The place Winds Meet is an formidable free to play open-world ARPG that seeks not simply to emulate however to embody the very soul of Wuxia.
Wuxia is a charming style usually present in fiction and cinema, that includes warriors from historical China performing superhuman martial arts feats, assume Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Home of Flying Daggers. The world of Wuxia is usually mistakenly conflated with Kung Fu. However the place conventional Kung Fu emphasizes the life like, disciplined mastery of martial arts, Wuxia is a seamless mix of martial prowess, jap philosophical depth, and aesthetic magnificence. On this world, warriors glide throughout rooftops, interior power defies gravity, and even on a regular basis objects can turn out to be devices of profound magnificence and lethal precision.
Central to this mission is its fight system, the place weaponry is way over a instrument for violence – it’s a demonstration of character, philosophy, and artwork. Weapons in The place Winds Meet are deeply built-in into the core gameplay of its Wuxia open world. Gamers can equip two weapons concurrently and simply swap between them throughout fight. Weapons are an important element that determines the participant’s preventing fashion; gamers can study totally different weapons primarily based on their pursuits and flexibly exchange or match them. The mixture of weapons with varied Martial Arts and Inner Arts varieties the core component of character construct within the sport.
The place Winds Meet contains a large arsenal of weapons: Spear, Sword, Twin Blades, Rope Dart, the enigmatic Mo blade, and extra, every meticulously crafted with distinct weight, pace, and really feel. But amongst these, one stands out as an embodiment of Wuxia’s spirit – a weapon that needs to be impractical, but on this world turns into poetry in deadly movement – the umbrella.
The Umbrella: the place poetry meets fight
In actuality, an umbrella is merely a shelter within the rain, however within the Wuxia world of The place Winds Meet, it turns into a vessel for love and lethality. It’s tender but sharp, defensive but aggressive. It’s mild as a feather however can strike like a storm. When it opens, it might defend you. When it closes, it turns into a blade. We drew inspiration from classics – just like the umbrella vs. pole blade struggle in Zhang Yimou’s film, “Shadow”- however we additionally wished so as to add our personal taste.
A key precedence for us was making certain that even probably the most fantastical actions really feel plausible and impactful. To attain this, we partnered with Motion Director Wei Tung, a multi-award winner (Hong Kong Movie Awards, Golden Horse Awards) whose legendary filmography contains Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, Kung Fu Killer, As Tears Go By, and Swordsman II.
Behind the scenes movement seize
Relatively than relying solely on digital animation, Mr. Tung insisted on actual martial artists performing each transfer. All actions, together with solo strategies, have been captured with not less than two stunt actors interacting – this preserved the sense of affect, response, and spatial consciousness.
We employed full-body simultaneous movement seize, requiring performers to execute each motion with good coordination. The result’s a fight system that feels visceral, intentional, and cinematically expressive, whether or not you’re wielding a sword, a spear, or an umbrella.
Ranged Assault – delicate type, overwhelming power
The Floating State – a dance above the battlefield
Heavy Blow- returning strike with weight and affect
Solo Fight – a conveyable stronghold
Partnered Fight – the umbrella as a preventing companion
A dwelling world: the seasonal journey forward
We imagine {that a} Wuxia world ought to regularly develop and unfold. That’s why The place Winds Meet shall be structured round a seasonal replace mannequin, with every season lasting roughly three months and introducing new map areas, gameplay and narrative to discover.
Our launching season will embrace two expansive areas – Qinghe and Kaifeng – every with its personal story arc, permitting gamers to delve deeper into the sport’s storyline and unravel their character’s previous.
The seasonal updates will differ in focus. Some could advance the primary plot via new areas and characters, others could introduce new gameplay and time-limited in-game actions, or improve social options and character development. Most significantly, we are going to repeatedly optimize and regulate the gaming expertise primarily based on suggestions from the participant neighborhood. It’s our means of constructing this world with our gamers, not only for them.
A shared wuxia dream for all
For us, The place Winds Meet is greater than a sport – it’s an invite to expertise Wuxia as we’ve all the time imagined it. We intention to take the romanticism, the philosophy, and the grounded-ness of Wuxia and weave them right into a dwelling, respiratory, and endlessly evolving world. We will’t wait so that you can enter this world with us!
The place Winds Meet shall be free to play and can launch globally on November 14, 2025. The sport is now obtainable to wishlist on PlayStation Retailer. An unique pre-order bundle for PS5 can be obtainable, together with an outfit pack, a PS5-exclusive namecard background and extra:
