Wandersong is the latest game from Greg Lobanov and if you’ve been looking for a pleasant, feel good game to dive into then this one is definitely the one to play.
Wandersong
Developer: Greg Lobanov
Platform: PC/Switch
MonsterVine was supplied with a PC code for review
In Wandersong you play as the Bard. The world is ending and you failed the test to become the hero, but your gutsy little character isn’t going to let that stop him from doing his best to at least try to save everyone. I think it’s important to sometimes have palette cleansers when indulging in your favorite form of media, something to really wash away the taste of the usual stuff you consume to help shake things up and maybe even give you a new perspective on things; Wandersong is such a game. It’s probably safe to say the majority of games you played this year involved violence of some sort and the best thing Wandersong does is inject a healthy dose of optimism into your life. The world might be ending but this is a story about overcoming emotional hurdles you’ve imposed on yourself, carving your own path, self-determination in the face of certain defeat, and yes even the power friendship. It’s just so goddamn cute and cheerful that I dare you to play it without smiling throughout.
Being a bard, your main tool for survival is your ability to sing at a moment’s notice. Using the mouse or analog stick, a color wheel will appear with eight notes that you can string together to form little songs. You’ll use this to solve problems through the power of song. There a ghost in the inn? Exorcise it with your melodies. There a yeti frozen in place by a spell? Break the curse through song. Need to move machinery to perform a platforming puzzle? Singing will fix that I don’t know how but it does.
What are perhaps my favorite moments in the game are the big song set pieces where you play a very specific song and lyrics accompany the instrumentals. While not the most profound lyrics, they’re incredibly sweet and when paired with the music it just completely pulls you into the moment. If you’ve ever played Journey you’ll remember how the music just sort of sweeps you along with the gameplay and Wandersong recreates that very same feeling.
Besides the scripted song moments, there are a few times where a character will ask you to write a song for them. You could take the easy approach, sing a note and let the time run but if you take the time to come up with something wholly you, it’s genuinely fun to see that character return and replay the song you made for them. If you thought all there is to the game is singing you’d be wrong, there are also platforming segments that each have their own unique gimmick and boss fights, both of which involve a copious amount of singing. Literally every problem in the game is solved through music and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The game runs for a decent length, maybe taking 8-10 hours, but it really doesn’t feel like it. Just when you feel you’ve seen all there is of an area you’re venturing off to the next where each one has its own visual flair and gimmick. You’ll go from sailing a boat across various islands to using music to control an army of bugs to help solve puzzles. The game gives you this steady drip of new stuff to see and do that it keeps you going to see more. My only gripe with the gameplay mechanics is that it encourages, but doesn’t reward exploration. Some of the areas you’ll visit are quite large but there’s not really any reason to actually poke your head around every corner unless you want to talk to every character out there. Also, the ability to sing whenever you want isn’t really used to its full potential with there not being much to actually interact with besides what’s on the beaten path for you. At the most you’ll find animals who will sing along with you but that’s really it. Now these are just minor quibbles in what’s a delightful journey, but quibbles nonetheless.
As delightful as Wandersong is though, it isn’t without its faults. The game has a severe bug that’s encountered every time you start the game. What it does is cut your jump height in half which will practically make certain segments completely undoable since you can’t reach the platforms required. It also makes the camera not able to keep pace with your movements, lagging behind and causing you to be running off screen as it slowly pans over to catch up. Pair both of these together and it makes the game completely unplayable. The beginning few hours felt like a frustrating nightmare as I loved every bit of the game that didn’t require me to have to fight with this camera and jumping issue but I eventually learned how to fix it. When the game launches simply minimizing the game and bringing it back up will completely fix the two bugs. It’s a glitch I’m surprised made its way into this build and hope it’s patched, but at least there’s a simple way to fix it; you just have to remember to do it every time you launch the game.
The Final Word
Wandersong is easily the most wholesome, heartwarming game about friendship you’ll play all year.
– MonsterVine Review Score: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
