A promising game held back by questionable monetization decisions | Early Access Review - Wayfinder

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Wayfinder was recently released in paid early access form last August 18, debuting amidst a host of server problems that garnered an initial overwhelmingly negative reaction. More recently, servers have been patched up and the queues have gone from literal hours to just a minute or less. More than a week after its release, I was finally able to personally experience the game and see firsthand what all the fuss is about.

Described as a fantasy MMORPG-lite, Wayfinder promises a unique blend of exploration, combat, and character progression. As an MMO-lite, it offers player interaction within a shared world while not fully immersing players in a traditional full blown open-world MMO environment. At its core, players engage in a series of missions called Expeditions, pursuing character and weapon level-ups. The central goal involves searching for specific loot to craft items and enhance their character(called Wayfinder)’s power, creating a gameplay cycle of progression.

The story follows your character as a central hero who sacrificed himself/herself to buy time for others to defeat the enemy and push back the Gloom. A year later, you were brought back from apparent death and chosen by the people to become a Wayfinder, someone who can traverse the Lost Zones to help them study, control, and harness the Gloom.

The art style of Wayfinder strikes a balance between realism and a stylized, cartoony approach reminiscent of games like Fortnite or World of Warcraft. This fusion results in vibrantly colored characters, creatures, and landscapes that are all visually appealing and evoke a sense of wonder. The slightly stylized characters stand out with their unique designs, making them easily recognizable and memorable.

Drawing inspiration from modern action RPGs, the combat feels like a casual version of Dark Souls put into a Fortnite/WoW graphics filter, incorporating elements of hack and slash third person action with dodging and activated abilities. I thought the combat and animations were funky at first judging from the first gameplay footage that I’ve watched, but it's actually kind of fluid and designed well when I finally played it, even in using Keyboard and Mouse. Controller support is also present, as the game is also available on Console.

As of now, the game boasts six playable characters, the initial trio of characters comprises: Niss: A Rogue who specializes in melee DPS and boasts fast mobility. Often likened to an "Engineer" class, Silo adds a medium level of complexity to the game with her versatile skillset of crowd control abilites and gadgets. Wingrave, a Paladin character can either take on a tanking role or provide support to the team. 

The remaining three characters, Senja, Kyros, and Venomess, are locked initially but can be unlocked through in-game progression or by purchasing them using the currency Runesilvers. Characters in Wayfinder belong to different archetypes, such as Warmaster, Arcanist, and Survivalist, offering players a variety of gameplay styles to choose from.

The aforementioned Expeditions system plays a central role in the gameplay experience, offering a dynamic way to progress through the game world and acquire valuable resources. With up to three players per run, Expeditions — also known as Lost Zones — are essentially procedurally instanced dungeons that are vital for both advancing the storyline and leveling up your character. These unique and diverse zones are an integral part of the core gameplay loop, providing opportunities for exploration, combat, and loot acquisition.

One of the core elements of progression in Wayfinder is the leveling of both your Wayfinder characters and their equipped weapons. As you level up, your characters' power rating increases, affecting their overall performance in combat and other in-game activities. By investing Affinity Points, players can enhance specific attributes on their equipped items. The Affinity system consists of three types: Instinct, Discipline, and Focus. Upgrading affinities can lead to significant increases in power for specific stats, allowing players to tailor their characters to their preferred playstyle.

Echoes are items that drop from enemies and provide valuable stats, bonuses, or passives. They can be slotted into your characters, weapons, and accessories, allowing for deep customization and optimization of your character's abilities and attributes. By fusing multiple echoes, players can upgrade their favorite echoes to synergies and to further increase their power.

Now as interesting as the game is, Wayfinder made its entry into the gaming scene through a controversial paid early access phase (not to mention the initial massive server problems). This came with a range of pricing options, including a base package and higher-tier "Founders Packs" that offered various bonuses and perks. While these packs provide players with additional content and in-game rewards, they also raised concerns within the community due to their high price points and offering at such an early access stage. The ability to purchase characters and weapons directly also makes the game a bit P2W in this manner, although there are in-app items purchases that are just cosmetics.

It’s a bit disappointing that they require a $20 minimum just to participate in the Early Access, for a game that is planned to be released completely as a free to play game in six months time. This is a totally unorthodox approach to introduce your game, instead of the usually free Open Beta Tests that lasts for months, eventually leading to a free to play release. As an early access game, I've encountered a host of issues that are normal for this stage of development. Performance can be a bit stuttery at times, especially when traversing to new segments. Loading times are also longer than I'd prefer. However besides these, the game in general feels very polished and appears to be well into its development cycle. There is voice acting for some of the important story dialogues, and the game already comes with tutorials that are actually informative and plentiful.

Conclusion:

Wayfinder presents an intriguing blend of ambitious concepts and engaging gameplay elements, but it is not without its share of areas for improvement. The game's vibrant and visually appealing world, combined with its bite-sized procedurally generated expeditions, offers a unique and dynamic experience for players seeking exploration and combat that doesn’t demand long play sessions at a time. However, the game's Early Access launch was marred by server issues, questionable monetization decisions, and negative reactions, casting a shadow over its initial release.