[PREVIEW] Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori – First Look

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Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori, an open-world adventure game from Aesir Interactive and Mindscape, is a refreshing and much-needed entry into a genre often criticized for its lack of depth and innovation. After a 45-minute hands-on preview, I am genuinely impressed with what the developers have created.

Your Horse Is Your Partner

In The Legend of Khiimori, the journey is just as important as the destination. As a Yam courier rider in 13th-century Mongolia, you must travel across a vast and diverse landscape to deliver packages and cargo. While “fetch quests” may sound simple, the game truly delivers on this core concept, drawing a clear parallel to the experience of a game like Death Stranding.

Navigating a dynamic, living world, you’ll find survival elements deeply intertwined with every aspect of the game. Carefully plan your routes by considering weather, terrain, and the health of both you and your horse. Since you aren’t bound by preset paths, a great shortcut through a muddy patch can quickly turn into a draining detour if you don’t have the right horse.

What truly sets the game apart are its horse mechanics. Your horse is not just a tool; it’s a dynamic and essential partner for your survival. You will need to train, care for, and build a bond with your horse by feeding, grooming, and recognizing its subtle cues about its happiness and health. A particularly impressive detail is how horses react to their environment, as soon as you dismount, your horse will wander off to graze in the nearest patch of grass.

Breathtaking and Authentic World

Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori also includes a deep horse breeding system, which allows you to raise foals with specialized traits and capabilities. These traits become essential for conquering the open world’s many challenges. You might need a horse with a better temperament for traversing steep cliffs, or one with greater endurance for crossing vast deserts.

Although the game isn’t a combat-heavy RPG, it still includes elements of action and adventure. Archery is a key mechanic, but it’s used more for mindful hunting, gathering resources, and solving puzzles than for combat. This design choice reinforces the game’s peaceful and contemplative tone, putting the emphasis on survival, exploration, and the bond between rider and horse.

Built on Unreal Engine 5, The Legend of Khiimori looks great, featuring a breathtaking and expansive open world that is both vast and detailed. The landscapes are stunning, ranging from steppes and deserts to treacherous, snow-covered mountains. The developers also collaborated with experts, ensuring lifelike behavior and animation for horses. Additionally, the horses move with a sense of weight and grace that other games often lack. The team honored the tough, iconic Mongolian pony by crafting a horse model that looks realistic and feels truly alive.

My limited playtime meant I couldn’t fully experience the story or character design. Without a connected narrative, the “fetch-quest” style of gameplay could quickly feel empty, which would be a shame since the setting holds so much potential. On a more positive note, the developers have collaborated with Mongolian advisors to ensure a respectful and authentic portrayal of the culture, lending a crucial layer of depth to the game’s world.