Gato Studio, a Spanish team, is behind The Waylanders. It is a role-playing video game. The game is playable from a third-person perspective and has been released recently for Microsoft Windows February 2, 2022.
The Waylanders is a single-player video game in the genre of Role-playing. We will tell you what we thought about this fantastic journey. A game that borders the line between indie and triple-A; because its audiovisual work is very striking. A timeless journey full of magic, mystery, and myth awaits us that we will gladly reveal to you!
History in the Waylanders
From Gato Studio, we are transported to a magical Galicia full of mythological references. We begin by accompanying King Ith and a group of high command on the way to the island where the gods dwell. This vitally important journey seeks to form an important pact. The monarch motivates his son to take the crown. But in a flash, things get bad.
The Waylanders Gameplay
In The Waylanders, we have to create our characters by choosing their gender, race, class, and personal background. Race determines a good part of the physical aspect. We can choose to be a human, Werewolf, Mouro, or a semi-Fomorian. In the class, we will define the weapons-abilities that we can use together with their strengths-weaknesses: warrior, guardian, thief, archer, magician, and healer. Finally, we have the background of the character to tell his past, motives, and aspirations. The options available for choosing this last element will depend on the class and race that we select.
The first bars of the game allows us to interact with some characters and explore a little to meet the crew. A mix of “WASD” controls on the keyboard with the selection of items using the mouse, which works very well.
It would be good if, in the future, they allow WASD movement without using the mouse to select items. The tutorials help you understand how the controls work. Unfortunately, there are times where you want to perform an action, but it collides with key buttons. An example would be that you want to use an ability, you confirm it, and at the same time, it can activate an element of the world.
We have combat that is reminiscent of other greats of the genre, such as Diablo and Dragon Age, oriented to action. The peculiarity here is that we can stop time to choose our movements and the formations. It is because we have several characters in the group moved by the AI while we control one. A practical example would be, controlling the healer while using a formation that protects him to heal your team. We can change characters at any time because everyone levels up, their skills to improve, their weapons, and their inventory.
The Waylanders Vast but Not Open World
The world is vast to explore with various paths on a large map, but it is not open. Each section offers a lot to discover through secondary quests, exploration to find the treasure, or an epic enemy. Despite this incentive, its progression is linear but does not feel boring or monotonous, but it is accentuated a bit in the dungeons.
The Waylanders Graphic Section
Its artistic section is beautiful in the settings that we can visit from the initial campaign. The lighting manages to transport the Celtic magic of this mythical world, together with a good character design. It has a variation in the areas that you can visit. They are well defined, with their own identity despite the linear progression. Unfortunately, there are some glitches such as lip-sync, enemies with invisible weapons. Or collisions that do not match or lack some sounds.
The Waylanders Music and Sound
We couldn’t talk about RPG if it didn’t have a decent soundtrack. The musical section of the game caught me at all times for its pieces that manage to capture the history, the combats, and its picturesque settings. The voice work is also to be praised. They manage to make you feel arrogance, loyalty, discontent, or sympathy with the different choices that you will make on your adventure. It is criticized that the lip-sync still needs to be polished, the lack of some sound effects or music in the cinematics.
Conclusion
And what it offers us is not scarce, but it can be polished. The story manages to catch you quickly, along with its secondary feats to complement its lore. The music and voice acting stand out from start to finish, alongside well-awarded exploration. Your combat needs to improve because sometimes the controls collide with the elements of the world.