Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles Reviews
An open world adventure that does away with combat, Yonder's beauty is ultimately undone by its mundanity.
It has admirable intentions, but this misguided role-player proves a quiet life is rarely an entertaining one when it comes to video games.
A meditative game about exploring and gathering that offers great beauty but not much else.
In the end, Yonder isn't inventive, exactly, as the multitude of ideas and cross-media inspirations converge somehow into something infinitely familiar. Missions are cut down to absolute basics to fulfill an open world quota, but it's possible to forgive this when traipsing through this aesthetically pleasing land and helping these delighted folk. And as importantly, there's bravery in eliminating things like combat and leveling, allowing Yonder a rare, distinctive brevity.
Sometimes, you really do just need a laid-back game that drops any semblance of agency or emergency and instead allows you to simply explore everything that it has to offer at your own leisure — something that you can easily unwind with, or a title that's just relaxing and inviting. Yonder fulfills this purpose wonderfully, and I can see myself revisiting it time and time again just so I can get lost in its world once more.
Yonder lacks combats, but that it's not a problem when you have a world as beatifully crafted as this is. Match it with addictive (although simple) crafting mechanics, and you have a unique adventure, where joy is found behind every new landscape.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Prideful Sloth has created a well balanced game with a great artistic style and an amazing OST. Great game for the players that enjoy exploration and adventure.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is that it is a beautiful canvas that needs more detail to make it a masterpiece. Gemea is an enchanting location and the majority of systems in the game function well, but the magic hook is missing. The story isn't engrossing and the quests just blend into each other for the most part, as do the characters that give them. Gemea is magical, the content not so much.
A perfect approach to introduce kids in RPGs and a good choice for those who wish to enjoy a friendly and peaceful game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
One cannot comprehend who Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is meant to serve.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a lovely, sedate open world adventure game that inexplicably gates its crafting mechanic behind an obtuse, tiered system that renders it moot.
All told, Yonder is that kind of game that has value, but only a very specific kind of gamer will be able to find it. Yonder isn't a bad game by any means, but it's clear that it tries to do too much at once and doesn't stop to make sure that anything is that fun in practice. Mediocre gameplay mechanics aside, it's a relaxing game to play with your coffee in the morning, and the presentation value is a definite plus. We'd recommend this to anyone looking for a relatively shallow game that doesn't take a whole much of a time investment; for what it is, Yonder is a decent game, though it's hardly a must-play.
Yonder is obviously a fantastic game for adults to play with their children, and for slightly older children to be allowed to play unsupervised. Even for adults it's surprisingly beautiful, and a soothing breath of anxiety-calming non-violence. But the older you get, the less mileage you might receive from Gemea.
Overall, Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a charming and visually pleasing experience that will remind you immediately of 3D Legend of Zelda titles, mainly The Wind Waker, in how the towns, island, and citizens are portrayed. The questing and story progression is okay, but it may become boring and tedious for some looking for more of an action oriented affair. The side activities alone, as well as with the crafting and farm management are what many will have to enjoy to get the most out of Yonder. Otherwise, if you are looking for something deeper, this may be a rather boring expedition.
I've had such a splendid time just mellowing and wallowing in Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, not needing to care why it has such a terrible name, not being rushed along, or nagged to do anything. Sure, I now want to also play a game that rushes me along and nags me to do things, ideally with a sword to swing around, but what a wonderful piece of balance Yonder offers.
Much like the fauna that inhabits its world, Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a beautifully odd creature. The things it does well it does extremely well, which leaves me baffled at some of the obvious drawbacks that limit its scope and longevity. With that said, I am massively impressed by what such a small team was able to accomplish, and the attractive launch price certainly makes it all the more appealing. I hope Prideful Sloth can take their experience creating a varied and fascinating world and expand the purview of the crafting and farming to have more meaning in the future, but until that release I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing all that Gemea has to offer, even if my feet feel a little blistered from the journey.
There are enough small grievances I have with the game that hold it back from being truly great, but the tone and setting are so charming that it's hard to be too mad at it. If you want to do some peaceful meandering during your commute, the Switch version is easy to recommend.
Yonder is the type of game I wish we had a lot more of on Xbox.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles does its best to present you with a steady stream of breathtaking vistas, serene escapes and idyllic moments that snap to a picture frame with flawless ease. The core game has all of its slight flaws that came with the other versions, but I found that taking time to frame and save some of what I saw gave me a deeper appreciation of Yonder's many high points.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a very cute adventure that lacks a slightly deeper story, a variety of side quests and a simpler crafting system. The guilds idea is good, but confusing, and hiring employees is too expensive. Problems with the interface, as well as other flaws, spoil the initial exceptionally positive impression, but not so much as to drop the game before finishing.
Review in Russian | Read full review