I don't like to have to reboot to pick up a game so I'm always happy to see a game offer Linux and/or web clients I can use - Wayward offers both! Wayward is still in development and just released a new expansion to their beta last month which includes - Chicken Farming! With many happy childhood memories of Zelda under my belt, anything involving virtual chickens tends to bring a smile to my face :)
The look is also very like the beloved Zelda of my childhood (and many other games of the 80s), but with some significant additions. In the upper left there's a running text readout of the game, which should make any MUD lover feel at home. In the lower left there are the button triggered menus that web games have us used to, including toggleable game elements like Inventory, Crafting, and Equipment.
Running around was only awkward for a minute. Diagonals do not exist in this universe, so only attempt to direct your character in straight lines and everything works as expected :) Movement can be accomplished by clicking on the world in the direction you wish to travel, or using the arrow keys. There's definitely an 'explorer' feel to the world and it can be fun just running around using the "Inspect" and "Gather" actions to get a feel for it.
Even from just an afternoon of play, it's easy to see that crafting is a main element of game play. Loose items like fossils and rocks can be gathered simply by walking over them, other more firmly fixed items, such as grass and mushrooms, require your character to stand in an adjacent tile facing them and use the "Gather" action option, while harvestable terrain features, such as mountains and trees, can be harvested simply by walking into them repeatedly (you can't walk over these terrain features like you can the other two types of harvestables).
There are 'monster' which will attack you like snakes and spiders, but these are fairly easy to avoid or kill, and I was only defeated once during play when two of the creatures attacked me at once and I decided to try and fight it out. Food items can be eaten to increase Health after a combat encounter, but Watch Out! My character ate a bunch of berries they'd gathered after being poisoned by a spider and ended up with a tummy ache from over eating! Which I found very amusing :)
One of the best ways I found to duck monsters is to run out into the water. I found three depths, all of which my character was able to get through (walking, wading, and swimming it would seem), but monsters were only able to get out to the lesser depths.
As you gather various items, you get new options in your Crafting menu. If you don't yet have the items you need for a craft, it's highlighted in red and when you mouseover the craft you can see what it is, what it does, and what you need to make it. When you have everything you need for a craft, you can simply select it with the mouse to attempt it - sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, and always you seem to gain in skill!
That's another cool MUD-like thing about Wayward - everything you do seems to give you some kind of skill! Chopping down trees made me better at Lumberjacking, gathering or eating mushrooms improved my Mycotology :)
I managed to get craft options for walls, flooring, and a door so I tried to build a house, but was unable to 1) get the walls to rotate horizontally to form corners, 2) gather sufficient logs without getting overloaded to create all the pieces. I did find it amusing that taking a single step when overloaded takes all of your stamina. I'm carrying three giant walls so every step I have to rest again, makes some sense, but made me a sitting duck for spiders!
Overall, I had a great time exploring Wayward! The one annoying thing about the experience was that the menu which comes up when the "Actions" button is selected appears in the center of the screen (which is not near the "Actions" button) and goes away if you don't direct your mouse over it quickly or exactly enough. I kept missing and then having to reopen it. On the other hand, I expected to be annoyed by the music and was not. The music and sound effects for the game seem to be pleasant and appropriate.
I would definitely recommend trying this game for anyone who is feeling nostalgic for the explore / adventure / advance games of yesteryear, or for gamer parents that want to get into something their kids can get into also. I did not find any child inappropriate content while playing or any challenges I think too steep for a gamer in their formative years to overcome and enjoy. What I did find was an easy learning curve, and a world with enough interaction and depth to be quickly engaging and enjoyable.
You can play the Wayward beta online at Unlok.ca/wayward
Find their downloadable clients at IndieDB
Find out more about Wayward and its creators at Unlok.ca
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And don't forget to checkout our social strategy game set in the Renaissance - Brunelleschi: Age of Architects currently in beta; Thanks for reading!
