Windblown is an upcoming action roguelike video game developed and published by Motion Twin. It launched in early access for Windows on October 24, 2024, with a full release anticipated for Q4 2025.[1]
| Windblown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Motion Twin |
| Publisher(s) | Motion Twin Kepler Ghost |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Roguelike |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
editIn Windblown, the player controls a Leaper, an anthropomorphic creature in a world made up of floating islands. The Leapers, who live in the Ark—a village of their kind—work together to explore the nearby Vortex, fighting off Sentinel robotic creations that patrol the islands within it, while locating survivors, materials, and gear to bring back to the Ark. The character can use up to two weapons with various combination attacks, along with other gear and powerups they gain while exploring the Vortex. If the Leaper dies, they are returned to the Ark, losing their gear but retaining materials, which allow them to unlock new gear and abilities for future exploration.[2]
Development
editMotion Twin achieved success with their roguelike Dead Cells, first released in 2018. As they transferred ongoing development of the game's expansions to Evil Empire, the group began to brainstorm on what their next game would be. While they initially wanted to move away from the roguelike genre, they decided to build upon what they learned through Dead Cells to create a new roguelike.[3]
One goal with Windblown was to introduce cooperative multiplayer, compared to the single-player Dead Cells.[3] Another was to give the player the ability to quickly move about the game's levels, placing islands that they could reach in sight and providing routes to get there using a dash ability. Initially this was an ability with a cooldown but they found the game's pacing was improved by allowing the player to dash indefinitely without any cooldown.[3]
They wanted to maintain the same goal as Dead Cells, in which each run for the player would feel different, and tried a variety of metagame systems such as ideas borrowed from The Binding of Isaac and Hades, ultimately returning to a similar approach they had used in Dead Cells, which the player can unlock new weapons and gear that will randomly appear during a run by spending materials collected from previous runs.[3] Motion Twin also wanted to improve on the dual-weapon system from Dead Cells; while the player could switch between one of the two weapons they carried at any time within Dead Cells, there was no other benefit from this switch. Within Windblown, they added an "Alterattack" system that allowed extra boosts when the player switches between weapons. The team also looked to the Monster Hunter games to expand on what abilities they could incorporate into their weapons.[3][4]
Windblown was first announced in December 2023 as part of The Game Awards.[5] Motion Twin began alpha testing with about 300 users in February 2024.[3] The game had its early access release on October 24, 2024, following the success of early access in refining Dead Cells before its release.[6]
The game will be co-published by Motion Twin and Kepler Ghost.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Windblown early access release date, trailers, and latest news". PCGamesN. 2024-10-04. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ Blake, Vikki (September 20, 2024). "Here's 15 glorious minutes of Dead Cells creator's next game, Windblown". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Wood, Austin (October 12, 2024). ""How can we do better than Dead Cells?": Motion Twin follows a roguelike icon with a co-op game under huge but "good" pressure with "millions" waiting". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
- ^ https://www.gamesradar.com/games/roguelike/monster-hunter-was-a-big-inspiration-for-both-co-op-combat-and-weapon-design-on-dead-cells-devs-new-roguelike-the-depth-of-each-weapon-means-theres-always-more-to-learn/
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 7, 2023). "Dead Cells creators reveal their next game, Windblown". Polygon. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
- ^ Wood, Austin (October 10, 2024). "After 7 years of Dead Cells updates, devs share hopes for their new roguelike to get just as much support: "If we can, why not? If we are lucky enough"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
- ^ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (2023-12-08). "Dead Cells creators Motion Twin reveal cute and gory new roguelike Windblown". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2024-10-28.