Wayfinder Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, & PC)

“Wait for hours to get in-game, only to be kicked twice…,” 

“Servers don’t work,” 

“…there are queues without end currently over 20,000, which includes a waiting time of over 9 hours…,” 

These are just a few of the complaints about Wayfinder on Metacritic. Wayfinder currently has mostly negative reviews, with a low 5/10 rating on Steam. Many of Steam’s over 11,000 reviews complain about the excruciatingly long hours it takes to connect to the servers. Followed by random disconnects after FINALLY logging in. 

But leave out the shaky start. I mean, it’s no secret at this point how bad Wayfinder‘s server issues are. But if you look past that, there’s a lovely game underneath it all. One that merits our in-depth Wayfinder review. If only to give you a rough idea of how worthwhile the game is to play – if the server issues are ever resolved.

In a Nutshell

Wayfinder is a colorful fantasy action-RPG game that was dubbed “the World of Warcraft (WoW) killer” at one point. It has the MMO flavor of the Destiny series, the visual style of WoW, and plays similarly to Warframe. Set in the world of Evenor, a dark power takes root among the people and is wreaking havoc. As a Wayfinder, you’ll need to take charge of your abilities. To personalize your journey and playstyle while fighting off a hostile force. Depending on your path, you’ll have a one-of-a-kind adventure. One in which you can play solo or join forces with other Wayfinders to become stronger as a team.   

Wayfinder has an incredible open-world design. It’s the first thing you notice when you enter Evenor for the first time. The premise is also intriguing, with flashy cutscenes about a new world order called the Gloom. And it’s up to you to venture into areas known as the Lost Zones in order to root out the evil and put an end to the Gloom’s spread. I won’t go into detail about the plot because it seems to be lacking in some features and assets. Keep in mind that Wayfinder is still in its Early Access phase, which is expected to last about six months. But what we have so far seems like an interesting first go, with deeply-developed characters – and I’ll leave it at that. 

Hands Dirty

The gameplay is a big part of Wayfinder‘s experience. It includes some exciting dungeon-crawling action, open-world zones, and social hubs. Open zones span across wide landscapes, with mainly high-fantasy-themed woodlands where, through light exploration, you’ll run into different enemies, from goblins to bandits to wildlife and more. You can use ladders and zip lines to traverse the environment. All along, running into other players within the same shared spaces as the ones you may have encountered in games like Destiny or Division.

While you only play in groups of three, perhaps the final game will allow larger groups of Wayfinders to team up. For now, you’ll be picking up monster-hunting quests and endless challenges in procedurally generated dungeons, as well as tailoring enemy encounters and loot to your preferences using a device called the Gloom Dagger.

Who Am I

You may be more familiar with classes and archetypes. However, Wayfinder takes a different approach to character selection and customization. You begin by choosing your Wayfinder character. There are a total of seven characters to choose from. Each character has four active abilities and two passive abilities. In addition, every character has some kind of damage-dealing ability. The difference lies in the way damage is dealt, additional abilities, “support” roles, as well as weapon, accessory, and overall build customization options (more on that later).

You have “Wingrave,” a Wayfinder who can tank and heal. “Rogue” specializes in shadow and dashing attacks. “Silo” is a decoy summoner and mid-range bomb thrower. “Senja” is a gladiator brawler, grappler, and melee-ranged archetype. “Niss” is a stealth shadow dancer. “Kairos” is a war mage with medium-range elemental abilities. Finally, there’s “Veminis”, an alchemist archetype who can both deal poison and heal. Choosing which character to start with plays a crucial role in your gameplay. Plus, you’ll stick with your first choice for quite some time.

Don’t Get Too Cozy

Character progression revolves around unlocking new Wayfinders, as well as weapons, accessories, and more build options. However, it’s not a straightforward gig, with having to grind for loot and rare materials covering a large portion of progression. Once you’ve crafted more Wayfinders, you’ll be able to swap between them on the fly (except during boss fights), thus further diversifying your gameplay. 

What’s more? With each new season, more Wayfinders step out of the shadows. Apparently, up to 12 Wayfinders are currently in the works. Still, with seven currently available, it’s a unique and varied roster, especially considering the game is in Early Access. 

Smoking Gun

Weapon types vary, too, with four different classes available. You have the rifles, dual blades, swords and shields, and two-handed melee. Each one differs from the other, from patterns, perks, and mechanics to combo chains. As well as a different feel to the swing and playstyle of each. And the differences stream down to the individual weapons, which all have their own unique active abilities and lore. 

The good news is that characters aren’t limited to a single weapon type. Rather, regardless of your Wayfinder, you are free to use any weapon you want. Kicking it off with Wingrave, he had the most screen time in the trailers, featuring a sword and shield combo. However, he can also pick up two-handed melee weapon types, such as ranged or dual daggers, if you so please. After picking a weapon type, you go on to explore a brimming roster of specific weapons, each with unique names, lore, and active skills.

Slice and Dice

As with any other game, the weapons all have their basic light and heavy attacks, as well as string combos. All the weapons also have similar weapon-based mechanics. 

However, the Vanguard in the sword and shield class, for example, additionally has a unique bash ability perfect for breaking through heavy armor and dealing massive damage to stronger enemies. While the Grim Harvest sword and shield can lunge into the ground and summon a devastating bone spike volcano, you can throw the Tooth and Claw sword and shield into enemies and have them return to you. 

So, in the end, you have a huge selection from which to experiment and find the weapons that best suit your playstyle. Overall, combat has a flashy flair that feels pretty good to play. And the controls are responsive and fluid as well. The ability to build up charges, in particular, from light attacks and finish off stronger foes with heavy attacks is an intriguing element that has appeared in other games but feels particularly fascinating and rewarding in Wayfinder.

Server Issues

It’s a shame that teaming up with other Wayfinders is currently out of the question, given the insane lobby wait times and the servers’ limited capacity. Still, in an MMORPG like this, embarking on light adventures and teaming up with friends on the more difficult challenges would be far more enjoyable. It’s just more fun that way, and it can encourage the kind of replayability that Wayfinder needs to succeed.

Verdict

Stepping into Evenor for the first time, it’s clear how stunning the world is. Wayfinder looks gorgeous, using a visually distinct soft-edge neon style to stand out in its genre. Characters look promising, with a diverse range of powers and weapons to choose from. Customization options are a treat, too, with plenty of pick-ups spread out in the world, each offering a fine breadth of mechanic options to suit your playstyle. While combat is weighty, with a fluid and responsive control system, it hardly ever fights you back. Unfortunately, though, and in spite of high expectations for Wayfinder’s game-changing destiny, it doesn’t offer much we haven’t already seen aboard the live service ship. 

As for the server issues, a Twitter update reassures Wayfinders that “Our team is seeing great progress on the server side of things. More and more Wayfinders are able to enter the game while maintaining server stability.” So, perhaps, Wayfinder will be the kind of game that shines in full glory once its community grows like a weed. Because, quite honestly, Wayfinder is a classy action-RPG, bursting at the seams with customization options that could quite possibly turn the game into the “WoW killer” it was once predicted to be.