Wandersong

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of Wandersong for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder to all that where feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but self-editing (brevity) is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mainly reading. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[Jobobonobo]

This was a perfect way to end what has been a pretty rubbish year. This game has such chill, positive vibes that I was always in a good mood after a session. The controls are really simple but they managed to squeeze a lot out of the setup. Using your voice, you can navigate a pirate ship, operate locks in ancient temples, encourage plants to grow and so much more. The art style has a lovely preschool arts and craft style that mostly works with the setting and offers great juxtaposition when things get a bit heavy. With its happy go lucky atmosphere, the world ending in Wandersong does not seem like that big of a deal but I was very surprised by how they do up the stakes considerably. In fact it is only the chipper attitude of the Bard that contrasts with the general downer of the world ending in the latter half of the game. The twist of the mighty Hero being the real villain was well done and having the big scary monster help you in the final battle against her was a nice subversion of final boss battles in general. I had no idea what to expect when I started this and Wandersong was a real delightful surprise from start to finish. If you are expecting a challenge, look elsewhere but if you want a fun world with a large and diverse set of characters and interesting scenarios then I heavily recommend this.

Three word review: Singing solves everything

[Tbone254]

I played Wandersong on a whim at the beginning of the year and I am so glad I did because, of all the games I played this year, this one is my favorite. The art style is fun, if a bit simple, and the overall gameplay isn’t very complex. But the music is great, and it has the most wonderful group of characters. The Bard and Miriam are the perfect complement to each other, one is an endlessly optimistic extrovert, the other a socially awkward introvert. The rest of the bunch are an incredibly diverse set of characters that set the stage for some really charming moments; like sailing around an ocean to the tune of singing coffee pirates, or forming a band with a guy that looks like a 1920s mobster.

As the game progresses, some more emotional moments begin to work their way into the story and some of these moments are really effective. I think the reason these moments were so effective for me is because the game is more about the characters than the overall objective of the story. Even though the Bard and Miriam are on an impossible quest to save the universe the biggest challenges they face are personal ones. As they conquer these challenges, the changes they make are not unrealistically drastic. By the end of the story, Miriam hasn’t turned into an overly optimistic extrovert that suddenly loves socializing. Rather she is still her reserved, socially awkward self, with a little more self-awareness.

I enjoyed the lack of violence in the game as well. I love my video game violence as much as anyone else, but it was a really nice change of pace to not kill everything in my path. Interestingly, this stance of passivism made the few violent moments when playing as Audrey seem much more abrasive. After spending a couple of hours solving everyone’s problems by singing and talking, regardless of how intimidating they may look, Audrey’s wanton slaughter of creatures in Wandersong seems much more barbaric.

Wandersong was a real joy to play through. I’m not sure how well the game has sold. It’s on multiple platforms so I guess it has done fairly well, but I have not heard much about it. Even on this forum, there is very little correspondence about it, and that’s such a shame. Because it really is a wonderful little gem.

[Mr Ixolite]

2020 is the first time I played along with Cane and Rinse, and I’m glad I did because it gave me Wandersong, a game I’d never heard of, but is now one of my favorites of the last few years.

The actual gameplay is perfectly serviceable, and suitably iterated upon along the way, but it is tremendously eclipsed by every other element of the game. The visuals are simple but eye-catching and evoke a lot of character, and the music is of course excellent, but the real star of the game is the writing. This was one of those games where I had to talk to every character until exhaustion of all responses, because those responses were uniformly well written, funny, or sweet. There's a feeling of warmth and empathy emanating from this game, a sense of a fundamentally decent world, or at least a world capable of being so.

The games peak was, for me, a late-game scene with Miriam in a dance club, where you can hear her thoughts, feelings, and her growth, before she finally asks to be left to dance. I’m not much of a role player in games, but I promptly picked out the most fitting dance from my own repertoire, and proceeded to stand silently grooving beside Miriam for 10 minutes out of respect for the wishes from my friend. As I left her to herself, I felt like I had experience something truly special, and more than most games I can think of, the world and people of Wandersong truly felt worth preserving. By the end, the game left me with the slightly melancholy feeling generated by any great story, where you’re satisfied by the resolution, yet sad to see everything you’ve grown to love go.

My only gripe is the absence of Do-Overs for the games musical challenges, because the combination of the slightly fiddly mechanics and my own limited rhythm skills meant I never quite hit the notes I felt the loveable scenes deserved. Luckily I never felt the games characters pretended I was a musical prodigy, and the important part is that I made the effort.

3 word review: Melody of Empathy

[ColinAlonso]

Wandersong just made me smile and lifted my spirit anytime I played it.

(Honestly I think the other posters above have me well covered on this one)

Three word review: Music makes magic.

[ReprobateGamer]

I'm the odd one out here I think. Wandersong did nothing for me.

I love the concept, I love the idea that you use music to fix the problems but somehow it just never clicked for me. I did not like the graphics - I just could not shake the idea that Terrance and Phillip were about to appear; the vast majority of the characters just seemed to tick the fantasy cast trope list; and the ending just dragged out for me.

I can't place why I feel so indifferent to this game - I didn't hate it for sure but I played it through and deleted it afterwards without a second thought. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind after the year that was 2020 and maybe I'll come back to it at some point after hearing all the positivity for it here (which is nice to see) and maybe it will click another time. But at the moment, the concepts in the game are of more interest than the game itself was.

[ratsoalbion]

I had a very similar experience with Sayonara Wild Hearts. Sometimes things just don't connect.