Everwind

I originally posted a "Don't Recommend" review for this game. Since then I've spent a little more time playing and taking a more in-depth look into it and my mind has been changed, due in large part to a recent patch update that that fixed some of my original criticisms. Turns out, this is a really well thought-out game. Tools, weapons, & armor: All are repairable at a repair station and with a repair kit. What I find most impressive is that their effectiveness degrades with use. If it takes six hits to chop down a tree with a new axe, it'll take seven hits by the third tree because the blade has become worn and dulled. Same with weapons, same with armor becoming less effective the more damage it takes. So this game has some pretty impressive real-world mechanics. Slightly more realistic respawn rates: I find it a bit annoying in most games when you clear a room or area just to turn around and that room/area is full of mobs again, appearing out of thin air, for no logical reason. It makes base-building in some games difficult. In Everwind, if you clear an area or island, it stays clear. So you can clear and claim an island as your base and don't need to worry about returning to it after a long scouting, beat up from battle and overloaded with loot and have to reclaim you base again. Another thing I noticed is that trees and other plant-life grow back over time This may be annoying to some who are trying to create a certain atheistic with their base, but it's at least realistic from the perspective that your lawn doesn't stay mowed. However beneficial from the perspective of renewable resources and not having to continually venture further and further out just to find wood. The dungeon-crawls are actually fun: Whether it’s a keep or an underground dungeon, they’re decently enjoyable in terms of combat and rewards. The inventory system is pretty impressive: There’s a generous amount of personal inventory, and stack limits are better than most games of this kind. It allows you to sort and mass-transfer items into a chest, or vice-versa. Everwind has a unique building system: When it comes to building things you can scroll through various shapes before placing a block. You can switch to cubes, slabs, steps, and a whole lot more shapes in order to build things. So instated of having to craft each shape first, you just pick the shape you want to use during placement, and as long as you have enough basic blocks crafted you can place them out however you want. It does take some getting used to if you’ve played other block building games, but once you’ve mastered it you’ll likely love this feature. Crafting in general is unique: I’m a little on the fence about the general item crafting. It’s all based around recipes. You can’t craft something unless you first find the recipe. For basic blocks, that’s as easy as first mining the block and after that you can create it. When it comes to weapons, tools, armor, furniture, and decor, it’s a bit more tedious. Since you’ll need to find the recipe before you can create something. This means you could be stuck with beginner tier gear until you find a recipe that allows you to upgrade to a better material. The Compass: Probably the neatest and most useful tool in your arsenal is the compass. It almost feels like cheating when using it. Other games would rely on mods to insert such a great feature. Definitely don't sleep on using this item to its full advantage. Forbidden items: You will occasionally come across things that you can’t mine with a pickaxe or shovel. Hover your cursor over it long enough and you’ll see the item description along with a drill icon. The drill hasn’t been introduced into the game, but I’ve been assured it’s coming in a future update. Admittedly, it’s irritating to arrive on an island filled with things you can’t take with you, but hopefully that will soon change. Performance issues: It’s not just you. A quick scan through the discussion tab and you’ll see dozens of other players who mention stuttering, freezing, and lag. Hopefully this is something else that gets addressed soon. Graphics and animations: Aside from a little bit of performance issues, the rest of the game is impressively smooth. Combat is solid. Player and mob animations are clean. Everything from attacking skeletons to the way the capybara seemingly smile at you as they walk past, the animations are great. This isn’t just limited to mobs. Sunrises, sunsets, the night sky, shadows, reflections on the water. Most impressive to me is the weather animations. Grass that sways in the breeze, trees that move in the wind, rainfall hitting the side of a structure or coming in through a hole in the roof of a house. It’s some of the most impressive and immersive weather I’ve seen in a game of this kind. Audio: Sound and music are both engaging and immersive. A seemingly dedicated team: I see developers in the Discussions, responding to reviews, and all over Discord. This is one of the most dedicated interactive development teams I’ve seen in some time. While this game is early access and does need some tweaks, adjustments, new features, and QoL improvements, seeing such an active development team give me hope that this isn’t just another Early Access that will be abandoned in two years. I’d say go ahead and give Everwind a try. At the very least, Wishlist it follow the progress over the next several months.