LostWinds

LostWinds
N/A
Metacritic
84
Steam
76.158
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$2.49
Release date
24 March 2016
Steam reviews score
Total
84 (490 votes)

Wield the awesome powers of Enril the wind spirit to guide and protect young Toku through this unique platform adventure.

Show detailed description

LostWinds system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Dual-core CPU (2x2GHz)
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 / AMD HD 6320
  • DirectX: Version 10
  • Storage: 512 MB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9 capable

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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Lemes EF
Lemes EF

Fun children's game where all your actions are performed with mouse gestures, easy puzzles that just require a little patience, and not excessively long (you can see my total playtime). Perfect. Might not be worth the full price, but the sale price is.

Only thing that annoyed me was the unintuitive boss battle, I had to check the game's discussion forum to find the solution.

Malicite
Malicite

Mouse driven puzzle platformer. Very short playtime but charming story and the gameplay is engaging.

ThePCGamer
ThePCGamer

DISCLAIMER: This is a full review, and NOT a first impressions review

LostWinds is a game developed and published by Frontier Developments

The game has some really beautiful environments and the graphics are really well designed and laid out

The game does suffer with some repetitiveness at certain areas of the game but a fun game nontheless

LostWinds overall, however, is a fun game to play in short bursts and a good adventure game to play especially if you like creative adventure games such as this one!

RECOMMENDED :)

REVIEW SOURCES:
[list]
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CSaintD
CSaintD

An engaging game with different mechanics that are very easy to learn. It is a cross between a platformer, exploration and puzzle game. You use your mouse and keyboard to direct Toku around and that is really the best way to control him. You will understand that this is much better than a controller once you play the game. The story was nice, the graphics are beautiful and I really enjoyed it. It is very short (at 3 hours for me), but I got it in a bundle along with the Lost Winds 2, so I think that is worth it. Don't buy at the regular price, but if you can get both games on sale for less than $5 I think it's worth it. The only issue I had with the game is figuring out what I was supposed to do at the end. There was no preparation in the game for what would come at the end and I ended up having to read a guide just to learn what mechanic I needed to use to defeat the boss. Once I understood what I was supposed to be doing, it was an easy boss kill. Recommend if on sale.

vulala
vulala

I love this game. It's beautiful, short and sweet. I think it translates well as a PC game; sure, you might lose some of that free flowing wind gestures that you experienced with the Wii version, but a keyboard and mouse controls Enril and Toku very nicely. It would be great to see more in this series.

Hard Gamer
Hard Gamer

Beautiful animations and art work mixed with fun puzzles and don't forget those delicious strawberries!!!! Can't wait to see what this company does next!!! :D

A Fancy Fridge Magnet
A Fancy Fridge…

A simple puzzle/platformer where you assist your character in navigating by controlling the wind around him.
I forgot to review this back when I played it, but it was a pretty charming game, with nice calming music. It was an enjoyable experience, and probably about the right length of gameplay. I remember being clueless during the last boss fight, as I feel like the game really didn't prepare me for what I needed to do, so I had to look up the strategy. That was really my only complaint.

Dmitriy
Dmitriy

Nice little puzzle game with quite unique controls. Art is great, performs well. Very easy, so might be a good pick for kids. Although, It has no replay value and stupidly short, you can blind 100% it in a couple hours, and for that it's not worth its full price.

Rygar
Rygar

Great relaxing puzzle game that's not too hard. Only had to look up how to beat the end boss. Well worth the money spent for wasting the better half of a day.

UnOriginal_Bastard
UnOriginal_Bastard

Wiiware port. Short but entertaining puzzle platformer with an interesting "wind" mechanic to help solve puzzles and move the character around. Ends on a bit of a cliffhanger which is fully completed with the second game.

Hugh
Hugh

Yeah, it's alright.
A cute and moderately fun puzzle platformer game with interesting mouse control mechanics.
Graphics are cute and well designed as well and I really like the Mesoamerican theme. A theme that's under done for sure.
It's not a hard game, just a bit tedious. The levels are a bit convoluted and you don't get a map until later which really should have been with you at the start.

Genghis Pawn
Genghis Pawn

Worth a playthrough, but I'd definitely wait for a sale.

It's more "relaxing" than anything else. The puzzles are not especially challenging. It's perfect as a "light-hearted" or "family-friendly" game, but anyone looking for a hardcore puzzle-platformer will be disappointed. The game is also fairly short.

I will say though that for whatever reason, the Steam achievements felt really organic and rewarding. They're all tied to clear, concrete conditions in the game, and they just "pop" at the right time. I had more fun getting them than I do in many other games.

For more puzzle game reviews, news & everything puzzle-related, follow Puzzle Lovers & check out our Steam group.

Dimat123
Dimat123

I really wanted to like Lost Winds, but the controls felt too awkward at times. This making the game frustrating on several occasions and more difficult than it should have been.

You have to use the mouse to swipe your character in the air, as well as inanimate objects like rocks.
As a result, your mouse is crucial to the game and hence controllers are not supported!!
I don’t mind using my keyboard and mouse, but more often than not I was both lifting up my character and a rock when I was actually trying to swing the rock onto a platform. And let’s just say I am happy you don’t take damage when hitting yourself with a rock, otherwise I would have died countless times… :’)
Also worth mentioning, it’s a very short game (~2 hours to 100% complete) + to complete the entire story you’ll have to play Lost Winds 2 as well.

That being said, I would not not recommend this game. It’s still a cute, casual game and I am happy I’ve played it. (Hell, maybe I am even going to play Lost Winds 2 after I’ve forgotten most of my frustrations.)
But if you’re buying it, I would really recommend buying it on sale (~3$). I wouldn’t pay full price.

RuneSnow
RuneSnow

This game seem fun and nothing out of the ordinary from any other side scroller game. If I were to judge on itself, its a fun game with a great color pallet and great music. Seems like out of everyone a little boy must rescue the world?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PODsC28jBc

AstroBorne
AstroBorne

In the beginning of this game the music was cheerful and happy with a cute colorful environment. Fun little collectibles were spread out in each of the 24 spots in the game. Unfortunately this all wore off shortly when the controls began showing their funky side, as well as the game expecting you to stick on a direct path. The game would expect you to only go for the destination and not freely explore which is a problem for a game with collectibles. This problem would occur when taking an unexpected path and the game would forget to load something in or not have an alternate way to go back, as well as no incentive to feel a need to get to the end and fight the boss. When reaching the boss(end) it was lame which didn't help at all. On top of all this my game crashed 4 times which was frustrating. This was a bad PC port and it came with issues. If you are considering trying this game out I'd get it when it goes for 90% off or more like me. Definitely not worth $10.

Frozen Inkling
Frozen Inkling

Total Score: 45/65
Lostwinds definitely deserves the high praise it got when it first came out on the Wii. It is a great game that is majorly tampered by its lack of extra stuff to do. In fact, the majority of the points lost come from lack of extras. Song choice is very interesting and is very pleasant to listen to. The characters are interesting and most have their own backstory. The controls and graphics are very good and hold up well today. The story is really good and I didn’t encounter any glitches in my playthrough. The gameplay is very unique and makes the experience more enjoyable than it would be otherwise. The one other main negative I have with this game is that the cost is a bit too high for a two hour game for me. Luckily, this game goes on sale often enough that it isn’t much of a problem.

The full review can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dg6Bq8NIduL5MUVOknnK82crpjHwXxTYEcP… *Will send you to Google Docs!*

bloo
bloo

I found LostWinds to be a really enjoyable casual game, and was definitely worth the money.

• The controls were not hard to grasp, I'm sure a child new to games can handle the controls.
• The story consistently kept me interested in the game.
• I applaud the beautiful graphics and art/design that went into this game.
• All the achievements made for LostWinds is doable, I would definitely recommend this game if you have yet to complete a game's full list of achievements.
• Plenty of save slots as I recall.

All round a very great game in my books.

DrWolfenhauser
DrWolfenhauser

The best part of this game was creating gusts of wind under girls skirts.

I was really eager to try LostWinds yet I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. It was an amusing and lighthearted experience that was ruined by some frustrating moments. If I wasn't stuck spending nearly 20-30mins trying to figure something out, I was flinging Toku into the air when I was trying to move an object instead and then a boss fight that makes you go through the prior dialogue again if you fail.

I liked the narrative, it was obviously meant to appeal to kids so it's very simplistic in it's storytelling and delivery. It's straight to the point and short but has no voice acted dialogue.

The controls are odd & take some getting used to but could have been a bit more refined since there's times where you're either trying to move Toku or an object and you end up moving both at the same time or accidentally flinging 1 into the other which can impede their movements. This gets frustrating when it happens over and over. But otherwise, I found them okay. I liked that it used mouse movements as the primary mode of control, like holding click & mousing up to create a gust to help Toku up, or creating a circle with the cursor to levitate objects etc... So the gameplay was actually pretty fun when it wasn't working against you.

The art style was enchanting. I loved it, simple yet detailed enough. I liked pushing gusts of wind on people and seeing & hearing their funny reactions. Everything was very vibrant and colourful and there was some decent visual feedback to indicate how your interactions were effecting things in the environment.

The music was very tranquil and had a very Zen Japanese Garden esque aesthetic to it that complimented everything really well. The sound effects were nice and also gave some good audio feedback.

It was a good game, I only paid $3US for it though, so I'm pretty satisfied with that. I just feel like the frustrating moments almost made me stop there and then. I'm glad I stuck with it though & looking forward to the sequel.

oraculo85
oraculo85

I can see how it was acclaimed at the time of its original release in Wiiware, but by now the novelty of the control scheme and its applications has worn off, and what we're left with is a game with wonky physics, dull level design and uninteresting story.

It simply isn't fun to play. On top of that, it isn't stable, the game crashed before I completed a "dungeon", as it were, when I was about to beat it and I hadn't saved in a long while; all the progress I made, lost. This is what finally led me to quit the game and ask for a refund.

Also worth mentioning, when a character picks up an object, there's a glitch where the walking animation speeds up, being much faster than when you aren't carrying anything. The devs didn't bother to port the game properly.

KZR
KZR

I thought this game was very cute, but I have one BIG problem with it: Even though my name is not listed on my steam, connected account, or even as my computer name, the game has leached it from somewhere and displays your full (first, middle initial, and last) name when playing and on your save files. I cant hide it and didnt know it did this! Not only can I not stream this game at all now, but its also just generally creepy. Im considering getting it refunded. I cant play it if I cant fix this unexpected creepy game issue. From looking this up, It seems like many others hated this aspect as well. There is simply no need at all for it in the game.

Weatherholtz
Weatherholtz

This is exactly what I remember from the Wii version many years ago. It isn't the same to use the mouse as the Wiimote, but I had no real issues with it. Game ran great, everything worked as expected.

Diverged from the story periodically to grab a collectible I missed, got all of them relatively easily, only had to google an escape from the room you get the vortex in because I missed that it was a right-click ability, and kept using slipstream by mistake. Not a fault of the game, that's all me.

Only complaint is that it ends abruptly and doesn't have a satisfying conclusion. But, I also bought it on sale for $2 and it was a fine way to pass 2.5 hours on a lazy afternoon.

The art is adorable, the music is pleasant and never got stale. The controls work as advertised, and it's just a fun little game.

Recommended.

Majuo
Majuo

Would be a nice relaxing game, if it didn't crash every 30-40 minutes, losing all your progress and the save file(!) and making you start all over again.

(dae)
(dae)

Game is short with a few bugs, but it is a good, cute game. It also sets up the story for the 2nd game which is longer with more mechanics and no bugs. I'm glad I got and played both when they were on sale! Really cute and cool.

Ainar
Ainar

Beautiful little platformer. It's quite short (7h tops to complete) but very enchanting with soothing music, pleasant visuals and innovative gameplay. I normally dislike platformers as I've had enough of them in the 90s but this is the kind of game I love, it reminded me of best parts of Rayman and of Yoku's Island Express. Best game by Frontier I've played so far :D

Akhlys
Akhlys

Beware: you only get half a game. This game does not only end in a sequel hook/cliffhanger, it doesn't even have the decency to finish the story set up in this one. It pretty much just ends halfway through and you gotta buy the sequel to get the full story.
And this half of the story is really, really short. you can 100% the game in just three hours, according to my steam statistics.

Also, it gives you no settings at all. You can't mute it. you can't change resolution. You can't put it in window mode but It crashes on alt-tab. you can't change key settings. While this is separate from the gameplay, it's a huge flaw.

Gameplay itself.. The game is cute enough, it does make some fun even tho the controls don't really work as well as they should. But it's so slow. Coupling that slow movement with having to backtrack several times for the story alone.. ugh

I'd say, if you like slow platformers where you have to backtrack, and you don't care that you can't watch a video besides it or something similar, and you don't care that you only get half a game with just two-three hours of playtime, sure, go ahead and get it. At least it doesn't cost much. But I'd still say wait for a sale. As I'm writing this, it's 75% off for just two and a half bucks, and it's a good game for that price, but for $10? maybe if it offered more playtime.

joerice1979
joerice1979

I had missed this a good long while back on the Wii and had heard nothing but good about it since, so when I saw it appear for next to no money (about £2.50 with its sequel) on Steam I purchased it straight away. I'm glad I did.

It's short, yes, but I don't consider that a bad thing. The three hours I spent playing and completing the game was very well spent.

The visuals are lovely with a charming character to them, the soundtrack is relaxing and gentle and the gameplay uses the mouse well as a substitute for the Wiimote of yesteryear.

There were a couple of bits where my patience was *slightly* tested, but I think the excessive mouse click-dragging did aggravate my RSI and the controls were never a real problem but, as anyone who has ever played a touchscreen game will tell you; if you rely on gestures they won't work 100% of the time.

Coming back to the length, it's a shorty but it's *concise*, it does what it does really well and never outstays its welcome. A great game with a familiar name behind it.

BG51
BG51

Great game for young and old. It looks relatively pretty, its fun gameplay and the gameplay itself is very interesting and innovative.

You can get both part 1 and 2 for 2,49 each for the time being so get it while its on sale.

Suç Makinesi
Suç Makinesi

My problems with the game:
It is too short and puzzles are too easy. I can't even call them puzzles. I got every achievement and beat the game in just 2 hours. The game leaves you on a cliffhanger just to make you buy the second game, it doesn't even end the story.
Game only has 3 or 4 music pieces, it pierced through my head by the end of two hours.
With that said it runs smoothly, art style and atmosphere is beautiful. It is a shame it could be much better

Bingubango
Bingubango

This game is not much of a challenge (not one if i might say), but it is fun and entertaining. I mean, it took 3 hours to finish, story is not that big and gameplay might seem a little confusing at first but once you get the grip of it is just fun to be flying around. I got this at a sale i think, so it was a nice offer. Maybe you can get your children to play it too.

livcush31
livcush31

I like that the game is challenging but not so much that its still peaceful and fun for the most part. The game has a lovely soundtrack and story line.

Caião da Massa
Caião da Massa

My experience with LostWinds made me realize that it is not only a very fun (and cute) game but also an excellent game to introduce someone to a genre. The game is simple, with low difficulty, and mechanics that are simple and easy to understand. Both to advance the story and for collectibles, LostWinds presents "light" elements of a Metroidvania. The story is simple, but interesting, the charisma of the characters combine very well with the beautiful aesthetic and the wonderful soundtrack. LostWinds may not please harcore players, but for those looking for something easier and faster (for you or to present to someone who is not so used to games) it is a light, pleasant and aesthetically beautiful experience.

Navarr Evergotten
Navarr Evergotten

This is such a fun and relaxing game! Raging at other games and need a breather? Just play this one, or not. I'd just listening to it! But don't forget to look at the screen once ion a while because the art style is so freaking CUTE! Very easy controls and a nice story line. And there are a lot of things in the environment you can interact with. A very good game. And don't forget to check out the second part of this game, 'Lost Winds 2:Winter of the Melodie'

spectals
spectals

I have a soft spot for puzzle/platformers. LostWinds embodies everything I want in a game- a beautiful art style, an emotional story, strong game mechanics and a wonderful soundtrack. I beat this game originally on the Wii a long time ago but I couldn't miss out on the low Steam price. It's definitely not a title you should miss.

mandenmoris
mandenmoris

An amazing journey i must say; but its a kids game nevertheless is a good time, good controls and a cute history.
9/10

gliTchIME
gliTchIME

Fun, simple, platform game to pass about 3hrs. The gameplay would be a bit more fluid on a mobile device due to what feels like touchscreen controls. However, the devs did a good job implementing a similar mouse-based mechanic that emulates the touchscreen feel. Recommended for fans of non-challenging platform games.

rayy LMAO
rayy LMAO

Genuinely surprised that this game supports Ultrawide resolutions without any issues. At least, that was my experience, played the entire thing through at 3440x1440 and was just as charming as I remember back when I played it on the Wii all those years ago. A short game, but a fun one nonetheless.

icewulphy
icewulphy

Very casual and very short puzzle platformer, which is nice for an lazy afternoon.

But be warned though, there is only LostWinds and LostWinds 2, Frontier has shown no indication on continuing the story.

little_addict
little_addict

Completed in 3 hours with 100% achievements.

Cute family friendly and artistic game that reminded me of the Nintendo DS game, Soul Bubbles.
I did not encounter any bugs and I believe it is because the dev team kept the game simplified to the core which is great. No need for all the bells and whistles to add complexity.

The controls are very easy, and if you managed to rig a Nintendo Wii-mote as mouse pointer to your PC this is very entertaining.

The music was soothing and the sound effects supported the atmosphere. The animation was smooth and when the main character accidentally somehow fell behind an object like a jump mushroom the character would recover gracefully.

Had no performance issues as all.

Overall, good clean simplified fun title introducing you to the LostWinds series.

76561198001128368
76561198001128368

Very nice adventure game, great atmosphere. One warning on the 7+ age label. May be too much for a 6-7 year old: quite a bit of English dialog, puzzle complexity, attention span required, precision mouse movement in rapid succession. Maybe solo from 8-10 years depending, or have a great time together playing this.

cookiecruncher
cookiecruncher

This game is horrible. Avoid at all costs. Here's the pros & cons:

Pros

beautiful in some areas
new mechanic where jumps are completely controlled with the mouse (wii ported)
you get the power of flying after 60% of the struggle

Cons

Brace yourself. This is going to be a handful.

One checkpoint every half an hour or so

Clumsy click-n-drag to guide - check youtube video

Unnecessary "black dolls" that you need to avoid while you're flying. gets much worse later in the game (I'll show proof, hang in there).

Little to no health bar fill - 1 / 8 locations offer health refills

Confusing pathways / unnecessarily complex

Flying is very clumsy (power after memory#2) - the moment you touch any wall you lose flight with no way to recover. This combined with the fact that while flying your char will be approx center of the screen makes for a very jittery flying exp

Check out the steam achievements - only 15% ppl have completed till memory#2. they gave a good review and gave up on theg game because it was frustrating

"Abandoned village east" was the worst. you get like 4-5 "door keys" (balls) without knowing where to carry them. I love puzzles and yet gave up on this one because this maze was full of those black dolls / flying dolls / underground black doll which makes it no fun but only frustrating AF.

Want to see an example with your own eyes? This guy has finished the game pretty fast! check out on youtube in the video "LostWinds Walkthrough No Commentary [Part 2 of 2]" - go to 8:05 time. That's just an example. scroll through the walkthrough for lots more painful moments. and he's actuall handling it really well because your mouse-wrist will get tired sooner than you know.

Check out the clumsy controls - why carrying keys are a pain in the *** at 9:35.

I mentioned about the clumsy flying. you can see the struggle at 13:28. the game is filled with these when you don't know where to go in a level.
switches can open doors that are outside your screen and you have no idea what happened where.

Remember when I said those black dolls are annoying? boss fight has lots of those glitchy things. check out the struggle here onwards - 16:55. Lots of lol moments because controls are so bad.

Most reviewers have only played the first 2-3 hours which is less than 30% so its fun till then. That's why you will see lots of positive reviews. It gets no fun after you enter the mine (30% afterwards). Check out the steam achievements for the abandonment rate.

It's easily among the worst games I've ever played on pc. It might have been a fun game on wii though. But the pc port is horrible. Also, last point:

Cliffhanger ending!

Iammaybeasliceofpie
Iammaybeasliceofpie

A very cute little game, with a fun (although sometimes a bit finicky) mechanic of platforming with the help of wind spirits, with lovely visuals and a nice atmosphere. Noteworthy is that the airbending (for a lack of a better word) takes a bit of time to get used to. It's short but worth your time. It takes about 3 hours if you collect all the collectables. I would wait for a sale but definitively pick it up.

0x0000000000000000
0x0000000000000000

+ cutesy art
+ soothing music
- unwieldy controls (mouse+kb instead of wiimote+nunchuk)

* better played on the wii

♥ Suja ♥
♥ Suja ♥

movement of balls, stones, monster etc.... horrible mouse movements: left>lift up, right> spin, left again>shot. i have to put the one monster up in the air, then sudden spin right and then sudden shoot him, sorry dont get it. Until this point in the mines the game was cute.
why i cant move all with the left mouse?

stolen nyaa~ >:3
stolen nyaa~ >:3

Just as fantastic as when I first played this a decade ago.
Fully compatible with motion controls, just like the wii version.

Stallion Free
Stallion Free

Holds up pretty well for a Wii game. The simple art-style translates well to 4K. Controls are occasionally a bit frustrating in terms of executing the action you want. Short, sweet, and to the point.

who was in paris?
who was in paris?

Pls save your money and don't buy this game. You'll thank me.
The game's delivering an okay graphic with okay puzzles but nothing hooked me.
The music was also only alright and often times repeated itself and made me tilt, when
I was stuck somewhere. I was stuck alot so I had to look up some guides.

RedTotalWar
RedTotalWar

LostWinds is an example of a game that’s mostly charm and very little substance. Okay, maybe that’s being too harsh, but when you have a concept as interesting as a platformer with wind manipulation and you squander it on cause/effect schemas that barely constitute as puzzles, you can imagine my disappointment.

Unlike other platformers, LostWinds has developed a decent mythology about its world, and while that mythos is solely used to fuel an archetypal good vs. bad conflict, it’s evident that some effort was put into it. You play as a boy named Toku who finds himself united with a spirit named Enril. Long ago, Enril helped seal away an evil demon named Balasar, but years of festering in the prison have lead to Balasar growing too powerful for containment. And with Enril’s power weakened, it’s up to Toku to help him save the world.

As I said, it’s relatively simplistic, but there were some touches I liked, namely that Toku avoids falling into the “chosen one” trope- he just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (or rather, right place at the right time since it is ultimately positive), and Enril avoids having a personality. That latter point might seem strange, but one thing I am not a big fan of in these types of fiction is the spirit partner having a wisecracking or pestering personality: think Tatl in Majora’s Mask or The Watcher in Darksiders. I’m not saying they don’t have moments, but most of the time they come off as more irate than enjoyable. Enril, by contrast, is a straightshooter who is consistently encouraging progression to Toku over moments of pointless relief.

That being said, the biggest flaw with the narrative here is how it’s all set-up. Lostwinds feels more like the first half of a game than a full-fledged title- you don’t fight Balasar at the end, nor even encounter him, nor do you even restore Enril to her full potential. If this was done because they wanted to end on a cliffhanger, then it’s lackluster; if it’s because they wanted to forcibly create a sequel, then that’s just borderline scammy.

Graphically, Lostwinds is definitely enjoyable. As a former WiiWare title, LostWinds reminded me why the Wii lacking HD was never an issue- the art styles employed by various developers more than made-up for it. Here, I was reminded a lot of the Clash of Ninja and Donkey Kong Country Returns series, which featured 3D models against 2D backdrops. Do I think Lostwinds would’ve been better off being purely 2D? I do, but the aesthetic here is pleasing: warm colors, well-proportioned models that are just the right mix of photorealistic and stylized, and backdrops that are always filled with some natural or architectural vista. A lot of effort was put into creating each area and it shows. Characters are also dressed uniquely so that they stand out without standing out if that makes sense (i.e., not feeling like they belong there at all ala Oxenfree). Some cutscenes are present and depicted in a cross-stitch style that's also very beautifully rendered.

Sound is a huge huge let down. There are only 2 tracks that play throughout the game that I recall: first is this panflute melody that is your general overworld track, and the second is this drumbeat that is the battle music. Both are fine, but as they are the ONLY pieces of music to transpire on screen, they get tiring very fast. The former, in particular, has too many high notes to qualify as soothing. Also, I just couldn’t help but feel that they came off as too stereotypically Asian, though your milage will vary on that front.

Sound effects are lackluster- you have a single din for each wind action that does not differentiate depending on what object you’re using it on: weight, mass, length, duration don’t make a difference. It also lacks power- you would think a gust would carry more oomph than the gentle breeze you’re left hearing. And no voice acting outside of grunts means the category is essentially nonexistent.

Gameplay is probably the biggest letdown. Obviously, this is a title that was made with the Wiimote in-mind: you create air currents to move Toku via drawing directional lines. On PC, the controller for these has been substituted with the mouse, which in theory should give more precision but in actuality feels like it plays harder than it would’ve on the Wii. This is because the Wiimote, even with Motion Plus, were never true 1:1 compared to a mouse, and so Lostwinds lacks that input : response here. I’m not saying there’s a huge delay or anything that makes it broken, but it was noticeable and will create occasional moments of frustration that may add up depending on your mileage.

The biggest disappointment has to do with what I alluded to in the introductory paragraph, which is how minimal the gameplay is. Lostwinds’s world is divided into 24 areas, and you had the potential have each of these areas brimming with secrets locked behind puzzles that would require unique power utilizations or combinations. Yet, in incorporating a Metroidvania overlay, Frontier Developments went the minimal route- almost every time you revisit a previous place, it’s to do the ONE thing that your newly acquired power is stated to do. For example, the initial slipstream is only used to transfer fire to a wooden barricade (or move an object faster) while the vortex is only used to hit a metal barrier with a fast object. That. is. it. The limitless creativity that could have come with wind manipulation is reduced to bare bones X = Y. By comparison, think about the myriad of puzzle variations that came with Batman’s gadgets in the Arkham games when tackling the Riddler challenges. I’m not saying Lostwinds had to be that sophisticated, but when I’m destroying bramble blockad for the 20th time in the endgame, you can bet I’m disappointed.

Also hampering things is the “combat” in the game, which should have been scrapped completely given how pitiful it is. All the enemies are these globs said to be remnants of Balasar’s magic. While there are variants on them, those changes mainly amount to their protections. Outside of the rock-covered ones, you defeat them the same way: smash them into a wall or the ground or hit them with fire from a nearby torch. It’s lame, they’re an annoyance over a genuine threat, and any damage you do sustain from them can be easily replenished via fruits that grow everywhere. Considering they respawn constantly and don’t give any reward for being defeated, you’re honestly better off avoiding them entirely when they get in your way. And when combat becomes unnecessary, that’s a sign that it’s a failed gameplay system. I would’ve much rather had more puzzles over it.

So yeah, Lostwinds wasn’t worth it. A beautiful artstyle with well-drawn backgrounds can’t overcome the barren soundscape, cliffhanger set-up, or flat-out lack of imagination in terms of the usage of abilities. And considering, even with all the collectibles, it only took me 2.5 hours to beat, its content falls well short of the $10.00 asking price.

mentolado
mentolado

I like the dynamics of this game. It's relaxing and very entertaining. The only problem I found it that it crashed out of nothing from time to time. Anyway, recommendable!

denine99
denine99

Lost Winds is a casual puzzle platform game where the player uses different wind abilities as the primary mechanic.
The player controls a boy named Toku who is tasked with assisting the wind spirit Enril with regaining her powers and exploring the world of Mistralis to find the locked away memories of his guardian Deo in order to stop the evil spirit Balasar from conquering the world.
The atmosphere of Lost Winds gives the player a casual experience with a visually vibrant world, and a beautiful and soothing soundtrack. The characters have a simple, cartoonish design that is very reminiscent of Frontier's (the developer) artistic style.
Gameplay is simple and intuitive. Puzzles are very easy to figure out. Once the player has acquired a new skill, it is obvious how that new skill is to be used to unlock obstructed areas or navigate to new locations. The controls are very minimal. On the PC version, left and right (or A and D) are used to move Toku and the mouse is used to control Enril's wind abilities. Having been ported from the Wii, the mouse and keyboard schematics can feel a little bit tricky at times, but are otherwise manageable.
There is not too much in the way of combat in Lost Winds, but that is not a detriment to the game; rather, this fits well with the casual style of the game. Enemies appear occasionally, but there is no requirement to defeat them in order to progress the story. Engaging enemies or simply skipping past them is left completely up to the player. If one decides to fight the enemies, wind abilities can be used to directly defeat enemies or environmental hazards (such as fire) can be used to assist in combat. There is only one enemy in the game that the player is required to defeat, and that is the one and only boss at the end of the game.
Lost Winds is a very short game and can be completed with 100% achievements obtained in just a few hours. This game also feels like it is only one half of the story, continued with Lost Winds 2. However, both games can be purchased as a bundle and goes on sale frequently for a small fraction of its full asking price, making it worth the investment.
The only negative aspect of Lost Winds is the lack of an options menu. There is no ability to change the control schematic (but with minimalist controls this isn't really needed). There is no option to change the game to windowed mode (which can be cumbersome if the player wishes to tab out of the game). Most importantly, there is no audio functions (meaning that the only way to adjust the volume is with options outside of the game). In the end, however, the lacking options menu can be worked around and does not interfere with the ability to play or enjoy the game.
I give this game my recommendation for anyone who likes relaxing games in the puzzle or platform genres.

Jambec
Jambec

Lostwinds involves you playing a little village boy that can move with the directional keys left and right while using the mouse to propel yourself through the world with wind, holding down the mouse button and swiping left or right to give a boost or up to jump, the game is fairly short and sometimes having to click and drag can be tedious however it is unique in its own way and is well worth the asking price of $2 I did have the game crash twice for me while playing but i simply ctrl alt delete logged out and back in restarted and it resumed pretty much where i left off so thankfully autosave is a good feature in this game.

I would recommend playing this game if you like such side scrollers as Ori and the blind forest 7/10

jeffreyaller
jeffreyaller

LostWinds was one of my favorite casual gameplay experiences on Wii. The peaceful art style, music, and easy difficulty left me feeling rejuvenated and happy after each time I played it. I was delighted to find the game available on Steam, and I added it to my collection when it was on sale (I would not recommend buying full price due to its short length).

You play the game as a hero-duo. You are simultaneously both Enril, a Wind Spirit (controlled by the mouse), and also Toku (controlled by left & right keys on keyboard), who is a young boy who discovers Enril at the beginning of the game. Together you explore, nurse Enril's powers back to health, solve simple puzzles, and smack-down enemies with impunity.

Pros:
-The art and environment: 'Charming, warm, and cute' are just a few more words I can use to describe this game. You can gleefully slide your mouse cursor through plants and tree branches and watch them shiver and rustle in the wind. Or you can mischievously harass the NPCs with a few wind gusts and watch them lose their balance and ruffle their clothes. The overworld is green and lush with a warm color palette of greens, pinks, and yellows. And when you explore the caverns the color palette changes to a cooler one of blues, grays, and browns.

-Relaxing difficulty: If you are trying your best to survive and succeed, it is very unlikely that you will die during the game until you reach the final boss battle. If you do happen to take some damage you can heal yourself by 1. eating a fruit or 2. replenish one heart by collecting about two dozen little blue ... um ... 'dandelion seedlings'. These floating blue wisps can be found literally almost everywhere by rustling plants, trees, or underground mushrooms with a light breeze or by destroying enemies, and you can collect them by simply passing your mouse cursor over them. In addition, you often pass by save statues, so even if you do happen to be overcome by the evil creatures lurking about, then you will only be losing a small amount of progress that you can easily re-trace. Most of the combat in the game is as easy as swatting tiny insects, "Boom, out of my way!" The final boss battle is itself a puzzle more than anything, so try to avoid being damaged, observe the boss, and attempt different techniques until you solve how to defeat it.

Neutral:
-This version of the game introduces a MAP, which the Wii version did not have. The map is reminiscent of Metroid. It provides a simple layout of all the areas that you have visited and how the exits and entrances are connected to each other. This is a very welcome relief for finding your way around and figuring out where you are supposed to go next and how to get there. It is also extremely helpful when searching for small collectibles which you may have missed or passed by on your first exploration through a new region. However, the map makes an already short game EVEN SHORTER.

-The controls. For the most part, I think that the controls ported very well to the PC. Moving around with Gust is quite easy, and this is what you will spend most of the game doing. From what I recall, transferring flames from one object to another is easier and more forgiving in the PC version when compared to the Wii version. On the other hand, using the Vortex to hold objects and smash barriers is much more fiddly and frustrating in the PC version. And finally, when you earn the most liberating and final power-up, the cape... I feel that the cape is more challenging and slightly more frustrating to control in the PC version than it was in the Wii version.

Cons:
-The game length. Really short. I got 100% in two hours. I even took a bit of extra time early on to explore (re-exploring for my nostalgia) some areas that I didn't need to travel through yet. But I grant that I have played before and vaguely recalled all the basics of how to overcome each puzzle that was presented. Even so, I would expect that most players could complete a playthrough in a few hours. And then with the new map guiding you to each of the collectibles that you may have missed, the additional re-exploration to find every collectible is much shorter now than it was in the original version.

-The ending. Somewhat uplifting, but also more of a cliffhanger which invites you to play the sequel. The primary story conflict is left unresolved. I never took the opportunity to play the sequel on the Wii. I look forward to at last taking that opportunity and soon playing the sequel here on the PC.

Overall, I highly recommend LostWinds as a relaxing, beautiful, casual platformer with relatively simple puzzles. I just wish the game was longer, and therefore suggest that you wait and watch for a sale before buying.

WindySilver
WindySilver

This is a pretty ok game. Nice graphics and audio, although I can't comment much for the story (other than that it's short; I completed the game in a bit less than 3 hours) since It's been ages since I played through the beginning of the game where the stuff about what's going on was told, and I've forgotten that stuff. The wind mechanic is fun, although at times it can be a bit frustrating to work with at times with the mouse. There's a lot of just walking around in the game, though, so it could've used a quick travel mechanic. Easy to get to 100%. Not really worth the 10€, but it's an okay grab from the sales.

Oh, and the game needs to be locked to 60 FPS manually (for example on the Nvidia Control Panel if you have an Nvidia GPU) if your screen's refresh rate is over 60 Hz. The game itself offers no locks even though everything speeds up when the FPS is too high. Definitely a huge minus.

sorebear
sorebear

I am not enjoying this game. Online polls says it only takes 2 hours to beat, but I'm not sure if I'll make it that long.

I'll start with the good things. The graphics and art style are bright and charming. The story is basic, but it fits the game style and isn't overly drawn out.

Now let's move on to the bad. As other reviewers have mentioned, the music is a big let down. There are only two tracks, flutes and drums. My biggest annoyance with the music is the transition to battle drums every time an enemy appears on the screen. It's jarring and quickly becomes repetitive. The flutes music is simple and pleasant enough, that I think the game would have been better off just playing that one track the entire time.

However, the biggest issue is the controls. I find them clunky and incredibly frustrating. It can be very unclear if you can't get up on a ledge because you need an additional ability or have to go a different way or maybe you just didn't perfectly time and aim your wind gusts. I was able to roll with the controls early on, but once I unlocked the "Vortex" ability, I decided to quit. You have to move your cursor quickly around an object to charge it up. If you don't go fast enough or in a tight enough circle, the object won't get charged up. I'm not sure if the controls would have been better on the Wii, but they really detract from the overall experience for me.

I think I got this on sale for $1.99, so it's not a huge loss, but there are much better games out there to play.

orangesodadragon2
orangesodadragon2

This is a platformer, made by the planet coaster developers, that was originally made for the wii? best game ever.

turkceoyuncu2
turkceoyuncu2

Hollow knight but you can control air

Mitropanthro
Mitropanthro

Pocahontas could only play with all the colors of the wind

Re@per
Re@per

very very underrated game tbh i played this when i was a child now everytime i play this that inner child in me gets excited the game has a Great story and great characters its short simple and fun def should try it if you like short story games

Werqaholic
Werqaholic

Beautiful art style, interesting wind manipulation mechanic, but unfortunately the controls are just too clunky and imprecise. Only buy if on sale.

Turoel
Turoel

Crashes sometimes, but saves often, so no harm there. Takes under 2h to finish. Charming experience and nice mechanics.

Drive-In Nathan
Drive-In Nathan

LostWinds is a super cute and engaging platformer. Widely considered one of the best WiiWare games, and later ported to PC. The mouse controls are a great substitute for Wii motion and create a fluid and fun platforming experience. It's super short, clocking in about 3 hours but for what it lacks in game play time it makes up for in lasting impact. The music, world, and art design create a seamlessly cute experience that's worth checking out.

You Touch My Tralala
You Touch My Tralala

It's a beautiful game with a nice story and creative puzzles.

Lieutenant Luigi.
Lieutenant Luigi.

Funny, i remember thinking back then: "This would do just as good on a PC" and at the time of posting this...
It does.

It loses absolutely NO immersion from Wii to PC. You're still a Wind God helping a small child in your quest to do good god thing. Cliche, yes. But admit it, that's fun too.

Still not fond of the "I'm a good god and you are me... so you are good." forced narrative. But the relationship between Good Wind God and Smol Child is like an obedient puppy on a leash... He kinda has to. But it wasn't force on the child, his day was not actually ruined by your insertion into his life. I'd outright say it enhanced it.

Lain Fate
Lain Fate

I really enjoyed the concept of Lost Winds but the controllers were so frustrating!
It was also annoying that the settings weren't easy to get to & that they would reset on me each time I opened the game.
I did 100% the game but I would for sure wait for a sale.
I hope the sequel is better optimized because I really want to play it.
6/10

Niko
Niko

it crashed like every 25 minutes but it's cute, it's short, it's windy. On sale for a dollar, sure it's ok. More than that though, probably not worth, imo

Kaeous
Kaeous

I doubt I would have seen this game had it not been 90% off; however, I would still say it's well worth the full price. Fun, light, simple, but challenging enough to keep you interested.

Memur
Memur

Cute, decent story, and fun, simple puzzles. Controls can be a bit wonky and $10 is a bit much to ask, but other than that, it's wonderful. Definitely an underrated gem. 8/10.

B0T()
B0T()

It's a pretty short game but that is not really bad thing.
Noteworthy on the other hand is the absence of options entirely. No sound options, no key binds, no ...
If it is important to you: This game is very easy in my opinion to 100%.

novacation
novacation

The playtime is because I ran it in the background lol, despite that it probably took me 3 hours to finish the whole game, short and sweet. Nostalgic for me that played it on the old iPhone.

EklyM [Hi af rn]
EklyM [Hi af rn]

First off, look at all the time played stat for all these reviews. They all sit at around 3 hours. https://howlongtobeat.com/game?id=5400 That's the typical playtime as well for this game. I don't think the $10 price is worth the 3 hours of gameplay so I wouldn't recommend this game **unless you can get it on sale**. I think I got mine in a bundle with Lost Winds 2 for like 70% off or something. I would definitely recommend this game for cheap as it is only 3 hours, but it's a good 3 hours.

This game is really good, but really really short. That is pretty much my only gripe, is that it's too short. It has a DLC, but imo, the game feels like it's just 1/4th of what it's supposed to be, even if that, maybe more like 1/10. It's kind of laid out as one big map, but each section is like a mario level with different entrances and exits and you have to platform around to get to the different sections. You have "the wind" to help which allows you to "jump" and eventually you can "gust" which causes your character to practically fly. You go around the levels trying to find 4 memory chests for the "old man wizard" of the village and once that happens, his guardian guy who got corrupted by the bad guy is the boss. After you defeat him, game over.

The achievements are all basically just "checkpoints" in completing the game, such as "You found the first memory chest!" "You found the second memory chest" etc. There's only 1 achievement for the collectibles (thankfully there is only one type of collectible and there is typically one or two in each "level").

Overall, a really good game. 8/10, *but* extremely short so my final grade is around 5/10. They just need more gameplay. Introduce like different guardians of the bad guy balasar or whatever his name is. Introduce more sections with more "levels" so we can find more "memory chests" or chests with upgrades or just give me more!!! lol The enemies are actually varied enough which I liked.

☕TeaDrinker
☕TeaDrinker

I got this on sale for less than a quid. It's a fine product for that price, but I'm not sure I would pay more for it than that. It's aggressively milk toast. If this game was a spice it would be flour. The blandest of the bland. Fine for kids I guess, but this 'aint really my kind of gaming. I want chainmail-bikinis and monster-girls. But yea, for 99p or whatever it's basically free real estate, so go for it if it's on deep sale I guess.

Edel
Edel

Minimalistic Platformer with unique controls (only a, d + wind spirit)
I had a lot of fun playin through it once. The only thing i have to complain about, are the game crashes. I got about 5 crashes in 3 h playtime...
If you want to play the game, i would recommend to buy it on sale, because i think the "normal-price" is a bit high for the content you get imo.

binadee
binadee

The story is simple, but cute. I thought I would really like this game based on that and the style. However, the controls are terrible. The wind powers are all controlled with the mouse; the only things done on the keyboard are move left or right and interact. This was frustrating for me -- it was difficult at times to perform the necessary maneuvers and the character is very restricted in his movement.

Flextreme
Flextreme

Truly a nostalgic game
I feel like I'm back in the days where rayman and spyro were still kings in the world of video games!

milospanic87
milospanic87

ORIGINAL, INTERESTING LOOK AMAZING

Josle
Josle

Considering that this game was first on the Wii, then I would say that this is a good game. It has a very unique mechanic that you control the wind, which is very fun.