Windblown uses friendship to circumvent villainous fear

I have a confession: I am a rampant roguelike uninstaller.

I almost always reach a point with games like Balatro, Dead cellsor Hades when, looking at my playtime bubble, I feel the need to remove the temptation to play the game. Roguelikes, almost by definition, follow an addictive structure that reviewers often describe as the “one more run” feeling, where the player feels compelled to start the loop again (and again, and – you get the idea). Another common expression you often hear is the idea that you have “lost time” on a game, as if the game has tricked you into devoting more of your life to it than you were consciously willing to give. For me, this kind of compulsive play leads to something I’ve come to think of as “roguelike anxiety,” or the feeling that I really have to continue with a potentially infinite game or it will completely take over my life. I usually delete it then.

Clearly this is a problem of mine. There are undoubtedly people with better impulse control, and there are undoubtedly people for whom this feeling of ‘losing’ time on a game is experienced not as fear but as joy. (Infinite gameplay for 20-30 dollars? That’s a bargain.Still, a cursory Googling suggests that I’m not alone in my experience of roguelike anxiety, of feeling like these games are so compelling that they’re all-consuming. So to my fellow roguelike removers, let me say this:

Download Blown by the wind – it’s so good.

Blown by the windthe latest game from Dead cells developer Motion Twin, was released into early access at the end of October. Trading in the sidescrolling, pixel art vibe of Dead cells for a top-down, cel-shaded romp through islands in the sky, Blown by the wind manages to feel both different from Motion Twin’s last effort and close enough in spirit that it’s easy to sink into the loop. True to form, the game is quite challenging and, even in early access, already offers significant meta-progression unlocks to keep every run feeling fresh. Combat takes center stage here, with a new emphasis on chaining different attacks together for maximum damage. The soundtrack is also extremely catchy, equal parts synth and rock, with a vocal track that always gets me hyped when it arrives. Even in what feels like a very early build design-wise, Blown by the wind clearly has what it takes to keep you playing for days, months and years on end.

But it’s time for another confession: I don’t like playing roguelikes in early access. The reason is probably obvious, given everything I’ve already written. I know myself, and I know I get burned out on these types of games, so I hate putting time into something that isn’t finished yet, afraid of the idea that I won’t want to go back to it come when it reaches 1.0. . I hung up Hades 2 earlier this year for exactly this reason. Everything in me wanted to keep moving forward, but every time I saw placeholder artwork or read the log of game balance changes, I felt this nagging feeling that I needed to save my stamina for when the game is “complete.” Roguelike anxiety is unavoidable for me, which is why I’ve found it’s best to wait with a game until at least 1.0, if not later.

Blown by the wind can be a great single-player experience, but as the game’s marketing will tell you right away, that’s absolutely not the point Blown by the wind. The point is two to three player co-op. It’s about tackling the game’s towering challenge with one or two friends. The point is to lose time together. So once again to my fellow roguelike removers, I’m here to say to you:

No, seriously – Blown by the windGet started, it’s great.

Here’s the thing: Blown by the wind isn’t the first multiplayer roguelike. Not by a long shot. Somewhere out there, a Risk of rain 2 player is pulling their hair out reading this, and if so, please stop. I see you, and I honor you. Even The Binding of Isaacafter all these years, just added online co-op. I’m not here to claim that Blown by the wind is the first, and not even the best, multiplayer roguelike. What I want to argue here is that this was so Mine first multiplayer roguelike, and that’s why it came with a revelation: the answer to roguelike anxiety is other people.

When I play a roguelike, I usually start asking myself questions like, “Has this become a waste of time?” or “Are there other games I’d rather play right now?” More generally, I can get the creeping feeling that I’m spending too much time on one thing. I actually get that feeling a bit while playing Blown by the wind as a single player game. It is a roguelike after all, and I’ve already laid out my personal mental hurdles when it comes to the genre. Every loop, no matter how pleasant, eventually gives way to the feeling that I want to get out. Unless, as it turns out, I’m not the only one in the know.

I won’t extol the joys of multiplayer gaming to an audience well versed in such things, but I will say this: it was comical to me how quickly and how completely my concerns about “wasting time” or the feeling of being addicted to a roguelike disappeared when it was something I shared with a good friend. I immediately stopped caring if this early build would feel incomplete compared to 1.0. All I cared about was talking about our workdays and coming up with a strategy about who picked up which item and when. Suddenly, the time I spent playing the game felt less like a personal indulgence and more like an interpersonal investment. What did we care if the game changed tomorrow? The time we spent together would be worth it no matter how many numbers came after the pre-release version number. The game was both a social vehicle and a random number generator, and it was all the richer for it.

For me: play Blown by the wind was a good reminder for me to open up my gaming experiences to other people. The world can feel lonely and punishing at times, and that goes for roguelikes too. But when you walk the path with other people, success feels more within reach. Or if not a success, at least a courageous effort that you can laugh about together. Even failure feels better when someone else is there to pick you up.

Even as a rampant roguelike uninstaller, I haven’t uninstalled it yet Blown by the wind. In fact, I don’t feel compelled to do so in the least. Instead, I’ll look forward to the next update and watch it with a friend to see what new obstacles we can overcome together. Absent from my experience is fear, replaced by a sense of shared possibility.

Blown by the wind was released in early access on Windows PC on October 24. The game was played using a download code purchased by the author. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.