All Aboard for Everwind

It’s time to unfetter your imagination, and let it soar skyward, as you pilot a floating island through the airborne remains of a mysterious world. Everwind approaches, and developer Enjoy Studio and publisher Bohemia Interactive have put the call out to recruit adventurous aeronauts for the Early Access test flights that depart from March 17th. Check in here for a mission briefing with Intel Gaming Access before taking to the skies.

We’ve been tracking Everwind’s development for some time, and we’re not the only ones with eyes on this. One of the most played demos at Steam’s Next Fest has garnered a tidy amount of fans already, drawn to its ingenious mix of exploration, building, and survival. In the intriguing backstory, a civilization has fallen and split into thousands of floating islands. You start at sea level with your own choice of island that you design, equip, and pilot through three altitude zones. And there are three main development paths for your character too. Warrior, a master of close combat; Engineer, a genius of crafting and building; and Arcanist, a wizard of magic and alchemy. Where you take these gifts is up to you. 

Exploration is everything in this novel take on the RPG and sandbox survival genres. As you’d expect from a game that fans have called a mix of Minecraft and Skyrim, your fully destructible environment is full of opportunity, and challenges. Lush forests contain abundant resources, but also unpredictable dangers, with predators like bears and wild boars on the loose. But also, capybaras! That you can tame! And be friends with! (Yes, we’re very excited about this inclusion.) Whether it’s a jungle, toxic wasteland, or ancient desert, every island and every ruin tells a piece of the world’s story. And as you explore the higher altitudes, the challenges get tougher and the mystery deepens.  

Everwind truly takes steampunk to a new level; your chunk of flying real estate is fully customizable with a solid-fuel-burning steam system that powers generators, engines, and balloons. You manage the resources onboard to keep the energy flowing, and each addition to your airship carries real weight, so you need to adjust for your haul. You can build to your heart’s content—it’s not a distraction from the action, but plays a crucial role in gameplay—and, with the resources you gather from different biomes, construct equipment, machines, and weapons: everything you need to survive and explore. Wait ‘til you see the crafting tables.

Survival is key, of course. Almost every object and block can be destroyed, but you need to create to keep going and, in true RPG-style, you fight and defeat enemies to level up. All those environments you explore may not exactly welcome your pillaging presence, so prepare to meet bosses and legendary enemies in dungeons, or in open fields, and to fight in all terrains, using all of your resources and talents, including magic and alchemy. You can also trade to create new recipes, furniture, or blocks. Plants can provide food, or magic potions to aid in combat—which a lot of effort has gone into making intense and satisfying, with opponents as varied as the islands themselves.

A mystery underpins Everwind, but it’s no mystery why Intel would want to partner on this incredible journey. Bohemia Interactive are as exacting in their choice of collaborators as they are in every aspect of their work, but knew they’d met their ideal match: “When we initially thought about partnering up with a hardware and technology provider, we didn’t want it to just be a logo on a screen. We wanted it to directly improve how you play, every single day.”  And how to make things better for players is exactly what preoccupies us at Intel, too.

With three altitude zones in play, you don’t want to be brought down to earth by a less-than-ideal set up. The partnership between Bohemia Interactive and Intel means better FPS on slower machines, a smoother experience at higher resolutions, and better visual clarity—thanks to Intel Xe Super Sampling technology. Bohemia says: “A world like this only truly works if it feels smooth, responsive, and beautiful. That means whether you’re on a high-end rig or a more modest setup. This is where our partnership with Intel comes in.” And Early Access is where you come in. “With all-important mechanics and features in place for the Early Access release, we will use the player’s feedback to guide the game in the best possible direction. Everwind is something we want to make not for the players, but with the players.”  

Your island-ship awaits, gamers. Train your eyes on the skies, plot your course, and get ready for lift-off.

Unlock Everwind on Vapor.