​​​​Windblown uses friendship to get around roguelike dread

I have a confession: I’m a rampant roguelike uninstaller.

Almost invariably, I reach a point with games like Balatro, Dead Cells, or Hades when, watching my playtime balloon, I feel the need to remove the temptation to play the game. Roguelikes, almost by definition, pursue an addictive structure that reviewers often describe as the “one more run” feeling, wherein the player feels compelled to begin the loop again (and again, and — you get it). Another common phrase you’ll hear tossed around is the idea that you “lost time” to a game, as though the game has tricked you into giving it more of your life than you were consciously willing to give. For me, this kind of compulsive play leads to something I’ve started to think of as “roguelike dread,” or the feeling that I really need to move on from a potentially infinite game lest it completely take over my life. Usually, that is when I delete it.

Now, clearly this is a me problem. There are undoubtedly people with better impulse control, and there are doubtless people for whom this feeling of “losing” time to a game is experienced not as dread but as joy. (Infinite gameplay for 20-30 bucks? That’s a steal.) Still, a cursory Googling suggests that I’m not alone in my experience of roguelike dread, of feeling like these games are so engaging as to be all-consuming. So, to my fellow roguelike uninstallers, I am here to say to you:

Download Windblown — it’s so good.

Windblown, the newest game from Dead Cells developer Motion Twin, was released in early access in late October. Trading the sidescrolling, pixel art vibe of Dead Cells for a top-down, cel-shaded romp through skybound islands, Windblown succeeds at feeling both distinct from Motion Twin’s last effort and close enough in spirit that it’s easy to sink into its loop. True to form, the game is plenty challenging and, even in early access, already offers substantial meta-progression unlocks to keep each run feeling fresh. Combat is the star here, with a new emphasis on chaining different attacks for maximum damage. The soundtrack is also catchy as hell, equal parts synth and rock, with a vocal track that never fails to get me hype when it comes in. Even in what feels like a very early build, design-wise, Windblown clearly has what it takes to keep you playing for days, months, and years on end.

Time for another admission, though: I don’t like playing roguelikes in early access. The reason is probably obvious, given all that I’ve already written. I know myself, and I know that I burn out on these types of games, so I’m loath to put time into something that is unfinished, fearful of the idea that I won’t want to come back to it when it reaches 1.0. I put down Hades 2 earlier this year for this exact reason. Everything in me wanted to keep pressing forward, but whenever I saw placeholder art or read the game balance changelog, I felt this nagging feeling that I should save my stamina for when the game is “complete.” Roguelike dread is inevitable for me, and so I’ve found it best to wait out a game until at least 1.0, if not later.

Or so I thought.

Windblown can be a great single-player experience, but as the game’s marketing will readily tell you, that is definitely not the point of Windblown. The point is two-to-three-player co-op. The point is tackling the game’s sky-high challenge with a friend or two. The point is to lose time together. So once more to my fellow roguelike uninstallers, I am here to say to you:

No, seriously — Windblown, get on it, it’s great.

Here’s the thing: Windblown is not 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, which, if you are, please stop. I see you, and I honor you. Even The Binding of Isaac, after all these years, just added online co-op. I’m not here to claim that Windblown is the first, nor even the best, multiplayer roguelike. What I am here to claim is that it was my first multiplayer roguelike, and because of that, it came with a revelation: The answer to roguelike dread is other people.

Usually, playing a roguelike, I begin asking myself questions like “Has this become a waste of my time?” or “Are there other games I’d rather be playing right now?” More generally, I might start to feel that creeping sensation that I’m spending too much time on a single thing. Indeed, I do get a bit of that feeling when playing Windblown as a single-player game. It’s a roguelike, after all, and I’ve already laid out my personal mental hurdles when it comes to the genre. Any loop, no matter how pleasant, eventually gives way to the feeling that I want out of it. Unless, it turns out, I’m not the only one in the loop.

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 worrying over “losing time” or feeling addicted to a roguelike dissipated when it was something I was sharing with a close friend. Instantly, I no longer cared whether this early build would feel incomplete compared to 1.0. All I cared about was chatting about our workdays and strategizing over who picked up what item when. Suddenly the time I spent on 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 spent together would be worthwhile no matter how many digits came after the pre-release version number. The game was a social vehicle as much as it was a random number generator, and it was all the richer for it.

For me, playing Windblown was a good reminder to me to open up my gaming experiences to other people. The world can sometimes feel lonely and punishing, and so can roguelikes. But when you travel the path with other people, success feels more within reach. Or if not success, then at least a valiant effort that you can laugh about together. Even failure feels better when someone else is there to pick you back up again.

Even as a rampant roguelike uninstaller, I have not yet deleted Windblown. In fact, I don’t feel compelled to in the least. Instead, I’m looking forward to the next update and checking it out with a friend, seeing what new obstacles we might overcome together. Absent in my experience is dread, replaced with a sense of shared possibility.

Windblown was released Oct. 24 in early access on Windows PC. The game was played using a download code purchased by the author. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.