After four hours of gameplay in Windrose, the player has engaged in activities such as felling trees, collecting seashells, and constructing grass huts, while also facing challenges from various creatures. The player is currently stranded on an archipelago and must rescue their crew from different islands. Windrose has seen nearly 70,000 concurrent players and received around 1,500 positive reviews on its first day on Steam, despite being in early access. The game lacks a wind system for sailing, and the player feels it resembles a survival game with pirate aesthetics rather than an authentic pirate experience. In contrast, Sea of Thieves is noted for capturing the essence of piracy through its multiplayer experience and physical gameplay mechanics. Sea of Thieves has evolved over time with new content and features, while Windrose has faced technical issues that hinder the experience. The player expresses skepticism about investing time into Windrose, despite the potential for building a pirate fortress.
Wayfinder Studios has announced Wyldheart, a cooperative RPG developed by veterans from games like ARC Raiders, Minecraft, and Battlefield. In Wyldheart, players take on the role of a peasant imprisoned and seek an ancient relic to protect their town, with options to play solo or with up to three friends. The game features a semi-cartoonish visual style inspired by early Elder Scrolls games and the Fable series, focusing on social dynamics, NPC interactions, and exploration. Players can engage with local villagers, uncover quests, gather materials, craft items, and upgrade gear. The combat system offers 19 backgrounds and various skill trees, including magic, adventuring, and survival, along with a range of melee and ranged weapons. The co-op experience includes a drop-in and drop-out system with cloud-shared saves and group XP, designed for busy gamers with campaigns of approximately 10 hours of story content and an additional 15 hours of optional gameplay. Wyldheart is currently in alpha and will enter Early Access later this year, with players able to wishlist it on Steam.