(Review written by Scott Dirk.)
Yonder is an open world exploration game that really delivers on its premise. You begin your journey on a ship your parents have sent you away on in an attempt to keep you safe from danger. After talking to the crew, a storm rolls in and the ship is quickly struck by lightning. A Sprite then intercedes and makes a deal with you to help you if you help the spirit find its children. These Sprites help you to combat the Murk that is littered across the land in which you are now stranded.
The game has a relaxed atmosphere of letting you explore your surroundings with childlike wonder without fear of monsters or traps. The game has a lot to explore, from huge plains, forests, and towns for trading and quests. Once you obtain tools, you’ll be able to collect various resources which you can use for crafting. The main mission is to restore the land from the infection of the Murk, but you do so at your own pace. The game gives you a lot of side quests to do as well as having farms and ranching.
The graphics in the game are very lush, but are not too demanding. The landscape is very enjoyable to look at while traveling between locations, and you can get lost in simply exploring what is around you. The world music is relaxed, but cycles between varied motifs, so it’s not just one tune set repetitively. There is also a day-night cycle which seems to have little effect other than the wild animals sleeping; the NPCs seem to be night owls.
The mechanic I enjoyed most was fishing, where you cast your line and use WASD keys to move the bobber. Once a fish bites, you then pull in the opposite direction of the fish. There is an arrow to help you with the direction, which made me feel like I was pulling in the fish. The fishing mechanic does seem better suited to a controller with thumb sticks but combing WASD keys worked well; you can also customize the key bind commands.
This is one of those expansive games that may take players a while to complete depending on how they pace themselves during gameplay. I think it’s worth the time to explore Yonder in this world.
Yonder is available on PC and PlayStation 4.
@Iphone: I’m with Paul, I got and have had a Iphone 4 for about 2 years now, I don’t like the idea of rushing to get things when they are first released, I take a while getting new consoles and phones.
@Wasteland 2: I am surprised Jonah didn’t mention more of the Kickstarter games that have been successfully released when Paul said he knew of only one (Wasteland 2). There is also FTL, Broken Age, Shadowgate, & Shadowrun Returns. Pillar’s of Eternity is coming out and I’m sure can be added to this list soon as well. If you only focus on the ones that fail you’re going to miss the ones that are succeeding.
Wasteland 2 has been fun so far, I like being able to create a party unlike in Fallout where it’s just you and some NPC’s. I also suggest trying to use energy weapons, they seem to be very powerful to me.
@Zelda rumors: I don’t recall or remember any of these but I do agree with Paul on the whole feeling something is there if you could just jump one more block or open a locked door. You want to know what’s there, humans love mysteries.
I do remember the stories about trying to find the lost level of Super Mario, which was actually true.
There are a slew of crazy Harry Potter theories and I do remember the “Weasley is our King”
@QotW: As for falling for any game Rumors I don’t think I really did, most of the time I had sources to validate if it was true or not. If I couldn’t do it or seemed astronomicaly impossible I figured it was fake. However the closest would be when Areis died in FF7 (I’d say spoiler warning but if you haven’t played it yet your’re probably never going to). I wanted there to be a way to save her since you could actually save Gremio in Suikoden, you can’t fault the logic of a angsty teenager.
The more I thought about it though the more I realized she had to die for the story, it was her death that brings about the Holy spell to save the world from Sephiroths Meteo. So yes listen to Paul if it doesn’t make sense in the story narrative, it probably isn’t true and if it is the game isn’t worth your time.
@iPhone yoga
It seems that someone did not pay attention during their physics lessons on the property of metals. I am sticking to my iPhone 4S. Last thing I need is my phone going all Beyoncé on me. But I am sure Apple will fix it. When they had problems with cracking screens, someone released a screen protector which was used for attack helicopter wind shields. You know, just in case you want to check your Facebook in a middle of a war zone.
@Windows NEIN!
Oh Lord, another Windows edition. When will Microsoft understand that the best way to fix a mistake is to never make it in the first place. I just hope that they were reading their feedback and will make a definitive windows experience. Considering that there is no alternative on the market, a good new windows is a necessity.
@QOTW
I don’t browse the net that much, so I avoid most of the rumours. If I do hear something, I triple check it for confirmation. I think my favourite rumour was the Halo 2 Scarab Gun. It was a plasma rifle that shot massive blasts of energy akin to the gigantic Scarab walking tank. It sounded like a hoax, until people proved that it actually exists. This set of a chain of rumours of other hidden weapons all across the game. Countless hours were spent in chasing ghosts in that game. A good marketing ploy if I ever saw one. My second favourite Bungie rumour is that Destiny has a storyline. Apparently it’s hidden somewhere deep deep within the game’s code and only the most dedicated players can find it.