Where Winds Meet: Evil Geese, AI Chatbots & More
▼ Summary
– Where Winds Meet is a free-to-play open-world Wuxia RPG developed by Everstone Studio and published by NetEase, reaching two million players within 24 hours of its global release.
– The game incorporates a wide variety of gameplay elements, including open-world exploration, Sekiro-like combat, Soulslike bosses, character customization, and both single-player and online modes.
– It features humorous and absurd content, such as demonic geese that become bosses if not healed and the ability to ride multiple camels or other unusual mounts.
– The developers appear to have used AI chatbots for NPC dialogue, leading to varied and sometimes anachronistic interactions, while the game also includes a costly cosmetic gacha system.
– Despite its popularity, the game suffers from technical issues, bugs, and inconsistent elements like UI problems, stealth mechanics, and character appearance glitches.
Where Winds Meet has rapidly become a global phenomenon, drawing over two million players within a single day of its worldwide launch. This free-to-play Wuxia role-playing game, developed by Everstone Studio and published by NetEase, immerses players in a sprawling ancient Chinese landscape. While the title only recently became available internationally, it has been accessible in China since last December, quickly building a passionate following.
The game’s explosive popularity likely stems from its ambitious blending of numerous modern gaming trends. It features a massive open world, combat mechanics reminiscent of Sekiro, challenging Soulslike boss encounters, and an incredibly detailed character creation system. Beyond that, players can explore loot-filled dungeons, engage in platforming and stealth sequences, and enjoy a robust single-player campaign. A separate online mode allows for player-versus-player battles or cooperative minigames, with some observers noting the sheer volume of these diversions could rival titles like WarioWare.
One of the most talked-about elements involves a surprising antagonist: geese. An early quest requires players to successfully heal one of these birds. Failure triggers a dramatic transformation, turning the goose into a demonic entity called the Manaical Goose, complete with a boss health bar and a relentless desire to chase the player. This has led to a popular community strategy of hurling every goose encountered into nearby bodies of water, as they can apparently drown in the game’s physics.
The transportation options in Where Winds Meet are equally unconventional. Players can reportedly ride five camels at the same time, among many other bizarre mounts. Alternatives include leopards, icy bucks, giant cats, and even being carried by two men in an ornate litter. For those preferring speed, there’s a sled dog team or a super-fast running ability that seems to be a nod to the film Kung Fu Hustle. Of course, one can also choose to travel by standing on geese.
Adding to the game’s eccentric reputation is a cosmetic item with an astronomically high unlock cost. If a player has poor luck with the gacha-style mechanics, they could theoretically end up spending around $42,000 to obtain it.
To manage the immense scope of its content, Everstone Studio appears to have utilized AI chatbots for many non-player characters. This approach presumably saved significant development time on dialogue writing. The results, however, have been unpredictable. NPCs have been observed planning trips to Beijing, rejecting unsavory advances from players, and offering historically inaccurate recipes, such as one involving ketchup and potatoes, despite tomatoes not being available in the Song Dynasty setting. Some have even been known to share random facts about the Godot game engine.
Despite the time-saving potential of AI, the game is not without its technical flaws. Players have reported a bug where custom-created Black characters appear white during actual gameplay. Others on Steam forums have complained that their meticulously designed avatars look completely different once in the game world.
Reviewers have pointed out several areas needing improvement. One publication described navigating the user interface as more painful than crawling over broken glass, while also criticizing the clunky and inconsistent stealth mechanics. IGN highlighted a range of technical problems, including overlapping voice lines, subtitles that do not match the spoken dialogue, and audio that sometimes cuts out entirely.
The overall experience has frequently been described as “uneven,” a term that applies to its tone as much as its performance. Where Winds Meet seems to embrace a chaotic, kitchen-sink philosophy, throwing an incredible variety of ideas at the player. This has left some wondering about the game’s core identity, with one social media user succinctly asking what the game is even about, accompanied by a picture of four Shiba Inus sitting at a table.
While the ultimate vision for Where Winds Meet may remain unclear, its massive player count is an undeniable success. Its approach raises a question for the future of game development: will successful titles increasingly rely on AI-generated content and a disjointed smorgasbord of gameplay features, creating a formless experience for players? Many hope the answer is no.
(Source: Kotaku)
