The Wandering Village from Stray Fawn Studio and WhisperGames brings us a colorful and cozy city-building experience on Nintendo Switch. Learn more about it in our The Wandering Village review!

 

The Wandering Village from Stray Fawn Studio and Whisper Games brings us a colorful and cozy city-building experience on Nintendo Switch. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which mysterious plants are spreading all over the planet. This, by itself, wouldn’t be a big issue. The problem is that these plants are emitting some very toxic spores as they grow, which is very, very bad. Yes, this is still a cozy game! The overall scenario has led a small group of survivors to find a way to survive on top of Onbu. Onbu is a huge wandering creature that is more than happy to work on a symbiotic relationship of sorts with humans. You help Onbu, and Onbu will serve as a new home for everyone.

Once the animated intro cutscene is over – an intro with some heavy Studio Ghibli vibes – you’ll be ready to help everyone who now calls Onbu their home… as they help you help them help you help them. This is, after all, a city-building experience! You’ll be taking on the role of the leader and must give it your all as you make the most of the limited space on offer. You must optimize every spot, or else you won’t have a proper production chain to take care of everyone’s needs. It’s not like you can make Onbu grow in size!

 

Stray Fawn Studio took The Wandering Village to Kickstarter back in 2020 – yes, that was indeed the year of you-know-what. The studio was seeking €30,000 in funding to work on the game’s development, aiming for a Steam release. Once the crowdfunding campaign was over, and thanks to the support of almost 6,500 backers, the studio ended up with more than €155,000 in pledges. The Wandering Village was released on Steam in 2022 by way of Early Access, and we’re now getting a chance to take it for a spin on Nintendo’s console alongside the 1.0 launch for The Wandering Village on all platforms.

You can enjoy your time with The Wandering Village by playing one of three options: Story Mode, Challenge Mode, and Sandbox Mode. Story Mode will have you going on an epic journey on top of Onbu as you aim to discover the source of the infestation. Challenge Mode dials up the difficulty with hostility modifiers that will test your skills in full. You’ll need to survive for 1,000 km to complete the challenge. As for Sandbox Mode, you’ll be able to play on your own terms as you mix and match as needed.

You’ll be using the left analog stick to move the camera around, as you use the right analog stick to zoom in and out as needed. Open up the radial menu by pressing the X button, from where you’ll be able to choose the tools needed for each task. The D-Pad is the one you’ll be using to open the topbar, the sidebar, and the research tree – more on this in a bit – as well as the building menu and Onbu interactions.

You’ll need to be ready to adapt your plans and your village as Onbu moves from one biome to another. Onbu is very, very tall, so entering a new climate zone will certainly make a difference in how you procure resources. The good news of entering a new area? You’ll have a chance to send out foraging missions in these new locations to hopefully find ancient artifacts or some rare resources. There are many things for you to discover, considering that there are remnants of the old world that have been lost to time – and, you know, because how dangerous it is to go looking for them.

There are many things for you to build to help the community. Add some dirt roads so that villagers can move slightly faster. Build some tents for the villagers to get a bit of protection from the poisonous air. Build a material storage to, well, store the resources that the villagers collect. A woodcutting camp is a good option since it will help produce wood from nearby trees. Wood is important since it will be needed for building pretty much anything you might need. Are you up for it?

As you collect additional resources, you’ll be able to put them to good use in the Research tree. This is where you can invest in some research to unlock additional elements for your run. You’ll need a kitchen to prepare food. A village doctor is going to be a must if you want to keep your villagers alive and well. You’ll also have to research plantations to be able to have more diverse plants to harvest. You must also take good care of Onbu, since if Onbu is not well, then no one living on top of Onbu will survive! Research the Onbu doctor to heal it when sick and get the Onbu kitchen so that you can feed it when needed. Oh, and you’ll also need to research an Onbu trebuchet to be able to feed it properly!

As a heads-up, you should definitely get a Scavenger Hut, since being able to send villagers on scavenging hunts is a must if you want to keep the research cycle going strong. You see, you’ll earn knowledge points from successful scavenging hunts in ruins, and ruins are not as plentiful as you’d think in this world! Ruins and shrines are an important element in The Wandering Village, and the sooner you research the Scavenger Hut, the sooner you’ll be able to send scavenging parties to try and make it through the ordeal of locating rare resources and earning knowledge points. You’ll have to research some other things before the Scavenger Hut is an option, but do keep it in your mind.

The Wandering Village brings us a colorful and cozy city-building experience on Nintendo Switch. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which mysterious plants are spreading all over the planet. This, by itself, wouldn’t be a big issue. The problem is that these plants are emitting some very toxic spores as they grow, which is very, very bad. Yes, this is still a cozy game! The overall scenario has led a small group of survivors to find a way to survive on top of Onbu. Onbu is a huge wandering creature that is more than happy to work on a symbiotic relationship of sorts with the humans. You help Onbu, and Onbu will serve as a new home for everyone. The Wandering Village is out on Nintendo Switch with a $29.99 price tag.

Disclaimer
This The Wandering Village review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Stray Fawn Studio.