This is turning into a bang-up year for new roguelikes from developers behind some of the genre's modern pillars. Slay the Spire 2 was announced, Hades 2 is out and already a delight even before its first major update, and now original Dead Cells developer Motion Twin has a new co-op action roguelike called Windblown launching in early access on Steam on October 24. I spent a few hours playing a demo of Windblown ahead of the release of a slightly different demo that will be on Steam from October 14 - 21, and yep, it's exactly what I'd want and expect from a co-op action roguelike from the makers of Dead Cells.
Playing in co-op wasn't doable for me during this preview, but Windblown feels great solo. So much so that my very first session had me up past midnight hankering to beat a boss that just wouldn't freakin' die. I try to jot down notes during previews like this, and the last line I wrote, high on the victory of finally beating that boss, is a pretty good summary of my thoughts so far: "This game fucks."
