I fucking love music wow and I'm writing this while watching sanremo so you know im crazy

some part of me really wanted to enjoy this game way more than I actually did its probably one of the most artistically pleasing mechanically deep genre bending queer narrative driven puzzle adventure ever created and also probably a super slog to go through PLEASE DONT DOX ME YET PLEASE WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT

so I'm famously known nationally as a hater of puzzle games because my IQ is so below the average that I have to look up solutions after solutions to actually get the façade of a bump-less experience throughout . now puzzles in this one are not the worst shit ever because of the main mechanic being not only super interesting and ever shifting but also characterised by puzzle segments that are not super long (but sometimes could get really trying and repetitive) and not super difficult (once you understand the secret formula) and still I ended up kind of hating those parts after a while the game makes a lot of effort to shuffle things up a bit but I'm not the target audience for this type of gameplay

now the main gimmick is pretty fun !!! since youre a bard most of the stuff youre gonna do ingame is sing so most of if not the entirety of the puzzles are gonna be about you matching notes with the cues that are gonna come out of nowhere USUALLY since the developers are so fuccking intelligent thay they managed to bend this simple premise to new heights with some of the most forward thinking use of a simplistic gameplay mechanic to the point that it could rival undertale and the little bullet hell heart literally at first I thought this was gonna be a rhythm game but a part of me is super glad that is is absolutely fucking NOT a rhythm game at all for some reason you should be using the analog stick to match the notes but what these developers end up doing with it is absolutely insane

so yeah for this stuff I actually did enjoy going through the game because they just kept reinventing the main mechanic every 30 minutes and for that I'm genuinely so impressed I have no idea how they did that SURE sometimes the sing circle isn't really the most comfortable way of expressing the design philosophy the developers were aiming for but it comes real close its janky yes but also a damn blast throughout thats definitely one thing that kept me interested till the end of the game

again while this should be a praise sometimes it hindered the experience in some ways because of the puzzle segments I wish these parts were either streamlined or integrated better because they're whole areas of JUST puzzles that honestly made me go insane sometimes its not like they're hard or anything most of them are pretty easy but it's just that why would you put puzzle pieces in a narrative driven game if the reason is to make me more engaged in the game rest assured that you're doing the exact opposite ong which is basically what happened when chicory went full puzzle and to this day I still can't finish it for the life of me because wow do I hate puzzle segments

the narrative driven moments are definitely some of the best parts of the game but NOT ALWAYS the pirates arc was boring as shit the beginning of the game was really slow and I actually began to be enthralled by this whole experience when the game decided to go full majoras mask and until then I actually played this sporadically throughout the months because wow is this game slow and boring sometimes wow please don't kill me

it's not like it's inherently bad and I think if it weren't for my mind numbing adhd I wouldve probably enjoyed this laid back experience way more than I did but there's some really weird pacing throughout where either nothing really happens and you're left with countless and countless of boring dialogue or everything happens all at once - wait isn't this the title of that movie

I'm not against laid back experiences I'm so much in love with night in the woods my heart could explode and what really sets them apart is that wandersong while having basically the same structure fails to make me care for anything happening in the world or any single character appearing on screen

most of the events of the game arent moving until you actually get at least ⅓ in which isn't a lot for a 10 something hours game but it can be detrimental to the pacing nonetheless and the characters are either one trick ponies that are used for some kind of interesting dialogue interactions but then they're just taken out if the entire picture which makes me just not care for any of them UNTIL miriam comes in and im gonna talk about her plenty in a second and at that point i start caring for everything in this game all of the sudden

so yeah these are my main issues here puzzles i hate puzzles one note characters (they're not bad they're just how do you say usa e getta in english mmmmm disposable ??? yeah something like that like they're used for a single joke and then killed off screen . not cool man) and the story takes a lot to digest

it could also very well be that I wasn't in a particularly good moment that's also an interesting point of discussion

moving on the art direction is absolutely flawless now lemme just address the elephant in the room I'm not a huge fan of the art style………. but they managed to make me love it WOW the characters are incredibly well designed and diverse theres a lot of variety in the sceneries youre going to traverse in this pilgrimage the vivid colors are trying to make you wake up while you're snoozing theres a lot of expressions for the bard even though he's basically a mannequin the pop up book aesthetic has a lot of charm and while YES I don't like it it doesn't necessarily mean that I didnt find it super intriguing and gorgeous I can not like something but also praise it like I do with giottos painting they have that lobotomised use of perspective that would make everyone go crazy but you have to still understand that that was the blueprint of the art we had in the renaissance and so forward

that being said for a game with huge emphasis on music it's pretty weird how the songs can range from soothing to anonymous to epic to bopping to basically whatever they could make on a soundboard and they did a good job my only complaint is that there's a lot of good songs here and there like the ghost chant or something that get outright RUINED with the player-controlled bard noises which is probably a result of me being ass at this game but I don't think most of the time the bards singing actually has some good impact on the tunes in the background that you're gonna emulate does that make sense is that rude to say

the music is still godlike though I hope the die hard fans of this game arent already releasing my IP on the dark web hitmen pages because wow I still need to play a lot of shit please wait at least a few more years ok umh ……. at least persona 3 reload

so yeah art direction and sound design top notch we get it moving on im sleepy

some of the thematic elements of the story deeeeefinitely hit real close with stuff like inadequacy and depression which was something that I was NOT expecting for this game to dab into because it started out as this incredible positive journey of saving the world and living life at the fullest yada yada and shit like that until it actually is NOT and the game starts throwing a lot of deep shit at you like themes of loss and grief themes of not being good enough or not being worthy enough friendship and betrayal and existentialism and idealism if you had seen my fucking face when I realised the sheer variety of stuff the game explores I probably would've been munchs the scream

I do not think this should be overlooked most of the dialogues in the game can be taken as jokes and sometimes they really are but if you dig deeper you can see how sensitive the writing is to the themes its trying to convey and I swear some of them do hit . like . a . truck . some scenes of the game are forever printed on my eyelids and I not even bleach would be able to wash them away

the main trio is probably the main focus of the game and its in their interaction that all of that gorgeous luscious writing starts flowing abundantly and lemme be clear I did not care for the bard or any of them in the beginning but wow I ended up loving all of them so dearly

for some reason I think it's fitting how the bard starts as such a blank character until it actually grows a spine and some balls to confront injustices enemies and while literally the end of the world . he's definitely not my favorite one in the game and i would've preferred a more interesting approach to the protagonist BUT the way his character changed from this dilly dallying carefree bard to an idealistic mid-apocalyptic dummie is probably the best character development I couldve asked for in a game like this

I gotta give the developers an Oscar for creating my most hated character in the entire world now Audrey is a fucking pain I tried and tried to like her I cried for her I pained listening to her but she was MADE to be hated and they succeeded if I were there I wouldve showed shibuya a real incident

now

drums

my baby

my wife

my beloved

miriam

most of the reasons why I actually ended up enjoying the game as much as I did even despite all the problems I talked about can be summarized in: miriam

shes a grumpy little witch serious impatient and hates the bards attitude towards a more positive demeanour and at first I thought she was gonna be another one of those characters just falling in the background but she sure as hell became the most important character of the story for me

most of the game she just closes off from the entire world and doesn't really think about opening up to others in any way shape or form but slowly she begins to sweeten to the bards presence and starts sharing a bond that could be called friendship

while I definitely don't think this is the most convoluted character writing in the entire world I relate to her to a personal level and I think she's possibly one of the sweetest 2d beings I got to know till now just thinking about all the cute interactions she exchanged with the bard is making my heart warmer not even talking about the trauma dump or the finale literally words can't express how much I love this stupid fucking bitch I'm in love with her I want to adopt her and I want her to be happy for the rest of her life im not joking

i won't go into too much detail but miriam is special miriam deserves the world and miriam is the best character in the game bar none and if you wonder if you should play this game just do it for miriam im crazy for her

she got an inferiority complex and copes with anger issues she feels like an outsider and is scared of friendship and emotional intimacy she's just like me frfr

what got me was that the real reason saphy sent miriam on a quest to save the world and told the bard to go with her is simply because she wanted her granddaughter to make a friend before the world ended

point is I could talk about miriam forever so lets just

wandersong is perfect but also flawed it's interesting and boring it has a lot of great ideas and weird execution incredible characters and monotonous ones its such a fucking dilemma how they managed to either make me go crazy cry tear my hair out or

oh

forgot to say

cried like a fucking bitch too this game got me if you played the games you know the miriam scenes I'm talking about literally could not see the screens through the years . embarrassing

I was saying

or bore me to no end irritate me and make me regret all my life decisions

but maybe that's fine I slowly started to be seduced by this game it started to seduce me and it delivered

still conflicted to no end but I'm glad I got to play this miriam you're a part of me I will never forget you

gg it has homosexual yeti monsters fucking raw

This is the tale of one little bard travelling the world and singing to solve puzzles. And it is the best game I have ever played. The world is dripping with charm, filled with cute and interesting characters, hilarious and wholesome writing, packed with fun twists and turns for the story, and your only way to affect the world is by singing.

The singing mechanics are very cleverly implemented - each note corresponds to a colour and wherever you see the colour you can usually interact with that part of the world by singing that note. This results in a beautiful and excellently scored array of puzzles, interactions, and of course musical sections that never fail to delight.

This is a game brimming with atmosphere, the work that went into all the music is phenomenal, the innovative ideas behind the various challenges and how everything fits together is impressive, and the story had me in tears both of joy and sadness from beginning to end. One of my very few 5/5 games not because it's flawless, but because I feel that what it gets right it does so well that I'm compelled to overlook its flaws. It really just strikes a chord with me.

Wandersong is a narrative driven puzzle platformer that is heavy on charm and light on mechanical depth. The writing, and the textual delivery of that writing, is exemplary. The overall story is incredibly hopeful but manages to just barely avoid becoming trite. And of course the music is very well composed, although the Bard's vocal patches can occasionally be a bit irritating.

Mechanically there's not a lot going on. Although the developers got a lot of mileage out of spinning the right joystick to sing, most of the game is very simple and easy. To counterbalance this low difficulty some sections are a bit repetitive, which slows the pacing down a bit too much. To really get the most out of this game you have to be prepared to stick through some mediocre gameplay sections for the sake of a masterfully crafted narrative.

'Wandersong' ofrece una visión vitalista a los problemas mundanos de nuestra vida, de la mano de un bardo al que le cuesta mucho quedarse con la boca cerrada un rato (ni bajo el agua). Pero la importancia de esta obra no es la cualidad de cantar bien o mal (o hacer imposible la existencia a nuestra bruja compañera de viajes), es el estímulo que llama a cada uno de nosotros a expresar cómo somos y dejar atrás los miedos, apoyados con el poder de la música como medio de expresión. El mero hecho de usar el stick derecho para tocar notas con el bardo en cualquier momento/escena de la partida ya es un triunfo en sí. Una llamada a liberar tus ansias metomentodo y embellecer/marronear un momento dulce de la partida de la manera menos conveniente. O ponerse a bailar en un momento comprometido de la narrativa. La música es vida, expresar sentimientos nos hace libres, abrirse en canal no nos hace menos persona que otra, todos tenemos un espacio en el mundo.

Aunque pueda resultar empalagoso por instantes, la narrativa propuesta por Greg Lobanov propone muchos conflictos internos y soluciones agridulces que harán que la perspectiva que tengamos del viaje cambie notablemente. Porque es muy fácil decirle a alguien que se anime o "piensa en positivo", pero tener la determinación para seguir adelante no es fácil sin plantarles cara a los problemas y elaborar una convicción clara sobre qué hacer frente a ellos. Desde su exageradamente simple mentalidad optimista, el bardo es el vehículo necesario para conectar el mundo de 'Wandersong' y llenarlo de vida. Y quizá a raíz de esa pureza que hallamos en todas las personas y criaturas del viaje, esa pequeña cosa que les hace especiales a cada una de ellas, el clamor atronador que se produce en el estallido final se vive más intensamente de lo esperado. Cierto es que buena parte del juego viene conducido por historias secundarias, habitualmente desconectadas de la narrativa principal, que pueden resultar un peñazo por la lentitud en la que suelen desarrollarse (o los infinitos diálogos profundizando en los sentimientos de cada personaje); pero prefiero quedarme con el aspecto más noble del mensaje del universo de Lobanov. He aprendido a perdonar su holgura y verborrea pasional, y apreciarla en la medida que es, de donde y quién viene.

El núcleo jugable está plagado de usos creativos y formas de emplear al bardo como instrumento, pero en ningún momento posee una profundidad muy allá. Sin quitarle mérito a su enorme creatividad, en muchos momentos se sabe incómodo de jugar, especialmente en algunas secciones plataformeras donde las físicas de los actores no actúan como se espera de ellos. Visto en perspectiva, acometer cualquier ejercicio musical de 'Wandersong' es parecido a loquefuesequehicieses jugando a 'Wii Music'. Tenemos que seguir unas notas y patrones rítmicos determinados, pero el diseño sonoro del juego suele adaptarse a lo que hacemos, de modo que nada parece tener sentido y todo lo que hacemos está bien... salvo que no suena demasiado bien. Es raro y puede resultar cargante en muchos momentos de la partida, pero también tiene su intríngulis, si se me entiende. Es una cosa... especial. Algo así.

Pero en definitiva, creo que las ~12h invertidas en 'Wandersong' han sido muy satisfactorias al final. Personalmente no obstante, creo que le he fallado un poco por no acercarme al juego con la mejor predisposición posible. Ha llevado mes y pico para terminar la aventura por la desidia que me producían los diálogos y lo que se enrollan las viñetas secundarias. Pero detrás del juego hay mucho corazón, mucha ternura y una actitud frente a la vida demasiado bonita como para dejarla aparcada en una biblioteca (inexistente en realidad) de Steam. 'Wandersong' merece una oportunidad.

Sights & Sounds
- Very simplistic, stylized art style. Fortunately, there's enough polish on the visuals that the simplicity doesn't evoke a early 00s Flash game
- The color palette really struck me. The colors are often soft and muted, but dont go full pastel
- Being a game about music, you'd probably be disappointed if the soundtrack sucked. Fortunately, it's quite good. The fantasy-infused classical sounding tracks are all pretty good--particularly the ones involved in the rhythm game sections

Story & Vibes
- The plot starts off like most other fantasy games: The world is ending, and someone should probably do something about it. Unfortunately, you're not the hero. You're just a bard. In fact, the actual hero of the story is working with the gods to help "refresh" the universe and start anew
- That still sounds like a raw deal to the bard, so you set about trying to stop it anyway
- The game often plays up the fact that you're not the hero. That fact is infused in both the story (the bard often questions his actions and wonders if he's doing the right thing) to the gameplay (most achievements are earned by the hero doing stuff instead of you)
- I like the fact that the game's message essentially boils down to this: You're not important, and you're definitely not the main character. But your actions and motivations do matter, and you can use them to do amazing things anyway
- And so, in spite of all the light-hearted visuals, the heavy dose of clean humor, and the overall innocence of the narrative, the vibes wind up being a little pensive and thoughtful. If you really buy into the story, you'll be thinking a lot about your purpose and place in the world

Playability & Replayability
- Given your lowly bard status, don't expect a lot of combat. Your role is more conducive to talking to folks and solving puzzles. At it's core, Wandersong plays like an adventure game with minimal puzzle and platforming elements
- Fortunately, most of the problems you encounter can be solved by singing. Although the 8 different notes you can sing are often the basis for solving puzzles, they do factor in as rhythm game elements at key points as you collect the parts of the song that will stop the apocalypse
- You do wind up briefly playing as the hero, and that segment is more of a straightforward action platformer
- I managed to 100% the game (not a difficult feat), so I probably won't be back for a replay anytime soon

Overall Impressions & Performance
- It's a cute game with a surprisingly good story and a meaningful message. It's not the most thought-provoking game, and there's very little action, but there's still a lot to like here for those wishing for a laid-back story-focused game
- The game played perfectly on the Steam Deck

Final Verdict
- 7/10. Definitely worth picking up for anyone wanting a cozy story game with a few laughs and some nice music. Clocks in at around 10 hours, so name your price and toss it on your wishlist with confidence if that sounds appealing

This is the best game you've never heard of. The story of a bard trying to be a hero, but never really succeeding. The story of people and all their messes. A story of a witch trying to save the world. A story of dealing with death and grief and rage.

And most importantly, a story of hope.

What a game. What a stupendous game. I wish I could play it again with fresh eyes.

Wandersong is a cute, easygoing, and extremely wholesome puzzle game with a neat singing gimmick. The graphics look decent and are deceptively simple. At first, you feel the one-man-band vibe, but it quickly becomes VERY impressive with the insane tricks the dev/s pulled with using the graphics and gameplay so creatively. My first impression was that it reminded me of Pikuniku. Its really easygoing, and theres no difficulty whatsoever, so relax and enjoy it. The writing is easily A tier, very moving, wholesome, and engaging. I laughed many times, I spent a good portion of the game with a beaming smile, and I'm a guy who for whatever reason doesn't really smile much. And I also very nearly cried happiness at the end.

The story takes a while to get going, but once it does by golly does it speed off like a train, by chapter 2, I was heavily invested in the character progression and development, and wider story and was enthralled by the lovable characters at every single turn.

By chapter 3, I fell in love with the devs' sense of humour, they have the best kind of lighthearted internet culture you can find in laid back, creatively driven fandoms with a nod to the old style internet, think Homestuck (which there are s e v e r a l references to), Artfight, Newgrounds, etc. This kind of vibe is right up my alley, and I wish more netizens embraced it more. I'm trying to be a nicer and more wholesome netizen myself, this game inspires me towards that further.

In chapter 4 I pet the dog, did the bardy thing, and made a depressed young man happy. :D

By chapter 5, I was going crazy with all the insane tricks the dev was pulling, and my interest in The Bard and Miriam's relationship peaked and stayed for the rest of the game, I also realised that Audrey is a total bellend here.

Chapters 6 and 7 weren't as crazy as chapter 5, but the ending almost made me cry. Thats all I'll say about it.

I didn't pay any money for this, I got it as a Christmas present from a REALLY good friend. She really knows how to pick em. With hindsight from playing it, I would say its worth the A$30 theyre asking, but I wouldn't have gone for it until it went on sale for 60%+, maybe you should too if you're not totally convinced in how good it is or have a backlog and can wait to save some money.

I couldn't avoid playing this game after playing my all-time favorite game (so far)... Chicory.

Chapter 1: 🎬
It took me almost the whole chapter to get into this game! I tried it a few different times, but eventually, when the second chapter started, it kinda clicked :>

Chapter 2: 🥁
I enjoyed ordering beans, making a theme song, and... getting the band together 😎. The game didn't hit until the start of chapter 3, though.

Chapter 3: 🏴‍☠️
This is where I got fully invested in the game, I'd say. Exploring with the pirates, following the map, and finding secrets felt really fun. It reminded me of a game I used to play as a child. Often indie games feel like reading a children's book. It gives me a joy that is hard to match...

Chapter 4: 🏭
The game took a very unexpected turn for me here. It focused on the whole time mechanic, which I liked. It reminded me of Stardew/Animal Crossing, with how you had to be exact on time a lot of the time. It felt similar to both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film Klaus...!

Chapter 5: 🦄
This was probably the longest chapter and... one of the best. I didn't care much for the conflict between the people, basically? But otherwise, it had a lot of fun things. I almost expected it to be done, but then I got the magical school arc, which was really fun, with Metroidvania mechanics???

Chapter 6: 🌌
Kinda short? Not much to say about it. It felt a little simple, and apparently, every indie game has a mountain climbing section!

Chapter 7: 🏡 Mimimimimimimi

Well, while I'm still considering Chicory my favorite game...? This game was phenomenal. It did so many creative things, had some awesome songs, fun characters, awesome sound design, and really engaging dialogue. I did, however, miss the more open-world styled exploration in Chicory... I preferred the top-down view more. Wandersong, to me, almost felt too linear at points with not enough secrets to find. I'm not sure if that's a negative for the game itself or just my opinion!

Can't WAIT to see what Other Wishes do next!!!