Hands On: Where Winds Meet PS5 Is Vast, Visionary, and on the Verge of Collapse

After nearly 20 hours of gameplay, we’ve scarcely touched the tip of Where Winds Meet.

We had contemplated releasing a Review in Progress, but it soon became apparent that the magnitude of this game dramatically surpasses the playtime we had prior to its launch.

Additionally, we have inquiries regarding the condition of the version we accessed, and how it will improve by the game’s release on 14th November. (More on that later.)

If there’s one thing you should grasp immediately about this free-to-play venture from the Chinese giant NetEase, however, it’s that its magnitude is astonishing. This is a 150-hour historical saga featuring both single-player and MMO-style multiplayer elements. And it’s absolutely free.

While we remain somewhat uncertain regarding the monetization aspect here – the features were primarily disabled in our pre-launch build – our comprehension is that it mostly pertains to aesthetics, Battle Passes, and similar content.

We believe there is a gacha system, but it’s only for apparel and other customization elements.

If we seem a bit vague, it’s due to this game being incredibly intricate, and we genuinely have yet to grapple with all of it. In the game’s pre-release setup, we’re still not entirely certain what will evolve when you download and play it yourself.

This is a significant concern because if any other platforms do opt to evaluate the game today, you may encounter some harsh critiques regarding its technical flaws.

We experienced numerous glitches during our gameplay, ranging from incorrect button prompts to segments of missing dialogue to misnamed subtitles to unresponsive UIs and crashes.

We conveyed our observations to NetEase and were informed that many of these issues will be addressed, while others remain a priority for the developers. At this writing, we simply cannot comment on how much will be resolved when you download the game yourself.

However, despite these challenges, we can affirm that there’s something potentially exceptional here, provided developer Everstone Studios can manage its ambition and unify everything into a cohesive, refined experience.

So, what are some reference points? The game feels reminiscent of Ghost of Tsushima to us, with the expansive plains of the initial area, Qinghe, evoking the same sense of liberty as Sucker Punch’s masterpiece.

Yet, it also carries the richness of a contemporary Assassin’s Creed or even a Bethesda RPG, with an apparent 10,000 NPCs going about their daily lives on the map, infusing vibrancy into every settlement and camp you encounter.

A later locale, Kaifeng, transitions into a sprawling 10th-century city – a bustling metropolis filled with sights, sounds, and narratives.

You can decide how you wish to engage with Where Winds Meet: do you prefer the focus to be on single-player or multiplayer? Would you like the game to guide you towards points of interest or discover them independently? How much assistance do you seek in combat?

All of these options can be activated/deactivated at the onset of your playthrough and adjusted later on. For the sake of time, we increased the guidance and concentrated on single player, but we feel it might be enjoyable to experience this with minimal guidance available.

The stakes in the narrative begin relatively light, with a Jade pendant you’ve worn since childhood being taken from you.

This initiates a narrative unfolding a series of secrets that delve deep into China’s Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. If you appreciate Wuxia-style stories or series, you’ll thrive here.

As we’ve previously mentioned: this game is complex. Specific items in the world can be scanned and added to your compendium for historical significance; the UI is a dizzying array of modes, skill trees, unlockables, currencies, and equipment.

The game attempts to deliver it gradually, but even we found ourselves completely overwhelmed by what was available, and we can confidently state we would require at least another 30 to 50 hours of gameplay to grasp everything.

Narrative quests are divided between the main storyline and Fractured Tales, which are effectively side quests enriching the world. Keeping track of everything might feel daunting, but again it all contributes to the notion that you inhabit a real environment.

Combat, on the other hand, encompasses a wide array of various weaponry – from blades and pikes to more innovative tools such as parasols and rope darts.

With acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Tung Wai brought on to assist in choreographing the battles, you can be assured it appears as stylish as a movie.

The structure aligns more with something akin to Stellar Blade rather than Dark Souls, although you do possess a stamina gauge and might get unsteady if you deplete it.

Again, for the sake of time, we engaged with the easiest difficulty and thus found it not overly demanding. Yet, equipped with tools like the aforementioned parasol, we appreciated how responsive it felt, even if there is admittedly a glitchy foundation to the whole experience.

Abilities can also be assigned to hotkeys, allowing you to unleash some powerful special attacks every few moments. We suspect that these cooldowns might become a point of contention for more action-oriented players, as you can sense the shadow of an MMO here.

We didn’t manage to explore the online multiplayer, mainly because we focused our energies on the single-player missions that intrigued us more. However, FromSoftware’s influence is noticeable as you will sometimes come across notes from other users on the ground, suggesting secrets or providing hints. (Or just outright teasing you in some instances.)

The cutscenes, while unlikely to ever win any cinematographic accolades, are notable and plentiful for a free-to-play venture – although the English voice acting leaves much to be desired, and as previously mentioned, the subtitles don’t align in the edition of the game we tried. We’d advise playing in Chinese, although you might lose context if the script isn’t rectified.

Nonetheless, the quests effectively showcase the ordinariness of 10th-century Chinese existence while blending it with the spectacle of a wuxia action film. It’s a rather fascinating dichotomy.

It’s just challenging to ascertain, at this point, how long it will take to realize its full capabilities. The build we experienced simply didn’t feel complete, with the bow and arrow attempting to utilize the DualSense’s adaptive triggers, but falling short.

We’re apprehensive that there’s too much imperfect here for everything to be rectified by November 14th, which is why we’re refraining from even a Review in Progress at this moment.

There’s an abundance to explore, and indeed, so much that could theoretically go awry we find ourselves in uncharted territory here.

However, if we were to summarize what we’ve engaged with thus far: it’s daring, exceedingly ambitious, gripping beyond comprehension, and, well, just about operable.

For every glimpse of something outstanding here, there’s a flaw. Can Everstone refine this to meet its requirements? All we can assert is that we’re certain it will make the effort…

Are you keen on experiencing Where Winds Meet yourself upon its release this week? Engage with the multitude of systems as if you’re engulfed in Wuxia fantasy in the comments section below.