Windblown shows how good roguelikes can be with friends

Some of the astir beloved roguelikes are single-player — the likes of Hades, Balatro, and Dead Cells are each solo titles. But Windblown, the caller roguelike from Motion Twin, the workplace that created Dead Cells, showed maine conscionable really cool it tin beryllium to play a roguelike pinch different people.

In Windblown, your character, 1 of a fewer adorable animal adventurers for illustration an axolotl aliases a bat, is changeable retired of a cannon into a mysterious elephantine tornado to conflict your measurement done various zones. Like Dead Cells, you tin equip up to 2 main weapons. I typically person 1 for close-range bouts and different for long-distance attacks. But pinch each weapon, you’re besides capable to propulsion disconnected a combo that uses a typical move from the other weapon called an “Alterattack.”

Here’s an example. I emotion utilizing a crossbow to onslaught enemies from a distance, and I brace it pinch a elephantine dense blade. I seldom usage the leaf connected its own; instead, I usage its Alterattack that cracks unfastened the world successful a consecutive statement to proceed to wallop connected enemies astatine range. That turns a tally into a dependable hit of slinging arrows and utilizing the Alterattack astatine exactly the correct time, and pinch my 5 hours truthful acold pinch the game, I haven’t gotten tired of the pattern.

Windblown conscionable launched successful early access, and you tin already unlock much than a twelve weapons, meaning location are a batch of combinations that I haven’t messed astir with. And pinch 4 different biomes to get done connected a run, there’s a batch to see, too.

All of that would beryllium capable to make Windblown portion of my regular rotation of roguelikes I usage to upwind down astatine the extremity of a agelong day. But the game’s multiplayer is making Windblown the crippled I move to each clip I move connected my Steam Deck.

Windblown’s multiplayer lobbies, which you unlock reasonably early on, fto you play a afloat tally pinch a squad of 3 people. You tin usage sound and matter chat to communicate, but it’s not required; I haven’t utilized those astatine all, alternatively relying connected 4 in-game emoji. I besides for illustration that you tin sanction your lobbies. I created 1 titled “help maine get 1st win” and instantly had 2 adjuvant group subordinate up to thief maine tackle the tornado. (Sadly, we did not get the win.) 

When playing solo, I’ve recovered that I’m somewhat cautious and strategical arsenic I deliberation astir really to usage weapons and positioning to return connected the game’s fierce enemies and dodge their attacks. With the thief of a team, battles are speedier and go delightful explosions of light, color, sound, and damage. It’s so nosy to perfectly annihilate baddies pinch different people, and it’s comforting to cognize that they’ve sewage your backmost successful a pinch.

There are a lot of awesome roguelikes to play correct now; Hades II conscionable sewage a immense update, Balatro is nearly impossible to put down (especially now that it’s on mobile), and I’ve wanted to get backmost into Shogun Showdown, which I deliberation everyone is sleeping on. Windblown needed much than conscionable its Motion Twin pedigree to guidelines out, but truthful far, the multiplayer is the hook that keeps maine coming back.