This game was provided to us for free from the Stray Fawn Studios. Thank you!
Ever wanted to start your own farm on the back of a gigantic beast? Well this very specific wish of yours is about to come true with The Wandering Village! In charge of your own colony, you must give orders and create your own sprawling city, all while on the back of a gigantic beast named Onbu. Harvest resources, research, and build to survive unique biomes that Onbu travels through while aiming to not only take care of yourself, but the beast you ride on by maintaining a bond of trust. This could include feeding it, directing where it should go, and even taking care of any parasites that attach to its back. With this unique mechanic adding a new layer, this game is something else and a LOT of fun to play.
Before I get into performance, let me start by saying this is an EARLY ACCESS game. On top of that, the developers also notified me that the game is NOT designed to work well on the Steam Deck yet, but it is something they will be working on before full release. Knowing both of these, the game actually runs quite well on the Steam Deck! Hitting 60 FPS 85% of the time is quite fantastic, and with Cloud Saves, it is a fantastic companion with a desktop computer, though there are a couple things to note.
First, there is no native controller support yet. So just trying to play the game on the regular layout will not work. Luckily, since we had pre-release access, we have uploaded our controller layout, titled "SDHQ Steam Deck V1", so you can use it when the game releases! We changed a couple things in our layout to make tools more accessible with a radial menu on the right trackpad, changing the game speed with the Dpad, and using the back buttons to toggle the HUD and check idle workers. You still will need a cursor, so you can use the right analog stick for general movements, with the right trigger acting as a left click, or the right trackpad, which is better for more precise movements.
The other issue would be the framerate drops when loading in your village, the game can slow down for a couple seconds to around 30 - 40 FPS, but then it will shoot right back up to 60. This didn't really affect the gameplay though as it returned to 60 relatively soon after.
The Wandering Village clearly wasn't designed with a Steam Deck in mind, but it plays well and, with the controller layout we made, feels like it fits pretty well. And with the developers acknowledging the Deck and mentioning they will be working on it, this game is a safe bet! The game releases tomorrow at $25, but will have a 10% launch discount at the beginning. Oh, and it appears to also have a native Linux build, just saying!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back!
For an early access game with no inclusion of Deck support, The Wandering Village runs fantastic so far!
This game was provided to us for free from the Stray Fawn Studios. Thank you!
Ever wanted to start your own farm on the back of a gigantic beast? Well this very specific wish of yours is about to come true with The Wandering Village! In charge of your own colony, you must give orders and create your own sprawling city, all while on the back of a gigantic beast named Onbu. Harvest resources, research, and build to survive unique biomes that Onbu travels through while aiming to not only take care of yourself, but the beast you ride on by maintaining a bond of trust. This could include feeding it, directing where it should go, and even taking care of any parasites that attach to its back. With this unique mechanic adding a new layer, this game is something else and a LOT of fun to play.
Before I get into performance, let me start by saying this is an EARLY ACCESS game. On top of that, the developers also notified me that the game is NOT designed to work well on the Steam Deck yet, but it is something they will be working on before full release. Knowing both of these, the game actually runs quite well on the Steam Deck! Hitting 60 FPS 85% of the time is quite fantastic, and with Cloud Saves, it is a fantastic companion with a desktop computer, though there are a couple things to note.
First, there is no native controller support yet. So just trying to play the game on the regular layout will not work. Luckily, since we had pre-release access, we have uploaded our controller layout, titled "SDHQ Steam Deck V1", so you can use it when the game releases! We changed a couple things in our layout to make tools more accessible with a radial menu on the right trackpad, changing the game speed with the Dpad, and using the back buttons to toggle the HUD and check idle workers. You still will need a cursor, so you can use the right analog stick for general movements, with the right trigger acting as a left click, or the right trackpad, which is better for more precise movements.
The other issue would be the framerate drops when loading in your village, the game can slow down for a couple seconds to around 30 - 40 FPS, but then it will shoot right back up to 60. This didn't really affect the gameplay though as it returned to 60 relatively soon after.
The Wandering Village clearly wasn't designed with a Steam Deck in mind, but it plays well and, with the controller layout we made, feels like it fits pretty well. And with the developers acknowledging the Deck and mentioning they will be working on it, this game is a safe bet! The game releases tomorrow at $25, but will have a 10% launch discount at the beginning. Oh, and it appears to also have a native Linux build, just saying!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back!
For an early access game with no inclusion of Deck support, The Wandering Village runs fantastic so far!
