styles to find their favourite.
Getting tired of combat?
Well have no fear; there are some other diversions that you can take part in.
While visiting towns you can pick up missions or tradeable goods that usually require you
to sail to another town to drop something off or pick it up in exchange for some gold
and experience.
These missions and trading quests are incredibly boring, forcing you to sit there and watch
your ship sail back and forth for a mediocre reward.
I immediately starting avoiding these missions altogether, and I suggest you do the same.
Maybe the only thing good about the endless sailing is that Windward looks really good.
The detail put into the water and the coastline really helps the overall appearance of the
game.
It really makes you feel like you are sailing on the open water.
The music helps to cement this feeling, but the same tracks repeating over and over does
get old fairly quickly.
Windward does support multiplayer, allowing friends to join your game, and this definitely
improves the experience of fighting the pirates, because your AI teammates can be really stupid.
Sometimes sailing in the complete opposite direction of a major battle, or allowing pirates
to easily capture cities.
After my first few hours, I was left wondering if this was all there was to the game.
And After a few more hours, I was sure that this was all there is but I didn’t care.
Is this a stellar game full to the brim with content, no.
But what it is is a simple, easy to pick up game with a deep and rewarding naval combat
experience.
So for that reason the final verdict for Windward is a 6 out of 10.
It’s an above average game.
There isn’t a lot to Windward, but what IS there can provide some solid hours of entertainment.
Don’t expect too much from this game, and you’ll be able to enjoy it for what it is.
Well that’s it for Windward, If you’d like what you see don’t be afraid to click
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I want to thank you guys for watching and I hope to see you next time on Yes Guy Gaming!
Windward Game Review