The Wandering Village is an indie city-builder from Stray Fawn Studio, currently available to Wishlist on Steam and just off the back (get it?) of a successful Kickstarter campaign.
The premise behind the game is self-evident: you build and manage a village on the back of a gigantic wandering creature. Over time you must form a symbiotic bond with the animal if you want your village to succeed.
This is a novel concept and one with a lot of potential. If you enjoy city-builders that also present the player with urgency or need to survive, The Wandering Village could be your next favorite in the genre.
The narrative of the game is also quite brilliant. Essentially, the earth is covered in toxic plants that can wipe out the population of a city. To seek refuge from this spreading plague, a group of people finds shelter on the back of a huge wandering creature – a creature they call Onbu.
Together, the people and the creature look to survive in this harsh world. Toxic spores gather on the surface of the creature’s back, and it’s the villager’s task to clear it. If the creature falls then the village would quickly become overrun with plants.
There’s also a sense of movement that drives the narrative (and gameplay) onwards. As Onbu moves through the world, so too does your village. There are different biomes and weather conditions that will have an impact on your village, and as a result, your strategy.
And there is a fair bit of strategy involved, especially considering you need to micro-manage a village in a very small surface area. You can send out parties to gather resources, as there is a finite amount on the back of the creature.
The main core of the gameplay revolves around farming, building, and foraging. You’ll be able to plant various crops to keep your villagers fed and happy and send out foraging parties to explore the various unique biomes.
Overall, The Wandering Village has an excellent concept and a brilliant art-style. Onbu looks magnificent, the different biomes look charming, and the villager design is simple yet striking.
You can check out more details on the game’s official Steam page and help out the devs by wishlisting today.
