Preview of the cool indie novelty Wild Woods. A roguelike about fluffy cats

In December, Wild Woods , a cutest roguelike where you play as a cat and protect your van from enemies, appeared in Steam Early Access . The release has almost 80% positive reviews, but players say that the new product is not yet worth its money. Is this true? Let's find out.

On the road

There is no complicated story in Wild Woods , and neither is there a simple one . We are a cat, we have only a van, which is driven by our horned friend Rosie, and the goal is to move as far as possible in a fairy-tale forest full of dangers. We move towards this goal according to the standard scheme for a roguelike - one after another, passing procedurally generated levels. You can do this both alone and with friends - up to four people can play Wild Woods at the same time.

Among the obstacles are fallen trees, piles of stones, collapsed bridges and, of course, enemies that periodically appear on the road. The brave cats have to fight with evil rabbits, mice, porcupines and ferocious badgers. They all try to damage our wonderful van, and if this is allowed, it will have to be urgently repaired.

Between battles, you need to collect and throw resources into the van - herbs and wood. The former are needed so that the cat can lick his wounds after a tough fight, and the latter is to light a flame in the van at night. Yes, in the game, day turns into night, and it is after sunset that you mainly have to repel waves of enemies. At the same time, you cannot leave the van: it emits heat and light, without which the furry warrior will quickly die a cold death.

Wild Woods has only two chapters so far. A chapter here is a series of levels ending with a boss fight. Basically, a roguelike. And like any representative of this genre, it does not give second chances. After death, the adventure begins anew.

But at first it is quite difficult to die in the game. It gradually introduces itself at a relaxed pace, giving enough time to get into the swing of things. As soon as the thought appears that everything is too easy, we come to a fork - one of the roads leads to increased difficulty and an ambush, and of course we go there.

About a dozen of such forks and we find ourselves at a massive gate, behind which a boss fight awaits. After mobs that did not pose much of a threat even in huge numbers, the first boss can make you sweat. Especially those who play alone - there is a feeling that the final battles in Wild Woods are tailored for multiplayer. But this is more of an easy challenge than a serious obstacle.

Moreover, you can thoroughly prepare for the boss fight - stock up on additional abilities, farm resources, remember patterns and come to it as charged as possible. This simply leaves no chance for the badger boss, although strong, but not the smartest.

Will there be more?

Then - well-deserved rewards, more levels, already in a different biome, more forks, another boss and... that's it. That's all the content. To be honest, this moment even somehow catches you by surprise. Just as the game opens up - an understanding appears which abilities are worth taking, how to group monsters and dodge their attacks, how to painlessly pass bosses - and everything ends. There is no meta-progress in the game. There is no point in playing it again either. Perhaps to open all the cat skins, but we, for example, got attached to ours - the red-haired one with white ears. So it turns out that Wild Woods exhausts itself in a couple of hours of gameplay.

At launch, the Wild Woods developers honestly warn that the game is still in development, there may be shortcomings and bugs, and what is available is a bare skeleton. But the game doesn't seem to have any purely technical problems right now. But the feeling that we were sold a pie with a lot of dough and little filling remains distinct.

The game will be updated in 2025. Among the changes already announced are a new chapter with a boss, new challenges that increase the difficulty level, and a common story that can be pieced together. In addition, the studio takes into account player feedback and plans to add what they will ask for most.

For now, however, everyone, including us, has one request: give us more. Not enough yet. Especially if you keep in mind that Wild Woods costs 699 rubles on Steam. It seems like a small amount of money, but for a game that has almost nothing to offer except for pleasant visuals and a cozy atmosphere, it’s still impressive. You won’t get by on the atmosphere and cats alone, no matter how cute they are.

For its developers (Octofox Games), WildWoods is a debut project. So I don't want to criticize it too much. But I also don't have much to praise - from the heart, sincerely - for now. I want them to improve it, I want the game to live properly. Because, as trite as it may sound, it warms the soul with its simplicity. A van, a forest and cats - what else do you need to have a good time?

Wild Woods is not a masterpiece, but it does not pretend to be. There is nothing innovative in it: just a cute roguelike that you can play with your other half or, for example, a child. Take a controller and sit together in front of the screen, as we all did before, in the era of SEGA and Dendy.

But it's only worth buying now if you're willing to trust the developers and pay in advance for what the game will become someday. After all, it's an indie project, and it really needs that kind of support, but whether to give it is everyone's choice.