The Wayward Realms has hit the public...

 Or it's hit public funding at least

The Wayward Realms has always been something of a smallscale proposition even back when it was teasing through sleight teasers and inworld books- (most of which I've perused through at some point or other.) a true successor to the likes of Daggerfall that did not go the more popular action adventure route of The Elder Scrolls but rather remained dungeon crawling focused and doubled down on the sort of scale that Daggerfall purportedly offers. And yes, I say 'purportedly' because for some crazed reason Daggerfall is the only Elder Scrolls game I haven't played extensively. (Yes, I've played oodles of Arena. I don't know what's wrong with me- I promise to get around to it at some point.) Now hearing anyone who has played Daggerfall before go on and on about it- you'll have heard the whimsical dreams of the true freedom Elder Scrolls once offered, and within that find something of an anticipation towards this little project.

Of course back then it was just a promise of something being worked on by the original creators of the Elder Scrolls series- we'd maybe hear something more in a few years and then it would drop. That, by all accounts, was the original idea- and though that hasn't panned out I can't say I'm much surprised given that a title like this, banking on the goodwill towards a decades old cult classic- really was made for Crowd funding, you would think. Either way, The Wayward Realms is threatening to start getting serious, raising public funds for a year of development as well as to raise publisher interest in an audience that are willing to buy the thing- all good steps on the road to making something in a criminally underserved sub-genre which can be the key to becoming another cult hit if all the stars are in alignment. And as of the writing of this blog, that Crowd Funding campaign is currently live.

Now I have to get a little something of my back first- yes the team are still insisting that we call the game a 'Grand RPG' despite giving all the hallmarks of a Sandbox RPG and asking us to take them for their word- however I will relent that some of their phrasing when describing the world does low-key sort of imply a main questline- which isn't a typical hallmark of the Sandbox RPG genre type. Is that enough to create an entirely new subgenre tag? Meh, why not. We've made distinctions for fewer. (I still stubbornly refuse to internalise the apparent differences between Rogue-Likes and Roguelites and intentionally use the two interchangeably whenever talking about one or the other.) That is my biggest gripe with the game because everything else sounds really interesting!

A vast archipelago littered with rich factions vying over control of the various territories, a unique distinct focus on sealife gameplay as you sail from island to island in search of fortune and fame, a Morrowind reminiscent (for me- I'm sure it's a Daggerfall callback) topic-based conversation system which always felt supremely slept on by the RPG world after everyone shifted to direct dialogue text boxes; There's a spark of something interesting here. Last time I spoke quite a bit about the trailer and the ambitions of what the game wants to be, but it really is the little things and the core fundamentals that make all the difference- and I've always had belief in The Wayward Realms for being one of the little games that get's the smallstuff right.

One aspect I've always wished Bethesda would focus more on when it comes to their games is robust and grounded traversal methods- the jetpacks of Fallout and Starfield exist- sure, but what about climbing? How much more clever design opportunities would be opened up by the functional ability to climb a wall? Well that is something we'll be able to find out in person during the Wayward Realms given the climbing vines we saw teased during gameplay. A hint, in my mind, back to the untethered times of level design such as I recall from the days gone of Morrowind- where entire giant secret temples of treasure would be hidden at the very tips of forgotten caves, truly selling the myth of the undiscovered dormant cavern chambers that all these games rely on.

Wayward Realms is also supposed to feature something in the way of early Alpha testing in the way of the tutorial island which will be released to backers- which should serve as a pulse check to see if this really is the kind of product that has the breadth to go the distance or if... well, let's hope for the positive, yeah? We've certainly see early access periods wibble and wobble here and there under the weight of actual players- and right now the game is looking pretty rough in some of it's preliminary departments. Not least of all combat which... well I've seen worse but it's nowhere near ship worthy. I can say that much.

I'm always on the look out for the next fully engrossing fantasy game world I can hide myself within and whether this is a Sandbox RPG or simply a game that carries nearly all the hallmarks of one- I believe I've identified my next target. Choice and consequence teased to some degree across tailored made faction questlines and a mysterious 'Game Master' system which promises to provide mysterious dynamism to 'the player story'. There's so many interesting ideas I want to hear more about- The religion system, the 'major world events' that are supposed to 'shape our characters', their own attempt at Bethesda's patently boring 'radiant quest giving' system that gives me Rimworld feelings.

There's always room for a bit more innovation in how the Western World handles their RPGs, because we're no longer at the point of leapfrogging the bottom of the barrel of 'approachable' titles. Baldur's Gate, Cyberpunk 2077, Pillars of Eternity- experimentation is a heady spice I will never get tired of seeing it's disparate, even messy, strains. Unless every RPG starts making purely zombie slaying titles. Then I'll start getting bored. But we're not there yet and The Wayward Realms seems every bit the envoy of that. Provided they make that $500,000 goal of there's by the end of next month! (I'll do my part, to be sure!)