There are certain words that exist in other languages that cannot be translated directly to English. Words like schadenfreude (the enjoyment of others suffering) or komorebi (the visual of the sun shining through the tree leaves). In English, we have a few, but the most popular and well known is the term wanderlust, a strong desire to travel. Many people experience wanderlust, and while some can go through with being able to travel abroad, or hike, or whatever your wanderlust is; there are other people who can’t. So former CD Projekt RED developers put it on themselves to create a project that fills the wanderlust for those who can’t get out to explore, and even for those who can. And that project is Wanderlust Travel Stories.
Previous Witcher developers, Artur Ganszyniec and Jacek Brzeziński, have started together a new company known as Different Tales. And Wanderlust Travel Stories is their next title coming out. It’s a narrative based story-driven adventure where the player will live through the stories and anecdotes of each character. Players will read the characters journals and experiences, and choose certain options for them that can affect the outcome of their trip focusing on their “stress” and “fatigue”. For each journey, there is a new protagonist. And each protagonist goes through their own arch as they travel, allowing them to become a “richer” person internally. So don’t worry, it doesn’t look like there’s any bad endings.
The game uses a lot of photography for it’s backdrops, as well as a globe map to show the paths that the characters can take. Each path will lead to a slightly different entry from the main character of that journey. And there does seem to be a little bit of strategy on how to go about your journey. But the developers say that they want this game to be a relaxing game, despite how much stress globetrotting can actually be. The developers have also stated that they want players to enjoy the game if they want to travel, or already are travelling.
Wanderlust Travel Stories will be released on August 28 on PC. Back your bags, and get ready for an adventure.