You may have heard Windbound described as “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Wind Waker meet Disney’s Moana,” and indeed, the game’s official trailer definitely seemed to mix the best elements of all three. But even better than the stunning visuals and intriguing story which the trailer promises are the announcement of an official release date.
That’s right, Deep Silver and 5 Lives Studios’ maritime-focused title will release on August 28, 2020. It will be available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
The story of Windbound features Kara, a young sailor, and warrior, who washes up on the shore of a mysterious country called “the Forbidden Islands”. In order to survive in the procedurally generated world of the Islands, players will need to hunt the local wildlife, maintain their ship, craft various items, and explore ancient ruins. The developers promise that these ruins will reveal the history and lore surrounding the Forbidden Islands and the world of Windbound.
The central mechanic of the game will be its sailing system. Players will start out by crafting simple canoes, and, as they collect materials, gradually move on to larger and more powerful sailboats. Ships will be able to be customized in order to best suit each person’s individual play style. The developers have also hinted that the seas surrounding the Forbidden Islands may also be home to many mysterious and even deadly sea creatures.
5 Lives is an up-and-coming studio which has definitely had a strong start. Their debut title was 2015’s cyberpunk tactics title Satellite Reign, which was successfully crowdfunded. It received positive reviews and was favorably referred to as the successor to the classic science fiction adventure series Syndicate.
With many studios announcing delays on upcoming titles due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, we fervently hope that Windbound will release in August as announced.
Are you excited for Windbound? What kind of boat do you plan on crafting? Let us know!
