If you've been looking for a stylish online multiplayer RPG, with more of a focus on action than characters in most MMOs, Wayfinder could be just what the doctor ordered. Luckily, if you are a subscriber to IGN Plus, you can also grab a key for it right now.
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Wayfinder is a class-based online multiplayer RPG by Airship Syndicate, the studio behind Ruined King: A League Of Legends Story, Darksiders: Genesis, and Battle Chasers Nightwar. The studio was founded by several former devs from Vigil Games (the studio behind Darksiders and Darksiders 2), and the studio's art style is instantly recognizable as coming from the pen of iconic artist (and co-founder) Joe Madureira.
One year after a tragedy fragmented the world, the player is finally pulled from the Gloom, a dark reflection of the world which can be manipulated and molded by those who know how. It's up to these Wayfinders, and the small city of survivors surrounding the portal, to find a way to piece it all together again.
Whether you want to play a tanky character, a twin dagger-wielding assassin, a clever gunner with traps and bombs, a melee sorcerer who channels the darkness, a giant (and incredibly powerful) berserker woman, or others, Wayfinder has a character for you. Unfortunately, unless you want to play the gunner, tank, or assassin, you'll have to earn or buy the others (it's particularly painful for me, because I played and fell in love with the arcanist Kyros at PAX East, and I have no idea how long it will take for me to get him back).
We’ve always loved multiplayer experiences and even for those of us working on the original Darksiders back at Vigil, the dream was to always make a multiplayer game with all 4 horsemen. Darksiders: Genesis was Airship’s first step into the multiplayer space and we learned a lot from working on it. As our team grew over the years, we’ve felt more and more comfortable with tackling a larger multiplayer game. It is definitely not a full blown MMO, but we are doing what we can to capture the fun of being in a persistent world with friends and expanding on that world over time.
This game is a love letter to the games that we’ve played over the years that are social, have a persistent world and are ever evolving. Wayfinder is social so you can jump in with friends and play all night, or if you’re feeling anti-social, you can just log in and decorate your apartment. At Airship Syndicate, we knew that our storytelling strengths are in creating rich and engaging worlds, full of memorable characters that you meet and play so we really played to our strengths making the character- based world of Wayfinder come to life.
There is a back and forth between narrative, art, and design when it comes to developing new Wayfinders and weapons. The number one thing on our minds when thinking about new Wayfinders is that they would be fun to play and offer something unique that you wouldn’t get just from playing one of the other characters. We have a general direction for a character’s role and kit earlier on and the awesome concept/art teams will develop a character based on those ideas, which in turn help flesh out and inspire the actual abilities for the characters.
It’s always hard when starting the development process and thinking about how a new player would want to be onboarded to everything that Wayfinder has to offer. Wingrave, Niss and Silo were chosen because each of them is aligned with our three archetypes - Warmaster, Tactician, Arcanist. They are also the best traditional representation of that play style, each tailored around using different weapons to start, ensuring there is a playstyle for everyone available from the start. At the end of the tutorial you can also select to replay the tutorial again with someone you didn’t pick the first time as we want the first few hours that players are in the game and working towards unlocking new wayfinders and weapons (all of which can be earned via gameplay) to be fun!
We’re excited that each new Season will introduce a brand new Wayfinder as well as multiple weapons, including their signature weapon. This allows us to both introduce new and exciting ways to play, but also allows old characters to get new life with a brand new weapon as each of our weapons has a unique gameplay ability and can be used by any character. While we don’t have a hard number we’re trying to hit, we have more than 4 in development right now. The new Seasons will also expand the world with new bosses and hunts, new zones to explore, and new quests.
I think the Wayfinders themselves are definitely a big favorite, especially when we are developing a new Wayfinder and people try it for the first time and declare that this is now their favorite Wayfinder. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite as they all play differently and I love different things about each. It’s also a ton of fun seeing the fanart and fanfiction developing in the community around the characters and how much they are resonating with people. I think one aspect of the game I’m most excited to expand upon is housing. One of my favorite moments since launch has been farming a slime cube for my house to sit at my dinner table and listening to the awesome housing tracks while I decorated.
We have an archive of what we call Wayflunders, which are hilarious bugs people have recorded over development ranging from IK bugs, characters getting flung into outerspace, incorrect animation retargeting, and other whacky things.
We’ve put a lot of love into the game and we have a lot more love to give it. We definitely want feedback from players getting into the game at this early stage so we can evolve the game and make it as good as it can be and for it to be tailored to the people actually playing the game.
We have a long roadmap of planned updates and features to expand on the game each season, so keep an eye out and even if you don’t join us now, be sure to check in later!
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Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Bluesky, & Backloggd, & check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
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What is Wayfinder?
Wayfinder is a class-based online multiplayer RPG by Airship Syndicate, the studio behind Ruined King: A League Of Legends Story, Darksiders: Genesis, and Battle Chasers Nightwar. The studio was founded by several former devs from Vigil Games (the studio behind Darksiders and Darksiders 2), and the studio's art style is instantly recognizable as coming from the pen of iconic artist (and co-founder) Joe Madureira.
One year after a tragedy fragmented the world, the player is finally pulled from the Gloom, a dark reflection of the world which can be manipulated and molded by those who know how. It's up to these Wayfinders, and the small city of survivors surrounding the portal, to find a way to piece it all together again.
Whether you want to play a tanky character, a twin dagger-wielding assassin, a clever gunner with traps and bombs, a melee sorcerer who channels the darkness, a giant (and incredibly powerful) berserker woman, or others, Wayfinder has a character for you. Unfortunately, unless you want to play the gunner, tank, or assassin, you'll have to earn or buy the others (it's particularly painful for me, because I played and fell in love with the arcanist Kyros at PAX East, and I have no idea how long it will take for me to get him back).
Wayfinder Developer Interview
Having created fun single-player RPGs and smaller, couch-style multiplayer action RPGs, what prompted the team to tackle the online multiplayer RPG (MMO) space?
We’ve always loved multiplayer experiences and even for those of us working on the original Darksiders back at Vigil, the dream was to always make a multiplayer game with all 4 horsemen. Darksiders: Genesis was Airship’s first step into the multiplayer space and we learned a lot from working on it. As our team grew over the years, we’ve felt more and more comfortable with tackling a larger multiplayer game. It is definitely not a full blown MMO, but we are doing what we can to capture the fun of being in a persistent world with friends and expanding on that world over time.
What goes into creating a brand new world, like this one? Where does the team start? With the world, with the gameplay, or somewhere else?
This game is a love letter to the games that we’ve played over the years that are social, have a persistent world and are ever evolving. Wayfinder is social so you can jump in with friends and play all night, or if you’re feeling anti-social, you can just log in and decorate your apartment. At Airship Syndicate, we knew that our storytelling strengths are in creating rich and engaging worlds, full of memorable characters that you meet and play so we really played to our strengths making the character- based world of Wayfinder come to life.
There is a back and forth between narrative, art, and design when it comes to developing new Wayfinders and weapons. The number one thing on our minds when thinking about new Wayfinders is that they would be fun to play and offer something unique that you wouldn’t get just from playing one of the other characters. We have a general direction for a character’s role and kit earlier on and the awesome concept/art teams will develop a character based on those ideas, which in turn help flesh out and inspire the actual abilities for the characters.
How did the team decide who would initially be playable, and who would be unlockable later? (One of my colleagues and I are still mourning the loss of Kyros and Senja after falling in love with them at PAX East, and not having them available at the beginning of the game)
It’s always hard when starting the development process and thinking about how a new player would want to be onboarded to everything that Wayfinder has to offer. Wingrave, Niss and Silo were chosen because each of them is aligned with our three archetypes - Warmaster, Tactician, Arcanist. They are also the best traditional representation of that play style, each tailored around using different weapons to start, ensuring there is a playstyle for everyone available from the start. At the end of the tutorial you can also select to replay the tutorial again with someone you didn’t pick the first time as we want the first few hours that players are in the game and working towards unlocking new wayfinders and weapons (all of which can be earned via gameplay) to be fun!
What about plans to add more heroes to the roster as time goes on? Is there a concrete number the team is gunning for?
We’re excited that each new Season will introduce a brand new Wayfinder as well as multiple weapons, including their signature weapon. This allows us to both introduce new and exciting ways to play, but also allows old characters to get new life with a brand new weapon as each of our weapons has a unique gameplay ability and can be used by any character. While we don’t have a hard number we’re trying to hit, we have more than 4 in development right now. The new Seasons will also expand the world with new bosses and hunts, new zones to explore, and new quests.
What are some of the team's favorite game elements, aspects of the world, etc? (I’m fond of the idea that personal attachment helps shape the gloom into those old familiar spaces)
I think the Wayfinders themselves are definitely a big favorite, especially when we are developing a new Wayfinder and people try it for the first time and declare that this is now their favorite Wayfinder. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite as they all play differently and I love different things about each. It’s also a ton of fun seeing the fanart and fanfiction developing in the community around the characters and how much they are resonating with people. I think one aspect of the game I’m most excited to expand upon is housing. One of my favorite moments since launch has been farming a slime cube for my house to sit at my dinner table and listening to the awesome housing tracks while I decorated.
Does the team have any fun or interesting stories from development?
We have an archive of what we call Wayflunders, which are hilarious bugs people have recorded over development ranging from IK bugs, characters getting flung into outerspace, incorrect animation retargeting, and other whacky things.
What would you tell potential players, who are thinking about jumping in?
We’ve put a lot of love into the game and we have a lot more love to give it. We definitely want feedback from players getting into the game at this early stage so we can evolve the game and make it as good as it can be and for it to be tailored to the people actually playing the game.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
We have a long roadmap of planned updates and features to expand on the game each season, so keep an eye out and even if you don’t join us now, be sure to check in later!
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Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Bluesky, & Backloggd, & check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
Continue reading...
