Where Winds Meet appears to be an ambitious project on par with Assassin’s Creed; therefore, it’s a little strange that I’ve never heard of Everstone Studio, the studio behind it.
Nevertheless, I am familiar with its publisher: Since NetEase, China’s second-largest game publisher, is backing the company, it is at least reasonable to presume that the game is the high-budget open-world action RPG it appears to be.
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I almost missed seeing it during Gamescom Opening Night Live, but it looks cool too. Since I enjoy Chinese poetry (you should check out Meng Chiao sometime), I tuned out the poem by Li Yu, the final Southern Tang emperor that the video opens with. Though, around 1:22.
The gaming portion of the trailer then cuts to the main character exploring a city. Despite the video’s slightly jagged and artifactual appearance, the scene, which features roughly thirty locals going about their daily lives in a condensed space, is subtly striking.
Additionally, you can go horseback riding, mountain climbing, walking in the freezing wind, floating in wuxia style, and shooting up barrels, which is the most fundamental videogame activity. The fighting appears to be the typical dash-in, combo, and roll-out-of-the-way action you’d find in an open-world adventure. According to the publisher, martial arts form its foundation.
According to NetEase, “the user can deflect opposing blows, use Tai Chi to reflect their assaults, or use athleticism to sneak past their defense and strike them from all angles.”
“The player also gets access to a variety of martial arts talents and ranged weaponry, enabling them to break the chains from one combat style and use a combination of skills to destroy their foes, developing their approach to combat,” the statement continued.
However, Where Winds Meet includes much more than just fighting. The opening words of the trailer are pertinent to the game’s location in the “last days” of the Ten Kingdoms period since Li Yu was a greater poet than a ruler and was taken by the Song dynasty, which would later overrun the other kingdoms.