Wandersong

Wandersong is not a "slippery" game. It will not slide past you without friction, and it will at times be outright annoying to wrest with as you try to get to the next milestone.
Doing that, as I did at first, is missing the point of the game.
Wandersong is a game to be savoured. It isn't the cleverest game I've played, nor is it the prettiest, and certainly not the most "fun". But it's clever, pretty, engaging all the same, and any annoyances caused by dubious anti aliasing and counterintuitive controls are soon forgotten.
It's a game with heart above all else. And while that wouldn't be enough by itself, it's backed up by occasionally amateurish but always dedicated execution, and a score and story that will at their best make you cry, and at worst be pretty good.
Just give it a couple hours to find its footing, and it will give you a wonderful, colourful experience.

Review The Game
Cry At The End
Ultimate Music Appreciator
Ultimate Character Lover
{Achievement Unlocked] Miriam Best Girl

Wandersong is a game developed by Greg Lobanov and co-developed by Wishes Unlimited Games and A Shell In The Pit, who also directed the game’s soundtrack as they had previously done for Cellar Door Games’ 2013 Roguelite mega-hit “Rogue Legacy” and their 2018 foray into 2.5D Brawlers “Full Metal Furies”, as well as being the co-developers on another experimental Greg Lobanov production in 2021, titled “Chicory: A Colorful Tale”. Wandersong itself, follows an optimistic bard, with a four letter name of the player’s (limited) choosing, and his groggy witch friend, Miriam, who embark on a journey across the real world and the spirit world to recover pieces of the ancient, mysterious and divided Earthsong. The world stands at a razor’s edge, ready to end soon, as it has done in countless cosmological cycles prior, and only the world’s full harmony in singing the cosmic song, which has never been sung in any of the world’s prior iterations, can save it from its seemingly inevitable collapse.
CONs
- Jankiness in practically all areas of the game, but especially gameplay
- Some characters receive less characterization than they perhaps should
- The first half of the game suffers from inconsistent writing, a slight, but tangible lack of direction and major pacing issues
- Many small bugs throughout
- Monitors with higher refresh rates than 60Hz need to be capped at 60Hz in order to run the game smoothly
- Some major plot events and character reflections are hidden deep within very optional dialogue trees
- The sound mixing can be quite poor and the main singing mechanics need some adjusting to, especially with the uncountable layers of ambience, soundtrack and the main bard’s singing.
- A fairly lackluster soundtrack, which often ends up drowned out by everything else
- Pointless collectible dances and fake openness (many, empty ways, to get to one, linear goalpost)
- Simplistic puzzles
- Time-wasting mechanics and sequences that drag out for too long (See pacing comment)
- At times the story delves into the territory of somewhat naive (though often course-corrects in the end)
- Finicky default controls (rebinding suggested: particularly for the game’s singing)
PROs
+ A heartwarming, special and unique story
+ A colorful cast of characters, some of whom I would’ve loved to know more about
+ An incredibly clever use of the trope-y heroes’ journey, as well as Steam achievements
+ Some great humor throughout (especially the farther you get into the game)
+ A fantastic balance and juxtaposition of bleak motifs and colorful, happy-go-lucky ones, both in narrative and color
+ Great subversions of expected tropes inside of the game’s many sub-narratives
+ Some very interesting and (at times) great implementations of the game’s main singing mechanics into various world interactions
+ Fantastic visuals!
+ An incredible amount of heart poured into every janky pore of this game.
Review
Wandersong is a clever game, it’s a beautiful game and a colorful game. It is very clearly a product of an amateur, but also a stellar showcase of the word’s true meaning, that is lost on many people. Amateur has its roots in the Latin “amare” meaning “to love”, and Wandersong is doubtlessly a product of much hard work, careful deliberation and, indeed, love. The developers come up with clever ideas and humorous narratives and interactions in spades. Every NPC feels alive in their own, odd little way. Every town feels markedly different and undeniably its own. Although the game’s gameplay feels, at times, like a distraction rather than anything bearing much meaning (and at times lacking in the enjoyment department, though certainly helped by its lack of difficulty), the sound design is subpar in places and the story’s pacing is spotty throughout, and shoddy at best during its first few acts, I cannot help but love Wandersong for its color and imagination. It’s like a game a child scrawled in his notebooks with crayon, brought to life by an inexperienced, yet impassioned developer to tell an incredible and, in its own way, unforgettable story, and I find that incredibly commendable.
Massive Thanks To Greg Lobanov, Wishes Unlimited Games and A Shell In The Pit For This Incredible Experience!

This game changed my life. This music is amazing and the way I balled my eyes at a bunch of parts. Its a sad but lovely tale so please PLAY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't really tear up that often, but this game...

A charming story with fairly intuitive gameplay, a fantastic soundtrack and a beautiful ending. Definitely worth buying

A lovely game, with easy and intuitive controls, a charming art style and a funny yet compelling story and characters. Definitely worth the price, and the time to dive into this gem.

Fun little game. Super casual and cute. Maybe not worth the asking price, but try it on sale. Puzzles, music and casual fun.