Wandersong Review

Genre: Musical Narrative Adventure
Players: 1
Time: 10 Hours (Includes beating the game, talking to every NPC as much as possible, and many spontaneous outbursts of singing and dancing)


Wandersong has players embark on a musical adventure with the goofiest and most optimistic of bards, determined to prevent the encroaching end of the world.  Through means of just singing and jumping around, this minstrel and game manage to encompass such a wealth of genuine emotion that simply warms the heart in the dearest ways possible.  If this peculiar premise has piqued your interest or you're just looking for a feel-good experience with a rich, engrossing story, I heartily encourage you to read on as we highlight more of the positive and negative notes to be found in this enchanting orchestration.

Writing / Narrative

What will inevitably steal your heart and is the game's crowning achievement is the superb writing that weaves together the most whimsical and truly touching of stories.  From its witty sense of humor to deep insights, the game never misses a beat to deliver honest and enriching bits of conversation.  This is further enhanced through exceptional thought and attention to every detail of the dialog boxes.  Be it font size or type of font, text speed or choice of words to emphasize, character dialect to plays on words, no detail was left unconsidered.  The game also smartly doesn't repeat conversations (other than one particular act of the game), so every prompt to talk is a welcome invitation to experience more wonderful writing and often stirring insights.

The characters of Wandersong exude a wealth of personality and sincerity with every word spoken.

The grand narrative of Wandersong plays with the expectations of a typical hero's quest, taking surprising twists and turns around every corner, and keeping the player in eager anticipation to continue pressing forward.  It tells a story that is full of laughs and plenty of smiles, but can also get very real and unexpectedly pull at your heart strings.  It exemplifies the beauty of small, seemingly inconsequential acts and words; A willingness and daring to believe amidst a world full of doubt and uncertainty.  It's a beautiful adventure filled with such genuine honesty and raw emotion that leaves a lasting impression long after the final curtain closes.

Art Direction / Music

The art direction displayed in this game vividly pops out thanks to its distinctive styling of bright, pastel colors and paper cut-out shapes.  This simple, but striking aesthetic translates perfectly to allow such beautiful imagery and representation of music and the many dream-like landscapes scattered about this colorful journey.  And speaking of music, the accompanying soundtrack in this game's adorable adventure hits all the right notes in setting the mood of each vista, character, and endearing moments, be it jumping through the starry heights of a night sky to a touching reunion with a dear friend.  As the game would have you believe, music is a form of magic that can truly resonate and make a powerful impact on the experience, and Wandersong rightfully delivers in this department.

If interested in supporting the composers and/or purchasing the full soundtrack to Wandersong, check out such here: https://ashellinthepit.bandcamp.com/.

Gameplay Mechanics

While Wandersong is not a particularly challenging affair, the experience is kept enjoyable and engaging through its clever gameplay mechanics and consistent dosage of new, creative ideas.  Using a colorful wheel in which to sing just 8 notes of an octave, each act of the game presents players with new and interesting means to use this base mechanic.  From repeating patterns for summoning birds to guiding beanstalk-like flowers to blowing away thick fogs, the game continually introduces fun ways to sing and play that never overstay their welcome.  And not only that, but there are many unique mechanics outside of the Bard's main actions that may only hold brief spotlights during the game's grand adventure, but are still all too fondly remembered despite their short reprieves.  The likes of sailing across the seas in a "harmonious" chorus of pirate chants or switching perspectives for some lightning-blasting action all add up for an engaging and memorable experience to be had.

Character Design

I'm always impressed when a game manages to give a distinct and colorful appearance to each of the non-playable characters (NPC's) that exist within its imaginative worlds.  Wandersong not only makes every character unique and special in appearance though, but somehow also manages to give so much personality and thought into every-single-character presented.  As such, seeking out and talking to every character there is to be found in this game is a constant joy.  And come the end of the adventure, you realize just how many wonderful characters you've come to meet and how beautiful the world is all the for it.

Gather round - This is just a small sampling of the many colorful characters to be found in this game.

A Dedicated Dance Button

Not only can you sing at your own whimsy, you can also dance whenever you should fancy at the press of a single button.  Hidden in each act are means to earn new dances to add to your silly repertoire.  You can get into a fit of giggles dancing mid-conversations, or just have fun busting out your moves on the streets or at the club.  They serve no real impact to the game, but sometimes the most useless mechanics make a game exponentially all the more great and memorable for just that reason.

You can dance with a dancing monkey.  Because why not.

Clunky Controls

While Wandersong has incredible polish in so many facets of its game and such unique mechanics to boot, the means of controlling your singing wheel are a bit clunky and unwieldy at times.  Fortunately, the game is rather forgiving in your accuracy of singing and providing plenty of checkpoints.  I understand the clumsiness of the controls in part matches the loose and silly nature of the bard, but a little more refinement could have helped in smoothing out the pacing of some boss battles and choppiness of certain song segments.

The unusual control scheme may cause many an unintended note to be hit from time to time.

Wandersong thoroughly surprised me by what a heartfelt and truly genuine story it had to share, and has rapidly ascended to one of my favorite gaming experiences in recent years.  It's by no means a challenging or mechanically complex experience, but the real depth and hidden enjoyment comes from its exceptionally honest narrative and rich storytelling, which it exceeds in with flying colors.  Through clever plot twists, a vibrant art direction, infectious musical scores and a vast cast of colorful characters, this game delivers an emotional and satisfying adventure like none other that will stay with you for quite some time to come.

If you have any questions or thoughts about this game, please feel free to comment and discuss below.  Thanks.  And happy gaming!