'Lost Winds Review' - A Gusty New Take on the Platforming Genre

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Exploration is what drove our nation to the stature and success we see today. If not for the exploring spirit of Columbus who knows how the world would have turned out. In Lost Winds there is that same spirit of adventure present that really pulls you into the game world.

You play as Toku, a villager who is trying to save the island Mistralis from Balasar, a great and evil being.  Fortunately, you are not alone as a kind wind spirit named Enril joins you on your quest.
Lostwinds incorporates a unique method of control, namely the power of wind.  By swiping and drawing lines of wind across the screen you are able to guide Toku on his adventure. You use the wind to propel yourself onto certain platforms and it is fairly easy to get where you are aiming to go. But its a whole nother story when you try to move objects into the proper position. Many times I have accidentally lifted myself instead of the object or both at once which gets hairy trying to control. But overall the wind propulsion controls certainly do the job when you're trying to get from a low place to a high place. Movement on the ground is achieved by tapping where you want to go or holding the side of the screen you wish to traverse.
This gusty control method is built on as you progress in the storyline and new ways that you can use it are uncovered frequently. For example in order to burn down a wood barrier you need to kindle a fire with the wind and then create a gust of wind that propels the fire towards the barrier. There is a lot of running back and forth across the map which can be rather tedious to the impatient child or busy adult. But, this really gives you a chance to check out the visuals and live the experience.  Luckily there are plenty of incentives to do exactly that. Scattered throughout each of the games areas are statues that unlock characters that you can pose in Snapshot mode. Snapshot basically allows you to juxtaposition the games characters onto photos from your photo library or onto your friends shoulders in a live picture.  If you are a completionist this is certainly a welcome feature as these statues are very well hidden.
Since there is a tendency to forget where you are or where you should go for a quest there is a implemented map system that is certainly useful to get you back on track.  The save system on the other hand is not that helpful. At various points in the areas you can find huge statues which save your progress once you walk by them. Unfortunately, there are almost none located in the underground dungeon areas of the game which can take a fairly long time to get through. If you are willing to devote a little time to it, you shouldn't have much of a problem.
Overall this is an awesome platformer that encourages creativity, exploration and most of all fun with the in-game environment that the devs so clearly put a ton of work into. Drop whatever you are doing and pick this up now, you wont regret it.  5 out of 5 stars.

3.99

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