Wayfinder Review: A Deep Dive into the Evolving Co-op RPG
Wayfinder is a three-player co-op action RPG set in an open world, featuring an extensive loot system, character specialization, stat customization, and challenging dungeon crawls. The game offers intense boss fights, engaging exploration, and plenty of player-driven customization. Initially planned as an MMO, it transitioned into a co-op RPG during Early Access, nearly ceasing development when Digital Extremes closed their publishing arm. However, Airship Syndicate, the studio behind Wayfinder, adapted and created a remarkable game, driven by community feedback.
Combat is fierce and fast-paced, allowing you to dance from enemy to enemy. You dispatch them with the fluidity expected from any major hack ‘n’ slash title. Combos are easy to learn but nuanced. You have access to light and heavy attacks that change depending on whether you block, dodge, or jump. This combat mechanics system gives you the freedom to experiment and learn how each character plays, rewarding practice and dedication. It is extremely satisfying to finally master the rhythm of your chosen Wayfinder, cutting down swathes of enemies while avoiding damage and picking up a few style points from your party members (Style points, though neither quantifiable nor existent in Evenor, are nonetheless essential.)
YOUR FIRST STEPS AS A WAYFINDER
Niss, the rogue
Your journey begins with a choice between three distinct heroes, each bringing a unique playstyle to the table:
Niss – A shadowy rogue, specializing in fast, agile attacks and stealth tactics. Niss excels at weaving in and out of combat, dealing high burst damage and evading enemy strikes. Her playstyle is perfect for players who enjoy speed, precision, and surprise attacks.
Wingrave – A holy tank, acting as the team’s frontline defender. Wingrave wields a powerful shield and heals allies with divine abilities. His strong defensive skills and ability to soak up damage make him ideal for players who enjoy playing a protector role, keeping the team safe while dealing consistent, heavy blows to enemies.
Silo – A ranged engineer, bringing ingenuity and long-range firepower to the battlefield. Silo uses gadgets, traps, and ranged weaponry to control the battlefield from a distance. Players who prefer a strategic approach, maintaining distance while weakening foes with precise shots and explosive tools, will feel right at home with Silo.
After selecting your hero, you’ll embark on a brief but effective tutorial that introduces the game’s combat mechanics, movement, and exploration. Once you complete the tutorial, you're released into the overworld to begin your journey.
Early Story Progression
From here, the main storyline kicks off, guiding you through quests designed to equip you with essential gear and knowledge to face the encroaching darkness. As you progress, you'll gather weapons, armor, and magical items to venture deeper into the gloom—the mysterious force threatening to engulf the world of Evenor. Each quest brings new challenges and opportunities to further customize your hero, preparing you to fight back the powerful enemies lurking within the game’s dungeons.
Exploration: Overworld and Dungeons
Exploration in Wayfinder comes in two forms: the overworld and dungeons.
Overworld Exploration: The overworld serves as a questing canvas, offering players a wide range of activities. You'll be tasked with slaying creatures, retrieving items, solving puzzles, and gathering resources to access dungeons. The open world is styled much like an MMO, encouraging players to explore and engage with their environment.
Dungeons: Expeditions and Hunts:
Dungeons are split into two categories:
Expeditions: These sprawling networks of rooms and hallways are filled with traps, enemies, events, and treasure chests. Exploration is rewarded, with hidden treasures tucked away around every corner.
Hunts: These are focused boss arenas, complete with cinematic cutscenes, where you and up to two teammates face off against formidable foes. Each boss has unique mechanics and attack patterns to overcome. One standout hunt features the Archon Commander, one of my favorite bosses, but if you are just starting off, it will be a while before you meet him.
To enter dungeons, players must gather resources and craft a key item called Gloom Trace. Additionally, dungeons can be modified with effects like Greed, Chaos, Flora, Shadow, and Solar, adjusting enemy resistances, weaknesses, and loot drops. These modifications create unique experiences and trigger special events, offering plenty of replayability.
Character Progression: Customization and Talents
Talent Web for Wayfinder
Character progression in Wayfinder is as customizable as the gameplay itself. Players can tailor their heroes through several systems:
Ability Points: Allocate points to enhance your favorite moves, adjusting your hero's combat style.
Affinity: Spec into one of three stat pools to improve stats like weapon power and resilience. Milestone levels unlock powerful passive abilities.
Echoes: These are the primary form of loot, functioning like slottable gems. You'll balance Echo costs to maximize their effectiveness, boosting both your hero and their gear.
Awakening: Characters can be awakened, or ranked up, by collecting memory fragments. These fragments are scattered across the world or crafted at Omen, the character guiding your story.
Each character also has a massive talent tree, presented as an interconnected web similar to systems seen in games like Path of Exile. Talents can boost your weapon power, add effects to attacks, or open up new strategies in combat.
Loot and Cosmetics
Your home away from the Gloom
Loot in the world of Wayfinder comes in many forms: weapons, accessories, Echoes, armor, and even housing decorations. That’s right—I almost forgot to mention that you also get player housing, which you can decorate with a wide array of knickknacks you collect along the way. Armor drops provide welcome stat bonuses, and they offer an enjoyable hit of dopamine and visual progression as you venture from dungeon to dungeon. Originally developed for an online shop when Wayfinder was still an MMO, these 'paid cosmetics' have since been added to the loot pool, offering satisfying rewards for customization.
Expanding the Hero Roster
The Wayfinders
While the game starts with three heroes, you'll soon unlock more characters such as Kyros, Grendel, Venomess, and Senja. Each hero offers a fresh take on combat mechanics, introducing new playstyles to master as you battle through Evenor. This diversity of character customization ensures there’s always something to explore, level up, and refine in your builds. Each of the additional characters is unlocked by finding items along your journey.
Kyros, The Warmage
Grendel, The Beserker
Venomess, The Alchemist
Senja, The Champion
Lora, The Vessel (Added in 1.0)
We have a video series introducing each available hero on our YouTube channel (JoyandStick_yt). This video series provides a brief overview of each playable character in Wayfinder including their 4 main combat abilities, all shown off during a combat scenario.
Multiplayer and Crossplay
The multiplayer experience in Wayfinder is both simple and seamless, designed for smooth and easy cooperation. Players can enjoy drop-in/drop-out co-op, with enemy and loot scaling per player, private loot, and no restrictions. The entire game can be played with friends. So, there's no need to worry about going it alone. Fearsome foes await at every turn, but backup is always just an invite away.
As you traverse the overworld, you'll also encounter world bosses, which are best tackled with friends. If your party isn't available, fear not—the game includes a party finder system. This system will feature full crossplay between PC, PlayStation, and Xbox when Wayfinder leaves Early Access on October 21st. The 1.0 release will also introduce a new hero and a new open-world zone, expanding the game's already extensive content.
Post-Launch Plans and Final Thoughts
RECOMMENDED
Wayfinder is brimming with content, and the developers at Airship Syndicate have plans to expand the game's offerings post-launch. This passion project shines through in every aspect of the game—from the detailed attack animations to the atmospheric sound design and intricate monster creation.
With a committed development team, Wayfinder is an enjoyable and polished experience. Whether you're seeking a deep, customizable RPG or simply want to get lost in a fantasy world with friends, Wayfinder respects your time while delivering hours of engaging gameplay.
Grab a couple of friends, pick your favorite hero, and save Evenor from collapsing into the gloom!
