Wyldheart brings tabletop DnD vibes but plays like a ‘co-op Elder Scrolls meets private server WoW,’ devs say

Wayfinder Studios, founded by gaming industry veterans from DICE, Embark, and other studios, is making its debut game called Wyldheart. Announced during today's PAX East, this indie title brings DnD to video games, allowing you and your friends to go out into all sorts of adventures, all at your own pace. Last week I had the chance to play Wyldheart together with some of the devs from Wayfinder Studios, including former Star Wars Battlefront creative director Dennis Brännvall, who guided me through the game's first dank dungeon and later across its massive overworld and into the first town. It was a very unique experience, albeit one that heavily reminded me of Valheim both in style and presentation, even if the premise is altogether different than that survival-crafting title. Wyldheart really lets you fine-tune your character. Image via Wayfinder Studios The game features an extensive character creator where you're allowed to pick out of a number of races and then stylize your character in fine details, allowing you to truly make a real person whose role you'll assume for the duration of the campaign. Speaking of which, you can play with up to four players and go through several campaign maps, each sporting hundreds of areas divided into hexes that you can explore and find interesting activities in. The journey through the world is also just as exciting as engaging with the individual areas themselves, as there's lots of crafting, cooking, resting, and loads of other activities to do. During a brief conversation with the development team, I was told the game is a "hybrid" of several genres but remains mostly a sandbox RPG with a huge world to be explored, seen, and experienced. "I would put it as a cooperative Elder Scrolls meets your own private server World of Warcraft," said Dennis Brännvall, Wayfinder Studio founder and the creative director behind Wyldheart. "It's an online RPG, [that can be] played solo or by up to four players simultaneously," he added. "The campaign that you're hosting can hold up to twenty character slots, which means you can technically invite more than four players into your campaign." Adventuring (and surviving said adventures) is at the core of Wyldheart. Image via Wayfinder Studios Even though there's loads of progression in the game, Wyldheart also has plenty of "catch-up mechanics," as the devs put it, allowing players to jump in and out of campaigns, much like they would do in sessions of DnD. "It's designed to appeal to PC co-op gamers who would love to play RPGs together but might struggle to find the time for the next 150-hour-long co-op RPG campaign... or maybe all signing up for an MMO, [as it's] also quite daunting to get up to speed on one of those," Brännvall explained. "We think that Wyldheart sits nicely in that space [we] jokingly refer to as 'RPG friendslop,'" he said. Wyldheart's hexagonal campaign maps really push you toward exploring on your own, but there are also structured narratives and quests that can help you choose a direction, since the game doesn't really hold your hand much either in the overworld or the areas themselves. A lot of what you do springs out of the world itself, as you'll encounter rumors or get hints towards greater stories that you yourself have to figure out. In that way, Wayfinder Studios compares its title to board games, and I really think there's something quite unique and interesting to be found here. Wyldheart will first launch into early access and plans to stay that way for less than a year, initially targeting a PC launch and then subsequently console releases as well. The post Wyldheart brings tabletop DnD vibes but plays like a ‘co-op Elder Scrolls meets private server WoW,’ devs say appeared first on Destructoid.

Mar 28, 2026 - 06:54

Wyldheart brings tabletop DnD vibes but plays like a ‘co-op Elder Scrolls meets private server WoW,’ devs say

Wayfinder Studios, founded by gaming industry veterans from DICE, Embark, and other studios, is making its debut game called Wyldheart. Announced during today's PAX East, this indie title brings DnD to video games, allowing you and your friends to go out into all sorts of adventures, all at your own pace.

Last week I had the chance to play Wyldheart together with some of the devs from Wayfinder Studios, including former Star Wars Battlefront creative director Dennis Brännvall, who guided me through the game's first dank dungeon and later across its massive overworld and into the first town. It was a very unique experience, albeit one that heavily reminded me of Valheim both in style and presentation, even if the premise is altogether different than that survival-crafting title.

Wyldheart really lets you fine-tune your character. Image via Wayfinder Studios The game features an extensive character creator where you're allowed to pick out of a number of races and then stylize your character in fine details, allowing you to truly make a real person whose role you'll assume for the duration of the campaign. Speaking of which, you can play with up to four players and go through several campaign maps, each sporting hundreds of areas divided into hexes that you can explore and find interesting activities in.

The journey through the world is also just as exciting as engaging with the individual areas themselves, as there's lots of crafting, cooking, resting, and loads of other activities to do.

During a brief conversation with the development team, I was told the game is a "hybrid" of several genres but remains mostly a sandbox RPG with a huge world to be explored, seen, and experienced.

"I would put it as a cooperative Elder Scrolls meets your own private server World of Warcraft," said Dennis Brännvall, Wayfinder Studio founder and the creative director behind Wyldheart. "It's an online RPG, [that can be] played solo or by up to four players simultaneously," he added. "The campaign that you're hosting can hold up to twenty character slots, which means you can technically invite more than four players into your campaign."

Adventuring (and surviving said adventures) is at the core of Wyldheart. Image via Wayfinder Studios Even though there's loads of progression in the game, Wyldheart also has plenty of "catch-up mechanics," as the devs put it, allowing players to jump in and out of campaigns, much like they would do in sessions of DnD.

"It's designed to appeal to PC co-op gamers who would love to play RPGs together but might struggle to find the time for the next 150-hour-long co-op RPG campaign... or maybe all signing up for an MMO, [as it's] also quite daunting to get up to speed on one of those," Brännvall explained.

"We think that Wyldheart sits nicely in that space [we] jokingly refer to as 'RPG friendslop,'" he said.

Wyldheart's hexagonal campaign maps really push you toward exploring on your own, but there are also structured narratives and quests that can help you choose a direction, since the game doesn't really hold your hand much either in the overworld or the areas themselves. A lot of what you do springs out of the world itself, as you'll encounter rumors or get hints towards greater stories that you yourself have to figure out.

In that way, Wayfinder Studios compares its title to board games, and I really think there's something quite unique and interesting to be found here.

Wyldheart will first launch into early access and plans to stay that way for less than a year, initially targeting a PC launch and then subsequently console releases as well.

The post Wyldheart brings tabletop DnD vibes but plays like a ‘co-op Elder Scrolls meets private server WoW,’ devs say appeared first on Destructoid.

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