At first I wasn’t really sure what to think about this game. A F2P RPG with no P2W sounds way too good in 2025, so I expected another forgettable game, but it honestly surprised me in a good way.

The F2P model is very clean. Everything you can buy is cosmetic and the battle pass is also purely cosmetic. There’s no P2W at all, which is still rare these days. The only thing some people might consider “P2W” are the mounts you can buy in the cash shop, since they gather resources for you, but honestly the impact is very small, so it feels more like a QoL feature than anything else.

The first thing you need to know is that this is not an MMO, even if it has an “MMO mode” with world bosses, dungeons, GvG and online activities. The core of the game is an open world RPG with lots of systems, minigames and small interactions everywhere. There’s also a co-op mode, but this one is only for exploring, doing side missions and other activities together. The main story is singleplayer.

The combat feels good, dynamic and fluid. You combine two weapons and play classic archetypes like tank, melee DPS, ranged DPS or even healer. There’s no upgrade system based on probabilities. You simply get the materials and level up your gear in a consistent way. You also have mystical abilities on top of your weapon skills, plus a talent tree, although it’s a simple one.

For PvP you get a 1v1 arena, a 50-player battleroyale-style mode, duels and GvG.

One interesting feature is the AI chat system, which lets you gain friendship with NPCs. It’s pretty basic, don’t expect deep conversations, but it’s well integrated and helps you unlock tasks and extra rewards. Some NPCs can give you items if you listen to what they say and help them, even though they don’t have markers or indicators. It adds a nice sense of discovery.

There are also a lot of activities: the jar game, dialectic duels, musical minigames, puzzles and many small things that make the world feel alive. You can play most of these with friends. On the first day I played a card game similar to “liar’s dice” with several friends. We had a good laugh and even leveled up a couple of times.

The game can run on both DirectX 11 and DirectX 12, but it’s clearly better on 12, with frame generation and more consistent visuals. So make sure to select the right option on Steam when you launch the game. (A small window appears when you click play, so it’s easy to find.)

It also has tutorials for almost everything. Each system, mechanic and feature is explained, so it’s hard to get lost even with the amount of things the game offers.

The biggest issue when you start is the number of menus and different currencies you get. Even though the menus unlock progressively, the first hours can be a bit confusing, but you get used to it after playing for a while. Some translations are also a bit rough and need to be polished, but it’s not a big deal.

In short, Where Winds Meet is a F2P RPG that really surprises. It offers a world full of activities, fun combat and an online mode that, while not a real MMO, adds variety without making things complicated. If you enjoy RPGs with tons of things to do and no pressure to spend money, give it a try. I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.