(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.
Portable Xbox
@Orcs Must Die!
Weird! I played something similar from ISOTX, “Iron Grip: Warlord”. Tower defense, you can lay out traps and whatnot. And also first person shooter, so that you can kill the attackers yourself.
Derrick, interesting idea there: quick, fun games are back.
@LG Lawsuit Stops PS3 Shipments In Europe:
Bwa ha ha ha ha 😀
This is unbelievable! As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, so threatening Sony with disrupting PS3 imports is … lame. Unless Sony has NO REPLACEMENT for PS3. Then it makes sense. It’s like threatening with a kick to a groin already beaten up.
@Mortal Kombat Banned in Australia:
I think they could be getting it via Steam. Or via friends from other regions :P.
I see this as a test on how weak the ban gets enforced. I say it’ll be very easy to bypass.
Derrick, according to Rayden, the whole idea of MK is not death, but preservation of life 😛
@Rift:
Too bold for his own good. There’s a quote from C&C Generals Zero Hours, that goes like: “Rage won’t get you anywhere, general. Now, rage and a column of tanks …”.
Will Cook has rage. Not sure about tanks though.
@Browser Based PC Games The Future?
The browser is the viewing end. In this case, things are done on remote servers.
Dunno about cloud computing. Bandwidth will always be an issue, and hardcore players will want to take control of the quality of their experience.
It might work however for folks who don’t mind some graphical issues.
Very interesting approach however on it being a demo platform. Very, very interesting approach.
@PC Gaming Is Indeed Dying:
😀 I’m not having a fit. I’ll still be playing PC games. Heck, Steam is growing like hell, so any conclusion on PC gaming longevity based on retail sales is cr@p.
Jonah, I hooked up my PC to a TV since 2001 to watch movies. The PC has the flexibility that allows you to both play games and to do “office stuff”.
@What is your favorite gaming food?
I don’t really eat while gaming. I would go for cookies, crackers, biscuits stuff like that. Maybe some dark chocolate. And soft drinks like Pepsi or Coke.
@Orcs Must Die!
Weird! I played something similar from ISOTX, “Iron Grip: Warlord”. Tower defense, you can lay out traps and whatnot. And also first person shooter, so that you can kill the attackers yourself.
Derrick, interesting idea there: quick, fun games are back.
@LG Lawsuit Stops PS3 Shipments In Europe:
Bwa ha ha ha ha 😀
This is unbelievable! As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, so threatening Sony with disrupting PS3 imports is … lame. Unless Sony has NO REPLACEMENT for PS3. Then it makes sense. It’s like threatening with a kick to a groin already beaten up.
@Mortal Kombat Banned in Australia:
I think they could be getting it via Steam. Or via friends from other regions :P.
I see this as a test on how weak the ban gets enforced. I say it’ll be very easy to bypass.
Derrick, according to Rayden, the whole idea of MK is not death, but preservation of life 😛
@Rift:
Too bold for his own good. There’s a quote from C&C Generals Zero Hours, that goes like: “Rage won’t get you anywhere, general. Now, rage and a column of tanks …”.
Will Cook has rage. Not sure about tanks though.
@Browser Based PC Games The Future?
The browser is the viewing end. In this case, things are done on remote servers.
Dunno about cloud computing. Bandwidth will always be an issue, and hardcore players will want to take control of the quality of their experience.
It might work however for folks who don’t mind some graphical issues.
Very interesting approach however on it being a demo platform. Very, very interesting approach.
@PC Gaming Is Indeed Dying:
😀 I’m not having a fit. I’ll still be playing PC games. Heck, Steam is growing like hell, so any conclusion on PC gaming longevity based on retail sales is cr@p.
Jonah, I hooked up my PC to a TV since 2001 to watch movies. The PC has the flexibility that allows you to both play games and to do “office stuff”.
@What is your favorite gaming food?
I don’t really eat while gaming. I would go for cookies, crackers, biscuits stuff like that. Maybe some dark chocolate. And soft drinks like Pepsi or Coke.
“As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, ”
It’s not the PS3 – it’s all Blu-Ray devices. And LG would get money for nothing.
“As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, ”
It’s not the PS3 – it’s all Blu-Ray devices. And LG would get money for nothing.