The Wandering Village [First Impressions]
By: Mithrandiel
The current state of gaming is a double edged sword - there’s a ton of amazing games out there to enjoy, but there’s only so much time in the day! With Final Fantasy XVI and Tears of the Kingdom in the rearview, and titles like Spider Man 2, Armored Core VI and Starfield rapidly approaching, you might not think there would be a game out there that you could escape to for an hour or two, but The Wandering Village appears to be just that sanctuary.
Drawing inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (which recently enjoyed a trip to theaters courtesy of Fathom Events Ghibli Fest), The Wandering Village tells the story of a band of humans, clinging to survival after toxic spores have overwhelmed much of the planet. Just as they were running out of options, they discovered an Onbu (similar sounding to Nausicaa’s Ohm’s, a central creature in the tale) - a gigantic creature that is large enough to support an ecosystem on its (conveniently) flat back.
By harvesting and collecting resources, constructing housing and conducting research, you can build a proper society within this wandering village, all while caring for the Onbu in the best way you can: providing it with food, giving it direction as needed, and doing your best to maintain a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship with the creature.
Of course, you can take the Onbu for granted as well - harvest too aggressively or fail to care for the creature and you may find your village in more dire straits, or enjoy excess at its expense.
As far as town simulators/strategy games go, The Wandering Village has a strong foundation. None of the core tasks should come as a surprise for veterans of the genre: you can dispatch your workers to gather wood, stone, berries, etc. Soon after gathering begins, new technology will open up allowing you to streamline formerly taxing and manual tasks. Constructing some simple dirt roads can help your workers get around a bit faster, and a priority tool is there to help you direct your workers to the tasks you need done in the proper order.
It won’t take long before you encounter other bands of survivors, many of whom are more than happy to join your ranks and contribute to the village.
One particularly fun element of this game is exposed using the zoom feature - panning out you can appreciate the size of the Onbu, but pull back even more and you can watch it journey across the larger map. Occasionally it will reach a crossroads, and once you’ve developed your village enough, you can use a hornblower to communicate with the Onbu and direct its movements. As the Onbu moves through different environments, it will have an effect on your town - it may pass through a frigid climate that will chill your crops, or a sweltering one that may burn through your water stores. The unpredictability of the weather is a great element in managing the health of your village.
Of course, the dangers of the spores are not completely removed just because you are taking shelter on the Onbu. Passing through toxic forests can endanger your own farmland and other plantlife within your town. Quickly dispatch your harvesters to catch the stowaway spores, or you’ll be in for some trouble!
The Onbu can get restless from time to time as well. A rough shake of its back can wreak havoc on your buildings, requiring repair and organization to get things back up and running.
The survival element is a key aspect of this townbuilder, but I will say that spore recovery can be daunting to manage. Especially in early game, getting the priority adjusted to remove the spores in time before it continues to spread can be particularly tough. I wish there was a more streamlined way of directing all workers to cleanup efforts…
That aside, with a charming visual style, solid strategy mechanics and a unique twist on the typical townbuilding genre, The Wandering Village is great fun, and deserves your attention. You can find it on Steam, check it out!
