I'm one of those strange people who enjoys playing betas for games when I get the chance. As a writer here it's in my nature to help people through stuff like guides, and I have an (at times) unhealt??hy obsession with gaming, so helping a developer make their game better is ??a nice marriage of the two.

Yet like a lot of people, I also use these betas to help determine whether I'll enjoy the final product. I approach these cautiously as some issues are part of the beta experience, but it's a great way to judge whether the core experience is for me. That was exactly what I did with Wayfinder over a year ago, and I came away not entirely sold on the MMO style since its always online status and my inconsistent WiFi didn't mesh well. Even then, I struggled to see what being an MMO brought to the game. Judging by the initial reception to Early Access, others felt the same??.

However, while that's where I'd normally walk away never to touch the game again, Wayfinder is a unique case. Through the course of Early Access, the game has driven itself away from its MMO roots into something more tightly focused, driven by single-player and co-op ambitions over something much larger and more time-consuming. Despite some shortcomings being tough to scrub away, Wayfinder has brought itself up to being something far more worth the asking price. Not only that but a shining example of how some ga??mes are simply better without live servi??ce being tacked on.

Wayfinder (PC [Reviewed], PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5)
Developer: Airship Syndicate
Publisher: Airship Syndicate (formerly Digital Extremes)
Released: October 21, 2024
MSRP: $24.99

If you're unfamiliar with Wayfinder following its early access makeover (or simply never knew about it), it's a single-player or co-op action RPG where y?ou play as?? one of eight Wayfinders, characters with unique abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. While one character is focused on supporting the team with damage reduction and healing, others are focused on damage over time, target debuffing, or raw DPS. As a Wayfinder, your goal is to stop the spread of the Gloom, an interdimensional infection that claims all life it touches, plunging its regions into shadow and chaos.

This isn't the most unique premise, but where Wayfinder stands apart is oddly in how some of its roots are still upheld. It might be in a new genre, but much of its quest structure, dungeon layouts, and boss design are ripped straight out of MMOs. It feels closer to a single-player/co-op MMO? than an action RPG honestly, even if that might contradict itself. I've never been into MMOs too extensively (unless you count my obscene amount of hours in Warframe) mainly because of how much pressure you can have in dungeons or raids with other players. At its best, you might have one or two people not pulling their weight, and at worst, someone's spamming in the chat about how you didn't execute the exact button combos that they would've as if you're a different person and not their clone.

Stripping?? that away while still letting you queue up with random players is ?a game-changer since it lets you either be a one-man army or squad up and make some new friends. I ran my entire playthrough solo and while some encounters were very challenging, it was always possible with enough effort and careful positioning. I also played on the second-highest difficulty, so perhaps I asked for that.

No matter who you're playing with, the game has a lot for you to sink your teeth into. Leveling all those characters up can take upwards of a hundred hours if you work at it, and there's a lot of side content in case you're itching for more. For build crafters there's more than enough to customize between ability upgrades to enhance the way certain abilities play with each other, talents to provide incremental stat upgrades and new perks, and a whole? host of "Echoes" to apply to your gear to give even more stat upgrades. It's a lot to sink your teeth into, but it never feels too overwhelming provided you understand your Wayfinder's strengths and weaknesses well. As one example, I focused my build on Venomess toward Weapon Power and Crit Rating, proceeding to do a ton of damage with each strike while applying endless amounts of poison. She was easily my favorit?e character of the eight, but I got some good mileage out of both Grendel and Silo as well.

Alongside some great character designs and progression, Wayfinder's dungeons are among some of the best in the business. While they can get tiring after the first dozen ru??ns of a particular layout, these never seem to overstay their welcome as far as main story content goes. Even when you do have to repeat dungeons, there are plenty of ways it freshens things up such as modifiers that change how you approach that dungeon, procedural layouts that are different each time, and events that provide unique puzzles or combat encounters.

Yet despite the strengths of these dungeons, it's the bosses that steal the show. Thanks to its MMO origins, most of Wayfinder's bosses take on unique movesets that you wouldn't always expect to see with a game sporting a narrow focus like this. I don't want to give too many of the surprises away since learning these bosses is part of the fun, but each tends to provide unique challenges that reward careful dodge timing, positioning, and strong DPS. Normally I dread the moment I'm about to enter a boss arena in games, but this care and attention to detail made ??bosses easily some of my favorite content.

As a cherry on top, the game is presented beautifully. Voice acting is all well done and emotional, the soundtrack gets your blood pumping while offering some enjoyable ambiance for certain dungeons, and each of the regions is crafted beautifully. It's rare to see a game utilize a cartoonish art style and still turn out picturesque, but Wayfinder strikes t??????????????????????????hat bala?nce. Whether it be its dense forests interspliced with ruins, icy frost lands, or lush caves, it's hard not to stop and admire the scenery frequently.

While I could sit here and sing its praises, some of the stains from Wayfinder's MMO origins weren't washed out. Most notably, the plot and writing can best be described as a word salad. Exposition dumps are dropped onto your lap with the frequency of loot drops, while nouns are thrown so fast at you that it's hard to keep track of. Combine this with abandoned plot lines and a story that wanted to end after the second major area (though the third location is very nice), and it isn't the most compellingly crafted. You probably didn't look into Wayfinder expecting a narrative masterpiece, but it doesn't detra??ct from its faults.

Side quests also pale in comparison to the main quests. Many of the quests feel more akin to fetch quests or "go kill 10 of x enemy" type mission design that make them very forgettable. One notabl??e side quest had me go into a dungeon with a specific modifier to collect two objects, then go into a non-modified version of that dungeon to interact with the NPC who gave me the quest. Then it had me do that again, and again, and again. Eventually, I gave up and went back to the main story, espe??cially since I'd grinded out enough XP to be caught up fully anyway. It's easy enough to ignore, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't seen far better elsewhere.

While not as big of an issue, Wayfinder's optimization and polish did cause issues at times too. I only had one crash in 30 hours, but the framerate varies wildly depending on where you are in the world. I had anywhere between 30-120 FPS depending on location and battles, meaning I needed to turn down some settings and limit ??it to 60 FPS just to get something stable. There were also plenty of bugs, like final boss enemies despawning after I died once or certain objectives not spawning unless I restarted a dungeon fully.

My gripes aside, I'm pleasantly surprised by just how far Wayfinder has come since I first played that beta. From its lukewarm early access launch, the game has transformed into an experience that's well worth your time if you're a fan of the ARPG/MMO genres. It's the sort of game that brings me hope that, even if this isn't the spark, many more developers will see the value in pivoting their live-service ambitions into something more manageable for a small team. As Wayfinder shows, doing so can result in an experience that's not only better for the developers, but better for players too. I also pray for more single-player/co-op games with MMO elements, but I imagine those prayers will be answered rarely if ever??. One can dream.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Following just over a year in early access, Wayfinder has now been released in 1.0 on PC and PlayStation 5 a??nd, for the first time, on Xbox platforms.

The full release brings a wealth of content to the game. Namely, there's an entirely new open-world region called the Crucible, filled wit??h plenty of quests, bosses, secrets, and lore to be discovered. For the lore fanatics, the region was once a machine built by the Architects. However, seeing as it's fallen into disrepair, the Eldren have made it a worthy ho??me, much to the dismay of anyone who decides to stroll in.

The update also brings out th??e eighth Wayfinder, Lora the Arcanist. Her kit revolves around using magic to fight back against the Gloom, sporting attacks that deal well with crowds. Her ultimate lets her turn in?to an Avatar, a massive beast that can tear through any enemies you come across.

Be?sides new content, certain gameplay systems are being entirely refreshed. You can now spec into a talent tree to incrementally increase your weapon damage, survivability, and ability strength for that specific Wayfinder. Echoes have also been completely overhauled, hopefully making the choice between them more meaningful. Alongside randomized weapon drops, a new armor system, easier ways to acquire the full roster (huge fan of this change personally), and much more, there's plenty even?? for existing game fans.

As someone who hasn't played since before the early access launch, I'm super happy to see the direction Wayfinder has gone recently. I wasn't a huge fan of the live service aspect of it since it didn't seem to add too much to the experience, let alone the microtransactions, but the team has done away with all of that since. It says a lot about live service games like Wayfinder that those aspects being removed automatically make it a ??better game. That's not even including all the content that's been added sin?ce. I'll be hopping in to see how it's changed so expect my thoughts on the updates soon.

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Airship Syndicate has announced that the troubled MMO Wayfinder will be course-correcting. The developer i?s dropping the online requirement for the game, and removing all microtransactions. It will now be a single, upfront fee to purchase.

Remember Wayfinder? I haven’t thought about it in quite a while. To say its launch was troubled is a bit of an understatement. On the day of its launch, it garnered nearly 8,000 negative use reviews on St??eam, and things have not really improved. Looking at reviews from around the time it released, players complained primarily about bugs, server issues, and numerous other issues alongside.

Back in April, Airship Syndicate announced that they’d be going separate ways with publisher Digital Extremes and removed Wayfinder from sale temporarily. At th?e time, the develop?er hinted that there would be some change, but the language implied it was going to continue being a largely online game. 

After consideration, Airship Syndicate is shifting Wayfinder to a primarily sing??le-player game. There will still be three-player co-op, but it will be entirely peer-to-peer.

A lot of new negative reviews are from players who purchased an MMO only to have it shift into single-player. I totally understand the frustration. It’s pretty terrible for anyone? who already dropped money on in-game currency and items. Airship Syndicate has said that these things will be shifted into the offline version, but without the MMO part of the game, those items (and especially the currency) have lost their perceived value.

However, I think the alternative here would be for Wayfinder to shut down and disappear entirely. And then nobody gets anything. It would just be another dead MMO in a sea of corpses. The developer and publisher had the responsibili??ty to deliver a game that survived and thrived, and failed to provide one that lasted even a year. That warrants anger, and the onus is on Airship Synd?icate to smooth things over. As it stands, at least it’s not nothing.

The current plan is to soft-launch Wayfinder to all existing owners on May 31st, followed by a broader rel?ease into Early Access on June 11th on PC. For PlayStation people, the rel?aunch with the Echoes Update will be sometime in the Summer. They plan on having the full launch take place sometime in the Fall for all platforms.

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An unknown number of employees have been laid off at Warframe developer and Wayfinder publisher Digital Extremes today. According to Polgyon, at least 20 employees in total were let go. It appears Digital Extremes is closing their external projects division which publishes games like the recently Early Access release title Wayfinder. Instead, the company will shift its focus towards internal projects like Warframe and Soulframe.

We reached out to Digital Extremes wh??o c?onfirmed the information and provided the following statement

“We can confirm we have made the difficult decision to cease operations of our external projects division. We have had to say goodbye to a number of hardworking and highly valuable team members as a result.�/p>

The representative also confirmed that Digital Extremes is looking to transfer Wayfinder in i?ts entirety into the hands of ??the developer, Airship Syndicate.

"“We're working with Airship to transition full control of Wayfinder to them in coming months."

Just a few weeks ago there was a leadership change at Digital Extremes as well, ??with Chief Creative Officer Steven Sinclair replacing Founder James Schmalz as CEO of the company.

Rough times in the video games industry

These kinds of articles are never easy to write, especially when the video game industry seems to be suffering layoffs several times a week. Just yesterday Embracer Group laid of??f staf?f at developer Free Radical, after doing the same just last month at Cryptic Studios and Zen Studios. Ubisoft Montreal also suffered layoffs earlier this week.

This list has grown so big it almost feels easier to name the companies that have not conducted layoffs compared to those that have. According to the website VideoGameLayoffs.com, over 6,500 employees from over 100 companies?? in the games industry have been laid off this year? alone.

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Airship Syndicate and Digital Extremes have released the final mid-season update before Season 2 of Wayfinder, titled The Reaver King. The update for the Action RPG MMO brings a trove of new content ahead of Season 2 which is expected to release later this year. Players with any Wayfinder founder's pac??k can jump into The Reaver King s??tarting today.

The Hollow Heart Opens

The main story of Wayfinder will proceed forward with The Reaver King, with four new main quests and three side quests. This is the biggest Wayfinder ?upd??ate yet, and will culminate in players taking on The Reaver King.

An existing Lost Zone, Hollow Heart, featur?es all new content and secrets for players to explore as they attempt to make their way towards the two new bosses: Wormwood and The Reaver King. Each boss comes in the form of new hunts.

Players will also have access to a third Imbuement Slot for the Shadow element which to continue altering the existing Lost Zone threats and rewards. Rewards include three new weapons each with their own abilities that players can ac?quire. The three new weapons are:

• Rose & Thorn â€?Blood-stained flower petal-esq daggers. Ability: Thorn Blossom - Slam into the ground, shooting thorns up from the ground in an area below the Wayfinder. Enemies hit will be inflicted with Rose Blossom for 10 seconds, taking additional damage each time they are hit.
• Eclipse â€?Two-handed axe that consumes all light around it. Ability: Steel Vortex - Throws the axe to spin in a vortex in front of the Wayfinder, dealing damage multiple times before returning. Deals additional damage for each level of Momentum consumed.
• Nightshade â€?A sword and shield that predates humanity. Ability: Wyvern’s Fury - Reloads the gun with an empowered clip. During this clip, the weapon is fully automatic and every bullet is infused to apply a stack of Poison on hit. Poison is a small DoT that stacks up to 20 times and deals damage over 6 seconds.

Those interested in the full patch notes for Wayfinder The Reaver King can find them here.

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Big updates are on the way for MMO Wayfinder. Developer Airship Syndicate revealed the updates during their Wayfinder Wednesday blog post. In the near future, a mid-season update is on the horizon bringing a new live event called Call of the Void as well as some new content. Later, Season 2 will kick off and see the release of a new Wayfinder charac?ter named Grendel. An in-depth look at the new content from the mid-season update will be coming in early ??October.

The Fierce Beast Grendel

A new Wayfinder named Grendel will be joining the roster of characters with ??Season 2. The ferocious beast will be available immediately for players who have an Awakened or Exalted Founder's pack. Other players will have the ability to far??m the components required to craft Grendel, who will then be permanently unlocked.

Other than the teaser traile??r, Airship Syndicate hasn't released much about Grendel just yet. According to his description, ??Grendel is an enraged berserker who explodes into battle in a whirlwind of speed and fury. His full reveal details will be coming soon.

Mid-season Live Event and New Content

The first-ever live e?vent, Call of the Void, will have stranger rifts appearing all across the Highlands. Players will be able to seek out and explore the rifts which are full of mysteries and surprises. Two new quests will lead players into the flames as they confront the Highlands Fire Lord. Another quest titled The Final Score will unlock the Drill Machine, a?? new secret weapon constructed deep in the Mines.

A new Lost Zone, Gloom Dungeon, and a new weapon called Juggernaut are also coming in the update. Wayfinders who complete the event will gain access to an exclusive Gloom Dagger skin c?alled Dawning Hope.

Finally, a slew of quality-of-life and balance updates will be coming to Wayfinder in phases. You can find the full patch notes full of fixes on the Wayfinder Wednesday blog post.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Season 2 was titled Call of the Void. Call of the Void is actually a live event that is part of an upcoming mid-season update with new content, whereas Grendel will come to Wayfinder with Season 2. W?e apologize for the incorrect information!

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Out of Beta, into Early Access

The online Action RPG Wayfinder is almost ready for Early Access. After a handful of beta events, Digital Extremes announced Wayfinder will be hitting Early Access on August 15. Founder's Packs will be available in several tiers with each offering access to Wayfinder as well as two seasons of unique rewards. Of course, each founder's pack has its own separate cosmetic rewards as well. The ARPG will launch on both PC (Steam) and PlayStation with full? cross-play and cross-save support.

Publisher Digital E?xtremes and developer Airship Syndicate also unveiled an all-new playable sharpshooter class called the Venomess: here's the trailer showing off the new class and announcing the upcoming Early Access.

//youtu.be/0TdDWdfhAMU

An interactive Battle Pass that never expires

Each founder's pack will also grant you access to the Season 1 and 2 Reward Towers. This unique battle pass will allow you to choose your own path toward earning unique seasonal rewards. Unlocks from the Rewards Tower include exclusive characters, Sprays, Charms, pets, and other cosmetics. Interestingly, each season's Battle Pass in Wayfinder never expires allowi?ng players to grind it out how they want and when they want.

I had the chance to play in the Wayfinders beta and it definitely shows some promise. The fast-paced combat felt quite satisfying. Also, the varying playstyles of each class provide the potential for true class identity and agency. Overall it was way too mission-based for my liking, but that's exactly what Waframe fans are accustomed to. The ability to team up with friends and blast through high-intensity action in an online setting is great, even if it's not quite MMO-like. Even Warframe opened up into the more traditional MMO experience over time, so perhaps Wayfinder will do its own twist with Airs?hip Syndicate at t??he helm.

Wayfinder hits early access on PC (Steam) and ??PlayStation on August 15.

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Don't lose your way (finder)

Airship Syndicate is teaming up with the studio behind Warframe for a new multiplayer title. Wayfinder is a co-op action RPG that mixes fantasy and tech for some co-op action RPG ??adventures.

Revealed at tonight's Game Awards 2022, Wayfinder is a new action RPG for PC and consoles, aiming for 2023. Creative director Joe "Mad" Madureira, of Battle Chasers fame, is at the helm with Airship Syndicate. Digital Extremes, the company behind Warframe, is publishing.

Wayfinder is set in the world of Evenor, which is gradually being consumed by Gloom. Wayfinders (the players) take up? the mantle and fight the Gloom, working ?to fight back against its spread together.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYFU7jrMAIM

Each Wayfinder has their own unique story to expl??ore and play style to utilize. You can collect and craft gear to improve your loadout, while also boosting up your character themselves. Runs can be customized with unique modifiers and challenges to offer special hunting and gathering chances.

The draw is multiplayer, and it looks like you can set out with a pretty decently sized party. Alongside?? fighting the Gloom, there's also an at-home c??ustomization element with the player's Apartment.

Finding a way forward

While Airship Syndicate and Digital Extremes are aiming for 2023 on PC and console, you'll potentially be able to play Wayfinder before the year's out. A closed playtest is being held for Wayfinder starting on Tuesday, December 13. If you want to try it out, you can head over to the Wayfinder PC playtest sign-ups here. ??Meanwhile, PlayStation playtests will be held?? in January.

Then, in spring 2023, the duo of Airship and Extremes aims to launch Wayfinder into Early Access on PC and PlayStation??. A free-to-play full launch is expected to follow in fall 2023, and embrace Digital Extremes' "free-??and-fair" monetization policy, according to a press release.

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