Windblown's early access shows promise but lacks a reason to keep playing

Windblown's early access is a good foundation but it doesn't yet have enough substance to hold my attention

Windblown / Motion Twin

After coming out with a fantastic 2D action roguelike in Dead Cells, fans were understandably excited when Motion Twin announced Windblown, an isometric action roguelike.  Like with Dead Cells, Windblown is being launched in early access first, which is a model plenty of roguelikes have used to great success before – the Hades games are the biggest ones that come to mind.

However, I question the decision to go for early access quite this soon, as it feels like Windblown isn’t substantial enough yet. The fundamentals are all there; you dart about 3D environments with a dash mechanic and wail on enemies as you attempt to get as far as possible in each zone, looting as much stuff as you can to unlock permanent upgrades.

Windblown / Motion Twin

All of this is good, but the game never showed me what it could do that everything else in the genre couldn’t. The combat is fast and fun, with strikes feeling snappy and combos flowing well between your two primary weapons, plus, zipping around the place with the dash is very satisfying. However, I can say that about a few isometric roguelikes, and while Windblown shows hints of innovation, I’m yet to find a reason to stick with it.

One innovation is that you have two primary weapon slots, and the game doesn’t limit you to say, a melee and ranged weapon in those slots. If you want two different melee weapons or even use entirely ranged attacks, then you can absolutely do that, which is a level of customization over your loadout that a lot of other roguelikes don’t allow.

That’s where my list runs dry though, as Windblown is missing a lot of what made Dead Cells so much fun. There is very little in terms of exploration, for example. Level design is very straightforward, with even markers on the ground pointing in the correct direction. If there ever is a side path to a treasure chest it’s extremely brief and very easy to spot. 

Windblown / Motion Twin

On top of that, the dash mechanic automatically hops over the many gaps in the terrain, which is cool to look at, but it means there’s no challenge to the platforming at all. I know the platforming wasn’t a huge part of Dead Cells, but it did add something to level exploration that Windblown currently lacks.

I’m a firm believer that, when looking at an early access game, the question should always be “Is it worth buying right now?”, because we all know how development can unexpectedly go south. My answer to that about Windblown is a firm no. In a year – when the game has been fleshed out more – I may change that answer, but right now it doesn’t have anything that isn’t already being done by other games.