The upcoming fantasy city builder The Wandering Village will release as an Early Access title later this month on September 14. The game takes place in a whimsical world where players will take control of a growing city built on the back of a giant turtle-like creature called Onbu.
The back of Onbu is one of the few safe places left in the world. A noxious weed has begun growing and spreading across the land, rendering the surface uninhabitable for the normal folk who live there. It’s only high above the ground on Onbu’s back that civilization can hope to continue.
Not only will players have to handle the difficulties of managing a city, but they’ll have to make choices that can change their relationship with the giant Onbu. Choices will have to be made where players strive to live in harmony with the gentle giant, or they can shamelessly parasitize the creature which is all but helpless to stop them.
Along the way, the titular wandering village will be set upon by raiders, and even literal parasites trying to gorge themselves on Onbu’s blood. Of course not everything that still walks the earth is out to get you, players will have the opportunity to scour the surface for supplies and lost technology. Players will also have to adapt to other biomes, this isn’t like a typical city builder where you select a location and specialize based on it; players will have to account for Onbu’s wanderings into far off biomes and bad weather.
The Wandering Village was first announced as a Kickstarter project back in 2020, potential buyers were lured in by its creative premise and the project reached over 250% of its initial goal by the time it was over. Since then, developer Stray Fawn Studios has kept backers up to date with constant progress updates which ultimately culminated in the game’s launch announcement. You can check out the launch trailer for The Wandering Village here.
The Wandering Village
In a world where mysterious plants are spreading all over the earth, emitting toxic spores as they grow, a small group of survivors seeks shelter on the back of a giant, wandering creature they call ‘Onbu’.
Become their leader, build their settlement and form a symbiotic relationship with the creature to survive together in this hostile, yet beautiful post-apocalyptic world that now surrounds you.
Other features include hand-drawn assets, a varied tech-tree for different builds and specializations. Players who neglect technology and war will find themselves overwhelmed. Even on the back of a serene beast like Onbu, the toxic spores and weeds waiting below will eventually try and take down the giant creature and the villagers living on its back.
While the game will enter Early Access on Steam this September, console players will have to wait a bit longer for it. The Wandering Village will enter Xbox Game Preview sometime next year.
