Where Winds Meet Closed Beta Test Preview – Showcasing the Best of the Wuxia World

Where Winds Meet is a game developed by Everstone, a new game studio founded by NetEase. It is an open-world Wuxia game set in the backdrop of the “Sixteen States of Yanyun” during the “Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period” of China’s history. In this game, you can experience many classic Chinese martial arts techniques such as acupoints, Tai Chi, Lion’s Roar, and many more.

Before I start, I would like to clarify that I am not a fan of Wuxia and have limited exposure to such works. In just three days, I have experienced a whole new world of the Wuxia genre. The game’s exquisite graphics and rich Wuxia storylines have captivated me.

Please note that the following content only represents my personal feelings, and my experience is based on the beta test, which may not represent the final look of the game. I also want to mention that although the game comes with a single-player mode, this game is more akin to a RPG instead of an AAA single-player game.

An Immersive World

In this game, dangers lurk around every corner in the martial world and can affect you just like in the real world. Extreme weather, hunger, poison, and falling from high places can all have grave consequences. Effects can range from sluggishness to the loss of Qi – or worse, insanity. Needless to say, the martial world is not for the weak.

Besides that, players are free to do all sorts of things. For example, you can use a martial arts technique called “Magic Hand”, which can help you to fix enemies or even make them laugh and itch. This ability is very powerful, especially when you’re surrounded by enemies, as it lets you immobilise them and attack as you wish. Magic Hand doesn’t have a cool down time either, so you can use it whenever you want, but sometimes it might not work on the first attempt, so you’ll need to give it a few tries.

Do note that once you engage in malicious behaviours such as theft, harming others, or using the magic hand on NPCs, you will be marked as wanted. Upon being arrested by guards, you will be confined alone to reflect on your actions. This period of reflection is temporary, and once it concludes, the game will resume as if nothing had happened. However, if you manage to escape from the guards, when you return to the area next time, you will still be considered a wanted criminal, and a bounty will be placed on your head.

Not only that, there are also intriguing elements in the world. For example, you may encounter a goose in a village. If you hit the goose, it will retaliate and can be surprisingly strong, especially if it’s not alone. This detail reminds me of “The Legend of Zelda,” suggesting it might be an intentional reference to that game.

Impressive Graphics

The visual presentation of “Where Winds Meet” invokes similarities to “Ghost of Tsushima”. These two games have similarities in lighting, color schemes, environmental design, and art style.

You can tell that the development team has put a lot of effort into the graphics. Although the test version doesn’t offer the highest graphic settings, the visual presentation is already quite impressive. Some models may appear a bit rough, but they are still within an acceptable range for a modern triple A game.

Although the beta test version only opens the first map area of the world, ‘Qinghe’, the scenery so far has been extremely rich, including vast mountains and forests, ancient villages, bustling towns, and mysterious caves.

Additionally, there are various buildings in the towns, including shops, inns, and more. Traders here sell various goods on the streets, and many other aspects of Chinese culture are littered throughout the environment, making players feel as if they really are in that era.

Music

The music in “Where Winds Meet” is outstanding with a combination of both classical and traditional instruments for its background music, showcasing the unique charm of Chinese-style games.

However, although the game’s music is indeed moving, I would still recommend that players lower the volume of the background music and sound effects in the settings. Sometimes, the music will overpower the voice-acted dialogue.

Although most dialogues are voice-acted, with few exceptions, occasionally there are times when there is suddenly no voice acting, which feels a bit strange, and it’s unclear if this will be the case in the final version.

Lots to Do, Lots to See

It must be said that there are just too many things to play in “Where Winds Meet”, from playing musical instruments to fishing and even chess minigames, there’s something for everyone.

In the end game, players can also take on dungeon challenges. These dungeons are relatively simple in construction, with a few branching paths and puzzles. Essentially, it’s about following a single path to the end. However, this doesn’t mean players can easily breeze through the levels, as the enemies in the dungeons are much stronger than those on the surface, especially the boss at its end.

Because “Where Winds Meet” includes so many elements, the game offers a function that lets players review everything they have encountered before, such as items, characters, literature, or tutorials. Players can revisit these at any time, and I must say, this function is very thoughtful.

Combat System

Your fighting style in this game is determined entirely by the weapon, with each weapon offering unique abilities. In the beta test, I experienced three types of weapons, which are swords, spears, and fans. You can switch between the three at any time according to the situation. My personal favorites were the sword and the spear.

Elegant and swift, the sword allows the player to demonstrate exceptional skill and agility in battle.  On the other hand, spears have slower attack speed but pack greater power. The fighting style with a long spear emphasizes long-range thrusts and heavy strikes, requiring more time to prepare and execute, but can cause massive damage when it connects. The long spear also has an extended attack range, allowing players to maintain a distance from enemies while engaging in combat.

Every enemy has their own fighting style as well. During combat, if you find the right opportunity to dodge or block, you’ll also have the chance to trigger a “Perfect Counter”. In this state, seize the opportunity to unleash a flurry of attacks for high burst damage. For players who are bad at action games, like me, the game offers an assist mode which will make perfect counters easier to trigger.

Impressions

While it’s still too early to get a solid impression, what “Where Winds Meet” has to offer so far is enough to let me experience the unique charm of the Wuxia world. The game pays great attention to detail in depicting the Wuxia world. From the architecture to the character designs, every element feels authentic and immersive. The combat system is also fluid and dynamic, allowing for a wide range of martial arts moves and techniques.

However, “Where Winds Meet” is not a perfect game, and there is a notable lack of story content. Additionally, certain content is restricted behind specific level requirements. For instance, I found that after completing the first chapter of the story, my progress was restricted until I reached level 32, which meant I had to engage in other activities to level up.

Based on my experience, the quickest way to level up is to focus on quests, especially main quests, followed by the side quests, as they are mostly simple. Finally, when your level is high enough, you can try challenging dungeons or bosses, as these net a lot of experience points and items. I hope that in the full version of “Where Winds Meet,” I can quickly level up through multiplayer mode which was inaccessible in the beta.

In a nutshell, if you are a fan of Wuxia games, I think you will like it so much. Hopefully the full version of “Where Winds Meet” will be released soon, so I can dive deeper into the game’s world and content!

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