"Windrose": A fun, low-cost Jack Sparrow simulator

Contents

Seventeen hundred and a few wrecks: Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, has declared himself king of the pirates and his fleet rules the Caribbean. With it, he is besieging Tortuga. The player tries to break through the blockade and escape. His ship is captured and sunk. Then he is unceremoniously thrown overboard with severe injuries. When he wakes up on the beach of a small island, he swears revenge. Firstly, you have to survive on the deserted island. And then you need a boat. Thereafter, nothing stands in the way of your privateer career.

This is how the pirate adventure “Windrose” begins, a cooperative survival action RPG for one to eight players that was released on Steam a few days ago in an initial early access version. For those familiar with the genre, Windrose can be briefly described: “Windrose” is “Valheim” with pirates. In fact, Windrose has so much in common with the pandemic hit from 2021 that it can safely be called a clone, at least as far as the game mechanics are concerned. The graphics clearly differ from the Viking survival role model. This is not bad in itself, because Valheim is popular for a reason: The sophisticated game mechanics still fascinate a considerable fan base five years after the release of the first early access version. That's why “Valheim with pirates” is also a pretty brilliant idea.

You can't live on rum alone

For everyone who has never played Valheim, the game principle of Windrose is briefly explained. It's a kind of Survival Game Light. Neither food, water, nor shelter from the weather are vital. The game character survives indefinitely if you don't get into fights with pirates, wild boars, or the surprisingly aggressive, ubiquitous dodos. You don't need water; rum and coffee are a bonus. However, your own health bar is so miserably short at the beginning that your own wannabe pirate is easy prey even for a dodo. Although death is not the end of the game, you lose many of the collected items. That's annoying, so you should look for something to eat.

Bild 1 von 12

Windrose ausprobiert – Bildergalerie 1 (12 Bilder)

Two food slots need to be filled. Each of the two significantly extends the health bar. However, you must always have two different dishes ready, one different for each food slot, in order to start wild pirate adventures with maximum health. So you have to diligently collect ingredients and always keep an eye out for new recipes during your adventures. You can not only process enemies like giant crabs into kebabs, but also use bananas, dodo eggs, and cayenne pepper in creative creations.

Later, in addition to a cooking station, you can also build an alchemy table and brew various potions. This is where every pirate's best friend comes into play: rum. In addition to health elixirs that heal wounds, there is a whole collection of different potions that you can use to improve your attack power or teleport home.

What would a pirate be without his own ship?

After the player has felled palm trees, collected plant fibers, and built a first hut on the beach of the deserted island, it's time to venture inland. Wild animals, but also mysterious ruins await you here. Later, you gain access to a small dinghy with which you can explore further islands in the archipelago. There you will eventually find pirate nests belonging to Blackbeard's men. Gradually, you free the sailors captured there and thus assemble your own motley pirate crew.

Then you set about making one of the many shipwrecks, which are as common as sand in this part of the Caribbean, seaworthy again. Along the way, you'll find not only all sorts of contemporary weapons like sabers, swords, halberds, pistols, and black powder rifles, but also the tricorn hat that is obligatory for a pirate captain. Now you can get started: into battle with Blackbeard's fleet!

Like its Viking role model Valheim, the world of Windrose, largely composed of procedurally generated geography, is divided into different landscapes. First, the goal is to find hidden secrets in a landscape. These enable the construction of new tools, which gradually allow you to overcome increasingly stronger enemies until you finally encounter the end boss of the respective landscape. Then you continue by exploring a new area and mastering new challenges.

Bild 1 von 14

Windrose ausprobiert – Bildergalerie 2 (14 Bilder)

In the case of Windrose, after exploring the coastal jungle biome, Captain Thomas Richards stands in the player's way – the son of a bitch who burned down the player's ship and left them to the sharks. So now it's time to show Captain Richards what it feels like to get a cold ball right in the heart.

Dark humor, beautiful Caribbean

Where Windrose, besides its pirate attire, most clearly stands out from its role model Valheim is the graphics. Where Valheim, despite its rather dark Viking end-time atmosphere, appears pixelated and cute, the graphics of Windrose are significantly more realistic. It's clear that you can't expect revolutionary graphic advancements from an indie game in early access, but the game utilizes a lot of the Unreal Engine's potential. The palm jungles are satisfyingly dense, the beaches are spacious, and above all, the sky and sea of the game are impressive. Sailing in a storm, both initially in the dinghy and later on a real ship, can take your breath away. The wave crests are epic, and ship battles are convincing with thundering broadsides and the atmospheric crackling of sails in the wind.

Despite bloody saber duels, killer crabs, and water-corpse zombies, Windrose is colorful enough to generally maintain a lighthearted, humorous mood. The tone of the game is definitely inspired by Disney's “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The difficulty level should be taken seriously, especially when you are alone. Similar to Valheim, you create your game character separately from a game world that is partially dynamically generated and thus looks slightly different each time. The difficulty of the world can be adjusted in detail, and you can invite up to seven other players into your own world. Additionally, dedicated server worlds with even more players are possible.

Basically, Windrose is designed for four players. You can also play the game well as a solo player, but the difficulty level increases significantly. In normal game mode, the first final boss seems almost like a boss from “Elden Ring” for a single adventurer. You have to be prepared to die now and then. After all, you never lose experience points here.

The combat system of Windrose takes some getting used to at first. It seems relatively slow and relies heavily on parrying enemy attacks – a technique that should definitely be learned. Once you have internalized the unique rhythm of pirate duels and understood when to tactically use the limited ammunition for firearms, the whole thing becomes an artful dance that possesses surprisingly much depth. Especially in saber duels with other pirate captains, it's a lot of fun.

Early access oyster or just a mussel?

The Caribbean depicted in Windrose is as unrealistic as it is enjoyable. Exploring the beautiful islands on foot is just as much fun as sailing around the archipelagos at the helm of your own sloop. Saber duels in pirate camps are no less boring than the attempts to maneuver your own boat into position while simultaneously dodging the broadside of an enemy schooner.

Windrose is a very successful implementation of the pirate fantasy and surprisingly extensive for a game that has just been released in early access. Not to mention that it apparently comes with very few bugs and pretty polished gameplay. For just under 30 euros, you get a lot here.

The pirate adventure is already recommendable in its current state. If the development team, true to the Viking role model Valheim, continues to work diligently on the game for years during the early access phase, Windrose could become one of the best pirate games of all time.

(nen)