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Newsweek
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
PREVIEW: I Spent 6 Hours Playing Where Winds Meet and I'm Already Hooked
Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors I went into Where Winds Meet almost entirely blind, save for a few pre-prepared notes handed to me minutes before a hands-on session in NetEase's offices in Hangzhou, China. I knew vaguely that it was an action RPG game, and that it would likely be free-to-play when it launched globally, but beyond that, I knew very little. Six hours later, I walked out of the NetEase campus itching to play more. Where Winds Meet is set in tenth-century China, during an era known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was a period of great political upset, with near constant wars, rapid governmental changes, and lots of drama. It's also a period that's not particularly well-explored in popular culture, both within and outside of China, which makes it perfect for a game like this. At first glance, Where Winds Meet seems to take a lot of influences from other games. There's a little bit of Assassin's Creed DNA in there, a little bit of Genshin Impact, and a little bit of a dozen other games from the last ten years or so. Digging deeper, though, reveals that while those elements are present, the way they all fit together is entirely unique. A player, sword drawn, about to face off against a fearsome boss in a ruined temple in Where Winds Meet. A player, sword drawn, about to face off against a fearsome boss in a ruined temple in Where Winds Meet. NetEase Games This is a game that fits squarely within the "wuxia" genre. Wuxia is a sort of culture-wide genre within China that focuses on martial arts and spirituality, usually manifesting in historical fantasy featuring martial artists with supernatural abilities. The genre is massive in China but rarely makes it out of the country in most media — although it's seen some representation in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and to a lesser extent films like The Matrix and Kill Bill, which use elements of wuxia courtesy of Chinese-born martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. Where Winds Meet doesn't shy away from its wuxia origins. Combat is a big focus, with a host of available weapons – ranging from a simple sword to a machine gun-like magical parasol – and a wide variety of hand-to-hand mystical martial arts. The latter ties the whole combat system together, letting you hone in on a consistent style of combat no matter which weapon you choose, but it also has a ridiculous amount of depth. A drunken-style combat move, for example, has you lithely dancing around the battlefield, bottle of booze in hand — but combine it with the fireball move, and your strikes and blows leave flaming trails behind them, setting your target (and the environment) alight. These little interactions are built into every part of the combat system, and between the different weapon types and martial arts on offer, I'm sure players will be discovering interactions and new combat styles for years on end. It makes the combat feel very dynamic and equally satisfying, and I'm excited to try out all the different options when the game eventually launches. If combat isn't to your liking, though, there's still plenty for you to do. There's a pretty decent implementation of stealth, if you prefer to do your dealings in the shadows, but also parkour challenges, lots of exploration with secrets to find everywhere, and an absolutely massive amount of side story content. Where Winds Meet lead designer Chris Lyu tells me that this variety is very much by design — the team wanted this game to be something that everyone can enjoy, so players rarely have to engage with anything they're not enjoying. We'll have to see how that plays out in the final release, because I'm doubtful you can get through major parts of the game without engaging in combat, for example, but Lyu insists there's something there for everyone. A player partaking in a rhythm minigame in Where Winds Meet. A player partaking in a rhythm minigame in Where Winds Meet. NetEase Games It was in these non-combat side stories that I found some of my favorite parts of the game. After knocking out a few parkour challenges, I stumbled upon a storytelling event that focused on a small group of characters who were reckoning with an overbearing government official that was cracking down on currency from a prior ruler. At first it seemed very basic – a woman needed money to pay for her child's medicine, but she only had old money and nobody wanted to accept it – but it didn't take long for it to expand into something truly touching. I won't spoil what happens, but it took previously introduced comic relief characters and gave them a serious, soul-filled story to tell, twisted and turned beyond its simple premise, and ended in a heart-wrenching moment that still plays in my head on repeat, more than a week after I experienced it. It wove itself in and out of the game's main story narrative without feeling overwrought or forced, gave characters purpose and depth, and was easily some of the best storytelling I've seen in a game in a long while. It helps, too, that the game is unbelievably good looking. I'll grant that I was viewing it in ideal conditions, on super-powerful gaming PCs with hardware I absolutely could never afford, but having seen the game running on PS5, too, it's not far off from the ideal experience. It's a very good-looking game with gorgeous architecture, obscenely high-quality character models, and spectacular lighting and effects. A player atop a rooftop, sword drawn, in Kaifeng City in the video game Where Winds Meet. A player atop a rooftop, sword drawn, in Kaifeng City in the video game Where Winds Meet. NetEase Games No release date has been set for the global release of Where Winds Meet just yet, but its release in China shows that the team behind it is onto something special. It's had an overwhelmingly positive response from players so far, and early reactions from global players after various betas have been good, too. It's hard to tell if it's going to take off in the same way it has in China, but what I do know is that I'll be there on day one. Disclosure: NetEase Games paid for travel and accommodation to Hangzhou, China for the purposes of this preview.
Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Where Winds Meet beta for July – how to join the final playtest for the Wuxia adventure
The new game from Everstone is set to deliver a Wuxia open-world action adventure RPG that players can get truly stuck into and lost in, set across China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The highly anticipated Where Winds Meet is nearly upon us, and it's rolling out a significant new playtest in preparation for its grand debut. Martial Arts-themed games have the potential to offer truly standout gaming experiences. We've seen this with the cult following that Sifu garnered shortly after its release, and how Black Myth: Wukong has successfully translated physical combat into a Soulslike format. It's a genre that gamers seem to continually gravitate towards – a factor that could propel Where Winds Meet to impressive heights. Everstone's latest offering promises an immersive Wuxia open-world action-adventure RPG set during China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The game aims to plunge players deep into the political complexities of the era, overshadowed by the spectacle of warfare, with you at the helm. Delivering on such a promise is no small feat, but thankfully, the game is undergoing extensive testing to ensure it hits the mark. PC gamers have plenty to explore as they scramble to fill the void left by the item duping patch for Dune Awakening and dive into the latest Prologue Go Wayback playtest. This fresh opportunity to traverse ancient China is sure to be an even bigger draw. The upcoming Where Winds Meet beta this July is set to be the final sneak peek before the game's grand debut. Eager to dive in? Wondering which platforms can join the fray? Here's the lowdown on the much-anticipated Where Winds Meet beta. Introducing All Out Gaming Introducing All Out Gaming, a dedicated gaming brand providing the best gaming news, reviews, previews, interviews and more! Make sure you don't miss out on our latest high-quality videos on YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, where we'll be posting our latest reviews, previews, interviews, and live streams! You can also subscribe to our free All Out Gaming newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories. Where Winds Meet beta start date The Where Winds Meet beta start date is set for Thursday, July 24 at 9pm PDT and Friday, July 25 at 12am EDT / 5am BST, and it ends on Thursday, July 31 at 9pm PDT and Friday, August 1 at 12am EDT / 5am BST. PS5 aficionados and PC gamers via Steam are all welcome, with language support for English, Korean, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese. Keen to be part of the Where Winds Meet closed beta experience? Simply fill out the beta sign-up sheet, answering queries about your gaming platform preference, gaming history, and expectations for Where Winds Meet. If you fit the bill based on "your gamer profile aligns with what we're looking for," a beta code could be winging its way to you via email. It's an exhilarating moment for fans awaiting this title, as the game's creators seem quite bullish about the experience they're about to unleash in this ultimate trial run. Get ready for an epic journey.
