- Publisher: Ghost Pattern
- Release Date: Sep 15, 2022
- Also On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Sep 15, 2022One of the first characters you meet, Ida, says that Casey’s experience in the hospital is much like the life of an older person; piecing things together as best you can. As you wander the halls of Wayward Strand’s hospital, you too piece together little fragments of entire lives lived into a rich, heartfelt story that will leave you re-entering reality with a renewed sense of curiosity.
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Sep 15, 2022With its eccentric elderly cast, intricate themes, unique agency mechanics and narrative structure, Wayward Strand is a compelling experience that reels you in and leaves you wanting to call your grandma.
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Oct 1, 2022Wayward Strand isn’t a perfect game, but it is darn near close. It doesn’t overwhelm players or force their hand but allows plenty of freedom within the confines of the closed-in space of the airship. I will absolutely be replaying Wayward Strand several times to explore the rest of the story options, and I cannot recommend it enough.
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Oct 27, 2022Despite a few shortcomings, this game is fantastic. With several mysteries to uncover, it lends itself to multiple playthroughs. The artwork is beautiful, the characters are engaging, and the drip-feed of lore about this familiar, yet distinctly different world keeps my wanting to try another playthrough.
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Sep 23, 2022Wayward Strand is a delicate piece of work, as its title might imply. Despite the flight of fancy proposed by the very idea of an airship hospital, it's a remarkably unassuming game–not literally down-to-earth, but certainly grounded in its portrayal of lives nearing their end and one just beginning, and the common hopes, dreams and fears that connect all those lives together.
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Edge MagazineOct 6, 2022Accept those technical shortcomings and it's hard not to marvel at the way this feels like a complete, self-contained world. [Issue#377, p.122]
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Sep 15, 2022Wayward Strand is an interesting game that explores humanity in a way that few games have, while its time limit to each day means choosing who to spend time with has an added importance. Technical issues hold the game back, alongside a lack of dialogue depth as the weekend rolls on. However, overall this is still an engaging game for players who want a more cerebral title.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Sep 22, 2022Wayward Strand knows not to outstay its welcome, and I came away feeling completely refreshed. Spending a couple of hours navigating the hallways, patient rooms, and airship innards in real-time is a fun mechanism and one that goes hand in hand with the game's wider themes about the passage of time, being young, and growing old. Assembling a story through details found in conversations and overheard snippets of dialogue are great storytelling devices, and although you could play it once and be satisfied, I recommend several playthroughs to really discover everything it has to offer. After my handful of playthroughs, it honestly felt like I had pieced together a larger whole, and I truly felt like I finally understood the beating heart at the centre of this clockwork machine.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 6
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Mixed: 3 out of 6
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Negative: 1 out of 6
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Mar 4, 2023It is a short and slow paced game. You can talk to various people and learn about their stories, but the game stops there.
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Oct 23, 2022
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Sep 25, 2022