Wanderstop Hands-on Preview
When you’re lost, sometimes the solution is to stop and to wander…
Emily Merritt
co-host of indie video game podcast No Small Games
Kate Hunter
co-host of indie video game podcast No Small Games
Wanderstop on Burnout: You don’t feel it until you do
During the first five minutes of Wanderstop, I felt the most seen I’d ever felt while playing a video game. During the first sixty minutes, I felt the most called out I’ve ever been by a video game. Now I don’t want to stop playing.
Emily Merritt – No Small Games
Wanderstop, developed by Ivy Road, tells a story about burnout and everything that comes after. We meet our main character, Alta, just as she has fallen from grace in her career as an arena fighter. Her solution? Do what she’s always done and roll up her sleeves. Do more. Push harder. No excuses. She sets off to find an old mentor, who lives deep in the woods, who will surely train her back to peak condition. But her unrelenting attitude is at odds with her body and mind, both screaming for rest. I didn’t realize I was crying until I was. Seeing Alta unable to lift her sword that once felt as light as air, like an extension of her own body, reminded me all too vividly of the pain of realizing my post-burnout self could no longer manage tasks that had once hardly required a second thought.
But true fighters never accept defeat. Alta continues until the last of her energy is spent and she collapses. She wakes up on a quaint bench, under the kind gaze of Boro, a large man with a pleasant smile, all of whose edges are soft and rounded. He introduces himself as the owner of the Wanderstop tea house and offers for Alta to stay awhile. Alta begrudgingly agrees (not before passing out one more time while running through the woods), and we begin the work of helping to manage the tea shop. We also begin the much harder work of unlearning all the habits and beliefs that got us here.
The Visuals of Wanderstop: Cotton candy dreams
The natural environments of Wanderstop make a lasting impression, as they look realistic in texture and give a thoughtful nod to flora and fauna that actually exist in our world, like forest ferns and angel oaks. They combine these familiar(ish) plants with a baby blue, bubblegum pink, and bright orange color palette, which gives off a familiar yet fantastical effect!
Kate Hunter – No Small Games
This environment is so breathtaking, and I found myself wanting to explore every corner. There are also several areas to just sit and rest while you take in the landscape, and these moments are visually irresistible.
Gameplay Pacing: It’s not the cadence we asked for, it’s the cadence we deserve
The early game of Wanderstop is paced perfectly for the post burnout babes, who are trying to slow down but aren’t sure how. Players who are used to in-game tutorials (especially within the management sim genre) may feel surprised to not immediately receive a mile-long to-do list begging for attention, begging for all checks to be marked and progress to be made. If you’re like me, it may even feel a tiny bit uncomfortable. Is there something I’m missing? I feel like I should be doing three things all at once right now. But dear Boro is always available for a quick chat, ready to provide comforting reassurance that there’s something useful you can do, if you want. He also patiently reminds Alta that no task here at Wanderstop is an emergency, and it’s perfectly acceptable to sometimes do nothing at all.
Emily Merritt – No Small Games
All that said, I never found myself wanting for something to do. After completing a task for Boro in the garden, or learning about brewing tea, there was always a moment of just being done. I’d look around and survey my beautiful, dream-like surroundings, and that little space to breathe would ignite my curiosity about a little clearing in the distance, or I’d recall some unexplored facet of the tea shop that Boro had alluded to. Like magic, just as soon as I’d finished my self-assigned side quest, I would discover Boro had something new to show me. But as always, no fires to put out, no code red emergencies here. By the end of the first hour, I started to feel a relaxed confidence with this pacing, even reminding myself of Boro’s words that sometimes it’s ok to just do nothing at all.
Music and Audio: An aethereal playground
Iconic composer C418 offers impactful tunes with soft piano and layered vocals, which provide a totally dreamy audio backdrop. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the scenic views and several cups of tea. While we’re learning to rest, the music and visuals are working overtime to immerse and ground us in the peaceful (and somewhat emotionally complicated) world of Wanderstop.
Kate Hunter – No Small Games
Wanderstop Trailer
Conclusions: Our journey with Alta continues
After an hour of gameplay, I finally realized that I didn’t know how time was passing in this world. But did that even matter? By choosing to stray from the tried and true timing structures within farming sims, Wanderstop welcomed me to lean into one of the most thoughtful and necessary themes of its story. Rest is necessary, but coming to that realization and even the act of resting can sometimes feel impossible.
Kate Hunter – No Small Games
With the phrase “self care” being used constantly in all kinds of media these days, I still haven’t found many stories that truly represent just how uncomfortable and difficult it can be to actually care for myself, until now. Conquering burnout requires that we come to hard realizations and process difficult emotions about the ways we treat ourselves. And because daily life often demands that we rise and grind, actual self care is not something that most of us can learn how to do overnight. We see Alta constantly resist and even fail at self care several times within the first few hours of gameplay. That’s so real!
I don’t know that I’ve ever rooted quite so hard for a character in a game as I am for Alta right now. I think part of me really needs to see her progress in her journey towards healing, so that I can believe that it’s possible for me too. Seeing her struggle and resist Boro’s gentle encouragement to show herself some compassion feels deeply relatable (far too relatable, in fact). But it’s also incredibly charming to see her bring her fighter’s spirit to the mundane tasks at the tea shop. The leaf piles at Wanderstop have never been swept up with such vigor and flourish, that’s for sure. I have faith that Alta will find her path forward, even if we don’t see a complete transformation by the end of the game, or learn an easy solution to the lifelong question of how to care for yourself. Maybe it’s even better that way.
Emily Merritt – No Small Games
About No Small Games
No Small Games is an indie game recap and review podcast brought to you by hosts Kate and Emily! They became friends while streaming on Twitch and bonded over their love of indie video games. In each episode of No Small Games, the two will discuss an indie game they both played independently. They’ll compare their experiences: the good, the bad, their most memorable moments of their playthroughs.
Learn more about the podcast and its hosts on the About page.