Wander Stars Preview: A Wonderful Treat

Wander Stars is an upcoming indie-turn-based RPG which is heavily inspired by classic Anime and Manga series. The title itself is developed by Paper Castle Games and is set to be published by Fellow Traveller. In this future title, you take on the role of Ringo as she goes on a quest to find the missing pieces of the mystical Wanderstar Map. Along the way, she meets a cast of memorable and well-created characters. The big selling point here is its unique combat system where you must use a combination of words to create powerful attacks to win the day.

Long-term readers of my work here on KeenGamer will recognise Paper Castle Games as being the developers behind Underhero. A title that was and remains one of my all-time favourite games I have ever covered on this site. When I learnt they were making a new game I have been excited to get a chance to play it. And with a demo out now I am happy to have got time to try it. But is Wander Stars any good? Find out in the preview below!

Wander Stars has yet to receive an official release date (or time frame for a release). But it is slated to release on PC via Steam and Itch.io, and is set to also release on Nintendo Switch. A demo can be downloaded on both Steam and Itch.io.

Story – Fight Star

In Wander Stars, you take on the role of Ringo. A teenage girl who dreams of two things, finding her estranged/missing brother and taking part in the Kiai Tournament. The biggest meeting of warriors in the universe! One day when getting groceries for her adoptive grandmother she finds a wolf called Wolfe who steals from her part of a mysterious map. It is up to Ringo to get the map piece back from Wolfe before discovering there is more to this more going on here than meets the eye.

I think I can accurately guess the backstory for at least one of these guys.

The writing of Wander Stars from what I saw in the preview was great. It is filled with personality and energy that makes each interaction a fun read. With a warm humour to it that doesn’t overplay things. The text itself is easy to read. And the tutorial text is helpful. I will say that as much as I do enjoy the story there is a part of me that fears that it may turn out to be a tad too predictable. I can almost confidently guess the true relationships between certain characters. And what some late-game reveals will end up being. As regrettably it feels rather typical of modern indie-RPG writing. But still, predictable or not we’ll soon see. And the writing as it stands is great otherwise.

Gameplay – Use Your Words!

As mentioned at the top of the preview Wander Stars is a turn-based RPG where you use a combination or words to win the day. I know that sounds a tad abstract but let me explain. When a battle starts you will find a collection of words that you can use. Some are actions, some are elemental upgrades, and some can effect the move itself. For example, using the words “Super Punch” would give you a punch that is powerful and does more damage than usual. “Fast Fire Kick” is a combination that will give you a kick that does fire damage and also has a shorter cooldown which will allow you to use the Fire and Kick words sooner.

Kick, punch, it’s all in the mind!

You can’t just stack as many powerful-sounding words as you’d like. There is a limited number of slots that you can use. With each word taking up several slots depending on how powerful it is. Some words cannot be used in combination with one another. This helps to keep each battle balanced and keeps the challenge up from fight to fight. Each enemy that you have will have certain strengths, weaknesses, and immunities that you will need to uncover and work with as your battles progress.

Wander Over Yonder

The sheer possible combination of words that can be used is almost dizzying. Even in this demo build you can create some amazing combinations to suit the task ahead of you. I will admit that there isn’t much time to experiment with the words available. And there comes a point where you will end up using almost the exact combination of words time and again. With little need to experiment and branch out. At least not from what is seen in the demo.

Wander Star’s maps are rather small.

Outside of battle, you will move through a series of small maps. On which a variety of baddies can be found for battling. As well as chances to find treasures and interact with NPCs. Your goal is to move from map to map. With the exit that you choose to transition from granting you a bonus for the duration of the Episode. These can range from health to word buffs. The maps themselves are small. And whilst they do look cool there isn’t much to see beyond it. There is no exploration. And nothing much to do beyond the Episode’s mission.

Fightle

Similar to the developer’s previous effort Underhero you are given the chance to spare your foe. Once you have done enough damage to them then they will change colour and give you a chance to spare them. If you do then you will gain a bonus once the battle is over known as a Pep. Pep is a buff that can apply in and out of battle. From restoring HP after talking to NPCs to gaining immunity to fire damage. The range you can get seems rather extensive. And if planned out well this can help keep you fighting longer than you otherwise could.

Some the in-battle dialogue can be fun.

Like I said earlier in the preview I have been eagerly looking forwards to playing Wander Stars. I think the core idea is great. And I am excited to see how it can be improved upon and expanded on. At present, I do fear that it could become repetitive. And given how incredibly linear the game seems to be I’m not sure how replayable it could be. All the same, this is a fantastic upcoming gaming prospect and I really do hope the developers can stick the landing with this one.

Graphics & Audio – Fire & Flame

Wander Stars features a late 80s/early 90s anime aesthetic which is prominent and influences so much of the graphics and audio. And I will admit that I am no expert on anime so I can’t comment on how accurate or not it is. However I do like the design work. All the character designs are filled with personality, from main characters to the foes you battle. Each has decent animations which they flick to as you fight them and during conversation which helps to give them a memorable look. Honestly, the character designs in Wander Stars are some of the best I have seen in a very long time.

The soundtrack and sound effects feel totally on point, which really does add to this feeling that you are playing an anime. The soundtrack is great. It has a light, bouncy, yet adventurous feel to it that matches both the gameplay but also the tone of the game itself. The soundtracks also have a great feel to them. They feel enough like something out of an anime without feeling too much like stock sound effects that are just taken from some show or another. Which all helps to really sell this experience.

Wander Stars was previewed on PC.