During day three of PAX East 2024, I had the chance to sit down with Polish studio The Knights of Unity to learn about their newest single-player game W.A.N.D. Project. The game has been in development for only six months, but has a planned Steam release for late summer 2024.
Story Synopsis
Space demons have ravaged their way across the galaxy, consuming the “Essence” of each planet and species they conquer–and now, they’ve invaded earth! Fortunately, humanity has… anime girls? Yes, you read that right! W.A.N.D. Project features four unique anime girls, each with their own backstories and abilities.
Players will unlock more of their stories as they progress through the game. In addition to these four small-scale stories for the anime girls, there is also an overarching story for the game as well.
Gameplay
The Knights of Unity developer Sir Mat described the gameplay as a mix between Vampire Survivors and Brotato. Accessibility options abound as players can manually attack or rely on auto-attack.
Each anime girl possesses unique spells and attack patterns; additionally, players can strategy customization to equip their character with attacks that match personal preference and play style. Killing enemies gives players “Essence,” which can be used to purchase upgrades that can be strategically arranged on the “Spell Board.” The Spell Board has added layers of complexity using directional pairing of upgrades that can stack perks.
Final Thoughts
W.A.N.D. Project was pretty fun as a demo, and I learned a lot from Sir Mat about the what makes the game different from other Vampire Survivor-like games. However these elements, (deep storytelling and strategic upgrades) don’t necessarily mesh well with short demos at conventions. I did however see enough of the game to say that those who enjoy this genre will find W.A.N.D. Project worth playing.
You can Wishlist Be My Horde on Steam here.
Tell us what you think! Will you be playing W.A.N.D. Project? Share your reactions in the comments below. You can also join in the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord, Twitter, and Facebook.
Source: The Knights of Unity
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