Forget Zelda—Winds of Viridia Is More Like Black Myth: Wukong in Ghibli Getup

The recent Nintendo Indie World showcase was packed with indie games that simply look too fun to pass up, but the one that caught my eye more than the rest was Shark Jump and Matt Trobbiani’s Winds of Viridia, a gorgeous action-adventure game that, at first, looked like what would happen if Studio Ghibli developed a Zelda-like. Based on what was shown in the trailer, the world design and exploration side of things truly does make it look like something closer to Breath of the Wild but with a different coat of paint. However, after spending around half an hour with its brief but meaty demo, I’m here to tell you that Winds of Viridia isn’t like Zelda at all.

I’ll be honest, I completely underestimated Winds of Viridia going into it. As a massive lifelong Zelda fan, it’s incredibly easy for me to pick up any game that resembles it and breeze right through, simply because its formula is so specific that if you’ve had enough experience with it already, then jumping back into it at any point is like riding a bike. But that’s precisely why Winds of Viridia threw me for a loop. This game isn’t like Zelda at all. In fact, I’d put it closer to something like Black Myth: Wukong in Ghibli getup, because there’s no amount of familiarity here for Zelda fans to rely on. Rather, this is actually a fairly demanding soulslike that is clearly trying to disguise itself as something friendlier.

Winds of Viridia Isn’t as Light as It Looks

Now, I understand that “soulslike” is literally one of Winds of Viridia‘s tags on Steam, but that label is so overused and improperly used these days that it has almost lost its meaning. It’s to the point now where if I see that tag on a game, I just immediately assume it’s inaccurate. For Winds of Viridia, on the other hand, it’s very much true, though this is far from the most difficult soulslike I’ve ever played. In fact, I’d call it a “soulslite” more than anything.

The reason I’m pointing this out, though, is because of my own naivety upon hitting play. I was expecting a fun romp through some gorgeous grasslands, but I ended up getting knocked around by the demo’s boss a few times instead because I wasn’t prepared for it at all. It’s not necessarily about how challenging Winds of Viridia is, because again, it’s not the most difficult game out there. It’s more so about how it presents itself as something just a tad more welcoming—and yet, it’s really not. Granted, the game’s camera really doesn’t make things any easier, but it’s at least manageable enough that I was able to defeat the boss on my third or fourth attempt.

But speaking of the boss, that’s where I’m more inclined to compare Winds of Viridia to Black Myth: Wukong than The Legend of Zelda. I understand Game Science was adamant about not calling Black Myth: Wukong a soulslike—I assume because they wanted to avoid the stigma that comes with the label—but I have always had an issue with that, as not calling it a soulslike to boost marketing doesn’t change the fact that it can be an exceedingly difficult game and is probably the closest to being a soulslike as it can be without actually being one. The boss fights in Black Myth: Wukong, in particular, are where things can get insanely chaotic, to the point where I’m convinced some of them don’t even have attack patterns at all and instead just fly around arenas pulling random attacks out of a hat.

Winds of Viridia is far—very far—from being Black Myth: Wukong in its difficulty, but the boss fight in the demo certainly reminded me of the latter. The boss, Gazan, Furious Great Ape, took me 17 of the 37 minutes I spent with the demo to defeat, and I’m sure some of you reading are thinking I’m just not that great at video games. But trust me, I’m not even close to being terrible. I’ve played more soulslikes than I can count, and my skills have improved tremendously over time, to the point where I am far more confident just waltzing into soulslike combat without thinking about the consequences of doing so.

What made Gazan so challenging was, again, my naivety, but also the fact that he is pure chaos. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t even come close to comparing to some of Black Myth: Wukong‘s more absurd boss fights, because he actually does have a manageable number of attack patterns—hence, my victory after just a few attempts. However, he does move around the arena very quickly, his attacks vary in their timing, he will occasionally lunge at you and close gaps in the blink of an eye, and this is all happening while you’re trying to dodge seemingly endless rocks falling from the sky. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on in this fight, and that’s why I have no problem comparing at least the philosophy behind his design to Black Myth: Wukong.

And what made it just a tad more difficult than I imagine it will be in the full game is that the demo didn’t give me any way (that I could see) to improve my stats or gear. It was interesting, to say the least, because I was still collecting what I can only assume is the currency needed for upgrades—Winds of Viridia‘s version of Dark Souls‘ souls or Elden Ring‘s runes. It’s evident that you can, in fact, upgrade your character and equipment—and at a bonfire, no less—but I wasn’t able to in the demo, unless I missed something. I’m sure that would have made the fight against Gazan a bit easier, because he hits like a truck and I hit like a stick.

Speaking of bonfires, resting at one does cause all the enemies in the area to respawn if you’ve killed them, and even those enemies shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in Winds of Viridia because enemies won’t take turns attacking you, and as I mentioned earlier, the camera just doesn’t help at all. I have no doubt the camera is already a common complaint, though, and that the developer will fix it before launch.

You also get a gourd—hello, Black Myth: Wukong—that you can put fruit in and then drink to regain your health. Of course, it has limited uses and won’t be replenished until you rest at a fire or collect another fruit to put in it. You can also strike the fruit with your sword while exploring to regain health if your gourd is full and you need a little top off. Fortunately, dying in Winds of Viridia doesn’t cause you to lose your “souls,” though they didn’t matter much to me anyway, since I couldn’t use them.

So, all in all, Winds of Viridia isn’t as soulslike as it gets, but it is surprising how demanding it actually is when it presents itself as something much lighter and more adventurous. I feel like I do need to say that this doesn’t make the game bad in the slightest, and I don’t want what I’ve said being read in a negative light. The point I’m trying to make is not that Winds of Viridia is worse for being this way, but simply that it’s surprising. Personally, I see that as a positive, as I appreciate it when games like this can surprise me.

Winds of Viridia Is Still Pleasant, Beautiful, and Captivating Beyond Its Combat

Check Out Winds of Viridia’s Demo on Steam

But challenging yet fulfilling combat is only part of what Winds of Viridia brings to the table, as its biggest selling point, by far, is its Studio Ghibli-esque visuals and overall captivating presentation. There’s something almost magical about the way this game looks, from its lush, colorful landscapes to its ancient ruins and the sheer scale of some of its environments. It’s easy to see why I initially compared it to Breath of the Wild, because it has that same inviting quality that makes you want to explore every inch of its world, if only to see what might be waiting around the next corner. And while I didn’t get to experience nearly enough of that exploration in the demo to know how it will ultimately compare to Zelda, I can already tell that I’m going to have a difficult time resisting the urge to wander off the beaten path once the full game launches.

Fortunately, it looks like Shark Jump is putting quite a bit of emphasis on exploration as well. According to the game’s Steam page, Winds of Viridia will feature a seamless world filled with mountain glades, hidden grottos, and ancient ruins, with movement mechanics that allow you to grapple, slide, and even use special plants to launch yourself into otherwise inaccessible areas. You’ll also be able to befriend a Mothbug companion that can assist you in both exploration and combat—which I did get to use in the demo, and it actually does help quite a bit—and there are apparently settlements and other adventurers to encounter along the way.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Winds of Viridia‘s music, which is another area where the game seems to be aiming pretty high. Its orchestral soundtrack comes from Kevin Penkin and Christopher Larkin, whose respective work on Made in Abyss and Hollow Knight should be enough to get anyone excited about what they’ll hear in the full game. Personally, I’ve always felt that a memorable soundtrack can make an already beautiful world that much more enjoyable to explore, and with how much emphasis Winds of Viridia seems to be putting on its atmosphere, I’m hoping the music ends up being just as much of a highlight as the visuals.

Ultimately, I came away from Winds of Viridia genuinely impressed, and perhaps even more excited about it than I was when I first saw its reveal trailer. I went into the demo expecting a charming little Zelda-like and instead found myself getting repeatedly beaten up by a giant ape in a game that looks like it belongs in a Studio Ghibli film. And honestly, I’m glad that’s what happened, because I would much rather a game surprise me with something unexpected than simply give me more of what I’ve already played countless times before. I still think the camera could use some work, and I’m curious to see how much of a difference the game’s progression systems make once they’re fully available, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it nonetheless.

Winds of Viridia is currently scheduled to launch for Nintendo Switch 2 and PC in early 2027, with a free demo already available on both platforms, and I would strongly encourage anyone who was intrigued by its reveal trailer to give it a try. Just don’t go into it expecting Zelda, because I can assure you that it has something else in mind.

Systems

Released

2027

Developer(s)

Shark Jump, Matt Trobbiani

Publisher(s)

Shark Jump

Number of Players

Single-player

Steam Deck Compatibility

Unknown

• 
  

•