Windbound developer 5 Lives Studios has shed some new light on the Zelda-like game in an interview with SegmentNext. In this interview, they explained a bit more about the crafting elements that players will experience, along with the different modes players can choose from.
Exploring using your own hand-crafted boats is to be a huge part of Windbound. Players will first start out with a simple canoe, but as they progress they will need to upgrade it to explore further. The developers explained that players may need to craft stronger hulls and decks to withstand different terrain, such as shallow coral reefs. Along with crafting boats, players can upgrade their armor’s durability, place crafting stations, increase item storage, and reshape their boat to their needs and preferences.
At the beginning of the game, players will be able to choose between two different modes. The first is the storytelling mode that will ease back on the harsh world and allow players to move through it like a crafting/adventure game. The second is a survivalist mode that offers more challenges to make surviving a bit more difficult and central to the gameplay.
While the game is open for players to explore, they will progress through it in Chapters. Reaching new Chapters will expand the play area with the final Chapter making the world kilometers wide and full of islands of varying biomes.
Windbound will be available to play August 28, 2020, on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
