Written by Red Veron
Title: Yonder: Cloud Catcher Chronicles
Developer: Prideful Sloth
Publisher: Prideful Sloth
Genre: Action, Adventure
Price: $19.99
Also Available On: Steam
The story of Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is simple enough, and is very much like how it is as a game. Players take on the role of a custom created character who returns to their home island of Gemea only to find out that the island has been plagued by a mysterious and dangerous purple fog known as the “Murk”. As the hero of the story, the player goes around the vast island of Gemea meeting its inhabitants while on a journey to rid the island of the Murk using the power of magical sprites.
While this premise sounds like a grand adventure filled with danger and excitement, gamers would be surprised to learn that there is no combat or even death in Yonder. If I had to sum up quickly what Yonder is in a few words it would be: A Zelda game without combat where players can make stuff. Instead of combat, the fun is found in the stuff outside the combat that is sometimes seen in Zelda games such as exploration and fetch quests. When I say it takes after a Zelda game, it is specifically taking cues from latest entry Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, particularly one part of Yonder’s opening sequence taking heavy inspiration from the from newly released title from Nintendo.
The meat of Yonder is in the exploration and item gathering/creation, with all kinds of stuff to do in a large open world, one can get lost in exploring and finding all kinds of things. The world is populated with a good amount of NPCs to talk to with many providing quests, making sure that traveling across seemingly large map has some purpose to its large size.
Quests are often gathering and/or creating items, which are basically fetch quests but the creation aspect gives it enough of a spin that keeps it from becoming too repetitive. The item gathering aspect isn’t just picking up items in the environment, it takes inspiration from recent hits such as Minecraft. Gathering resources can be done in many ways include (but not limited to) mining mineral deposits, chopping down trees, breaking rocks and crates, and even fishing.
Trading is also a part of the economy of the game, with certain villages having more of the kind of products they are known for making and some needing certain items that they don’t make themselves. Those wanting to hustle and play the trading game of buying low and selling high can take advantage of the mini-economy in the game. Travelling between villages and meeting the specific supply and demand can help the player amass a fortune from just simply trading different items that are picked up or farmed.
Farming is also another major feature in the game, it provides a source of income from produce and animal products that can be used to make or trade for more stuff. Farms can be found at different parts of the world, where setting up a farm involves a basic grid system where the player can choose to place craftable structures onto said grid. These structures include shelter for animals and plots for planting crops and trees.
The farming system is not as deep and complex as Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon when it comes to taking care of the animals and crops, no watering plants is required or any regular form of upkeep. Just making a garden plot on the grid and planting the seeds is all that is needed to grow stuff. Farming can even be more hands off with NPCs that can be hired as farmhands to take care of the farm while the player is away.
The map seems large but it really isn’t, but running through the map isn’t the fastest way to get around. Fast travel points are available in this game but are rather limited, it doesn’t really take long to get around but faster transportation like riding a horse would have been very welcome in this game.
Yonder is a pretty game, the art design has vibrant colors with mostly soft and rounded shapes making up the visual motif. The game has a cartoony look a bit reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, which also went for a stylistic choice that still holds up years later and I believe Yonder will do the same. Characters and the animals in the game are a bit on the cutesy side as well. The bright colors and calm theme of the visuals perfectly match the peaceful combat-free style of the game.
There are the little things in Yonder that that pop up that would remind one that this is an indie title despite the ambition and scale put into the game. These little things like the transitions between dialogue and notification screens and some gameplay elements are a bit rough. Such as items that can be gathered can sometimes blend in with the environment, which leads to sometimes missing out on pickups. These minor issues don’t really get in the way of the game but it rather makes the pace a little inconsistent and a bit of fine tuning would greatly enhance the experience.
Movement is more responsive and less floaty after the latest update but turning is much slower making the transition between switching directions rough while running. It takes a bit for the character to stop and physically turn before running again. While this isn’t much of a problem since there is no combat in the game where running away from enemies is important, it does slow down the traveling which is a huge part of the game.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a nice relaxing break for those hardcore gamers who may have gotten tired of all the fast and crazy action games. It’s also gentle and rewarding experience for casual gamers who haven’t played a videogame in a while or are just new to games. Completionists will love the game with plenty of quests to do whatever the skill level. Yonder proves that even without combat, an adventure game can still shine in today’s gaming climate. It’s not the most well made game but just from playing it, one can notice that there is a lot of effort and heart put into it. If you’re looking for a game to just play and relax, look for no other than Yonder.
Score: 8 out of 10
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