This old song and dance
2018 has had an unforgettable streak of incredible indie games. Starting with Celeste all the way back in January, it seems each month of this year has given us reason to skip over whatever the big, triple-A titles are in favor of smaller, more personally-crafted experiences. In September, a month that saw new Tomb Raider, Dragon Quest, and Spider-Man games, Wandersong rose from relative obscurity to become one of the most praised titles of the year. Its torch has not just been carried by the press, as is wont to happen sometimes, but by consumers as well.
Having been on the market for just over two weeks, I asked Wandersong creator Greg Lobanov how the game has been selling. While he couldn’t give me exact sales numbers, he did tell me the title, quote, “exceeded our expectations, and definitely is enough to support our tiny team.” According to Lobanov, the game has sold nearly three times as many copies on Switch than on Steam.
While he’s proud and excited of how well the game’s been selling, Lobanov said that more important to him and his team is how the game has affected those who’ve taken the bard on his journey to save the world. He said he’s received hundreds of tweets, messages, and DMs from fans expressing their love for the title, including some who said the game got them through tough times or gave them a reason to live. While I hope that latter statement is hyperbole on the part of the writer, I will say from my experience that playing through Wandersong is like a digital dose of daily affirmation, the type of unabashed positivity and optimism we could use more of these days.
