Windswept Review

Duck Turtle Country

Written by Dallas Cardenas

Posted on: November 10th, 2025

Developed by WeatherFell

Published by Top Hat Studios, Inc.

Released on November 11th 2025

Review on PC (also on PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch)

Reminiscent of classic platformers from the 90’s, Windswept harkens back to the days of Nintendo’s greatest. It’s hard to not feel the care and love put into this, while almost giving off a nostalgic feel for the games it’s inspired by. If you’ve ever wanted something akin to a spiritual successor of the Donkey Kong Country series, than look no further.

“Oh why’d you have to jump too, now I’m gonna DIE”

The premise is simple here, you play as BOTH Checkers and Marbles, a turtle and duck respectively, trying to make it back home. That’s it. Plain and simple, because here it’s all about the gameplay!

Slick, precise controls (though it does take some getting use to and acts almost like a learning curve). Characters with unique move sets, and interactions with your partner depending on who you’re play as at the time. And mind you, you can swap between characters whenever and as much as you please, as long as they’re currently alive. This allows for varying playstyles, but also changes the playstyle if your main goes down. You can of course revive them with “bubble” checkpoints strewn across the levels. While I wasn’t personally able to check it out, it should also be noted that there is a coop mode available locally or via remote play.

So. Many. Hazards.

Speaking of the levels, there’s around 40, all with different routes and a plethora of collectables. These collectables will take you awhile to get, because a good chunk of them require some thinking and skill. This also extends to the levels in general, because Windswept is a tough game, tough but fair. I actually felt challenged, even in the early game, and took me multiple tries to get through them. It was also a reminder to my time playing DKC on my GameBoy as a child, and replaying levels over and over with the thrill that came with clearing it.

Though I would’ve preferred not to go down after just one hit. I feel as though a heart system might’ve made the frustrating parts a bit easier to swallow. And while I love the immense satisfaction that comes with clearing a level with all collectables and secrets found, it’s almost better to do these on a second run so that it doesn’t break the pacing of the level. I know this is easier to say than do, but spending a bunch of time on a collectable on your first run through usually ends up feeling like a waste of time.

Lamp shade. Get it?

Because it’s a moth.

Graphically, Windswept is filled with simple yet gorgeous pixel art, and while I did play on a powerful PC, I also played a majority of it locally offline on a handheld device that also ran it perfectly. So while I’m unable to test every platform, I have high hopes that it is in fact well optimized. Soundtrack is also superb and matches the aesthetic nearly one-to-one. Very enjoyable tunes.

This may possibly be my shortest review but with a big seal of approval, even with its flaws. Because there’s not much to say when a game is so reliant on easy to pickup but hard to master gameplay. Windswept gameplay is pure fun and a time machine to simpler times. If you have any ink of nostalgia for platformers from decades ago, or you want to play something modern that pays homage to its retro influences than this is for you. Windswept is an easy recommendation and another indie you should be aware of in 2025.