GamesRoguelikeWindblownYou can try a taster of the Dead Cells dev’s next roguelike Windblown ahead of its early access debut later this month, courtesy of Steam Next FestWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRoguelikeWindblownYou can try a taster of the Dead Cells dev’s next roguelike Windblown ahead of its early access debut later this month, courtesy of Steam Next FestWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
I was a little worried going in, considering thetumultuous relationshipbetween Dead Cells' former designer and the studio—even if that does meanwe’ve got/are gettingthree solid roguelikes from Motion Twin, Sébastien Benard, and Evil Empire—the studio that tinkered with Dead Cells' DLCs.
While my fears for the full thing aren’t put to rest so much as halfway into bed (the demo is very short), Windblown already feels polished enough to be worth checking out, bare minimum. I can concur with Justin Wagner, who checked the game out for usearlier this month, in that it’s already really dang satisfying.
The meat and potatoes of Windblown are as follows: You’ve got a dash, you’ve got two weapons, you can get reusable trinkets (such as a big bomb, or a whirlwind of blades) with hefty cooldowns, and you can swipe passive benefits from the echoes of other adventurers who waded into the big tornado.
Image1of3(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)
Image1of3(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)
Image1of3
(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
(Image credit: Motion Twin)
The “alterattacks” system, where you do a special move if you swap to your other weapon after a certain number of swings, is alittlefiddly. It juts up against the core mantra of a roguelike—to avoid damage at all costs—since windows where you’re able to pull off a full alter combo are rare. This friction isn’t inherently bad, if anything it’s a good window for mastery, but I found myself wishing that you had a one-dodge grace window to chain into an alter attack, or something, just so I could make use of them more.
Outside of that, the game feels silky-smooth, everything feels precise and frictionless and exactly how you want a game like this to control. It helps that it’s right pretty, too—the trailers don’t do its pastel, brightly-saturated environments justice. Character models are a bit jarring at first, with their stark cel-shaded visuals, but I reckon that’ll actually help cut through the visual noise which, I imagine, will be a problem once you’ve three players on screen.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
More about roguelikeHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spinesLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10See more latest►
More about roguelikeHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spinesLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10See more latest►
More about roguelikeHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines
More about roguelike
Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterThis bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines
Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter
Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter
This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines
This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines
LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10See more latest►
Latest
Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10
Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10
Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10
See more latest►
Most PopularTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel RivalsLenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in JuneNvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummetAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my listIf you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300
Most PopularTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel RivalsLenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in JuneNvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummetAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my listIf you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300
Most PopularTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel RivalsLenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in JuneNvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummetAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my listIf you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300
Most Popular
Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet
Old meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skill
Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter
Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’
The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process
‘I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals
Lenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in June
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummet
After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list
If you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1
Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2
Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3
Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4
Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5
Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review
1
Thank Goodness You’re Here! review
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review
2
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3
WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4
Ikea Utespelare desk review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5
Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
