Wayfinder Review

Wayfinder first debuted in mid-2023 in Early Access as an MMO. However, following negative criticism and the closing down of Digital Extreme's publishing division, the game hit its ground pretty hard. Nevertheless, the developers' constant commitment was apparent in the newly released Wayfinder 1.0, showcasing their drive for the game.

What seemed like a tragedy last year seemed to have turned around by 2024, as Wayfinder 1.0 has done away with free-to-play and exploitative microtransactions, and it is suddenly a fun game to play. There's much for the fans of online action RPGs to like in the game for its gameplay, character classes, and customization choices.

I think the game is better now, and I also think the update was not only a good idea but a necessity. Airship Syndicate has removed the live service structure and reworked the game's progression and structure for offline and cooperative play in the most player-friendly way possible, handling the situation appropriately.

Wayfinder has come a long way from its "MMO-lite" days, and after giving it another go after 1.0, I have to admit that it's much improved and much more fun to play. Following the departure of its publisher, the game shifted its focus from a live service massively multiplayer online structure to a player/co-op mode.

Wayfinder still has every attribute of a single-player massively multiplayer online game. There are a lot of the expected features, like engaging combat, a cast of diverse characters, and a clear sense of progression.

Considering the difficulties and constraints of the game's development, I think the build could use some work; the emphasis is more on stat pushing and passive effects than on diverse skills, procs, etc.

However, the variety there is still impressive. If you enjoy massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) but don't have the time to devote to them, Wayfinder is a great alternative.

In the past, I've dabbled in massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), but I've never been able to get into the competitive PvP or PvE, guilds, and intense FOMO that characterize these games. I always fall behind in progression after just a couple of days of not logging in.

Wayfinder is a third-person action role-playing game that can be played solo or in two or three-player coop mode. There are seven playable heroes, each with their own set of skills and a system of semi-randomized equipment.

The heroes all have different play styles, with some being more limited in scope than others. There are four active skills per hero, plus one passive ability that is unique to hero archetypes and another that is shared by all heroes.

The game, however, is extremely forgiving when it comes to dying. If you die in a hunt, it just means you have to repeat the boss fight all over again. If you die too often on expeditions, you'll miss out on bonus rewards, but neither the plot nor your character are vital to moving forward. The game's difficulty settings reflect this accessibility as well since they do not punish players for choosing easier levels.

The plot is average, and it jumps around a bit too much, introducing a lot of complicated ideas and systems and perplexing plot twists—much unlike Destiny 2's approach, but not quite as terrible.

It does not, for instance, bring about any kind of individual quests of the characters and doesn't make you care about the narrative either. Nevertheless, throughout the game, you'll be able to complete quest lines for the numerous NPCs you encounter as you dig into dungeons in search of artifacts.

The game's combat system follows the traditional action MMO layout: click to attack and hit hotkeys to activate skills and heal. The gameplay isn't hard to get used to if you're familiar with the genre, and the game's map offers plenty of exploration opportunities.

You fight your way through dungeons filled with the standard fare of monsters from MMO games. The developers have removed the need to be online at all times, improved the game's basic systems, and added drop-in and drop-out co-op, which allows you to play the game whenever you choose on Steam.

Although Wayfinder isn't an RNG loot fest, it does offer a wide range of weapons and the chance to level up your equipment. The equipment, stats, and items have been fixed in this upgrade version.

The core mechanism for this is the Echo system. You can equip an Echo that enhances your character's stats in response to each enemy in the game. You can improve each one separately and insert them into your gear whenever you want.

Although hero skills can be enhanced, not all of them can be enhanced to their maximum potential, leaving you with the problem of making build choices. Also, when you level up, you'll earn Affinity points, which can be used to unlock some nice hero perks.

As you go through the game, you'll also be able to access shared Wayfinder levels. These levels grant you access to a talent tree that branches out, allowing you to get small but some passive bonuses.

There are an unexpectedly large amount of player progression pathways in the game. While Wayfinder does have two large open worlds teeming with foes, hidden treasures, bosses, and missions, those places aren't really where the action lies. Most of your time will likely be spent in dungeons that resemble roguelites. There are two categories for these dungeons: Expeditions and Hunts.

Hunts are your standard boss fights, where you'll teleport to an arena and face off against enemies using different techniques. The level in Expeditions is semi-randomly produced, and there are chests containing special events hidden throughout the place. However, the ability to add to them—what the game calls "imbuements"—is what makes them actually compelling.

There are five different imbuements available, and each one alters the dungeon's appearance and gameplay differently. You can use up to three of them every dungeon run. If you equip 1 greed imbuement for more gold, for instance, your defenses will be weakened by heaps of wealth. After you add 2 greed imbuements, the enemies will wear golden armor that needs to break to do damage.

This method makes games that are typically very repetitious far more fun to play multiple times. In addition to objectives, the setting is always changing, and boss appearances are varied and challenging. There are a number of factors that can affect the dungeons, greatly changing the experience and making you reevaluate your strategy in battle.

However, Wayfinder does have certain drawbacks. Technically, the game has no major issues, but the mission design is really poor, and the majority of the objectives are really fetched quests or somewhat similar.

As I've mentioned earlier, the heroes are impressive, but they don't really add anything to the story. The art style is decent, but the heroes' voices are consistently off, and there is no chemistry between them in co-op, which is a huge letdown.

Also, there are a few parts of the game that could throw you off at first. The game provides very little guidance with several essential features, and it might be confusing to figure out where to find certain weapons and equipment.

While you may feel invincible up until the middle to late game, the difficulty curve is steep, and you'll die a lot in the later stages—particularly while using certain modifications that make your expeditions pointless.

The bright side is that you get a ton of content to play by yourself or with those you know for only $25, where there are no cosmetics that need to be purchased through microtransactions.

With the official 1.0 release, Wayfinder gained additional features, such as a new hero and open-world area. I anticipate that the developers will maintain this trend with future updates because the game's current patches have also included numerous additions that improve players' overall experience.

After breaking off ties with DE, though, the game has gone in a completely positive direction. With all the content it has to offer, the game is great, and the pricing seems fair.

Wayfinder is a casual co-op action RPG that you can try again if you're looking for something to play alone or with your friends. If you enjoy action role-playing games, then there's no harm in giving it a go.