The game from Bloom & Gloom and Three Friends was inspired by Studio Ghibli, and lets players explore an island in the Adriatic Sea.

Drive, fly, and deliver packages with your sentient motorcycle-plane, Ermes. Make friends, take on rowdy air pirates, upgrade your engine, decorate your home, explore the islands of Santa Rosa, and solve the mystery of your uncle’s disappearance. It is time to build a new life for yourself, far from the mainland, among aviation-obsessed, freedom-loving islanders and sky pirates.

The game is easy to learn, but deep in skill expression: the developers spent a great deal of time tuning Ermes so it would feel both physical and arcade-like. Cargo has weight, and fuel matters. Roads, shortcuts, weather, wind, and bad landings are all part of your journeys.

Carry out deliveries across every corner of the islands: some cargo is fragile and must be handled carefully, while other loads are heavy, making it harder to climb up or down hills. Completing jobs earns resources that can be used to upgrade Ermes, allowing you to take on increasingly challenging deliveries and adventures. Between deliveries, you can customize yourself and Ermes, as well as furnish and equip your home and your crew’s base. Decorations must be delivered back to base: every little thing has to be earned. Depending on what you bring back and where you place it, you and your crew receive bonuses that help you progress further through the game.

Your uncle Umberto disappeared while investigating a mysterious cloud in the sky above Santa Rosa. By carrying out deliveries, getting to know your crew, and learning more about Santa Rosa and its inhabitants, you can take on the mission to find out what happened to him. The world of Santa Rosa is a nostalgic and idyllic version of an archipelago in the Adriatic Sea. Step into an old-fashioned postcard with an Italian mood: small villages, scenic routes, cafés overlooking the water, people waiting for packages, and a suspicious number of flying pirates all live side by side here.

“Into the Wind is about the joy of the journey. There’s a wonderful, tactile satisfaction to driving around on the bike, whether you’re on the ground or in the air. You get into a rhythm of making a delivery, grabbing an upgrade, and immediately heading back out to see how the new parts feel. This creates a deceptively addictive ‘one more delivery’ loop that makes it very hard to put the controller down” – wrote Albert Safstrom, Three Friends co-founder and producer, in the press release.

“It’s no secret that we are fans of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Porco Rosso struck me particularly deeply, and I wanted to make a game about flying with freedom-loving misfits in a romantic setting in the Adriatic Sea. Into the Wind is our love letter to all of that and more that has been meaningful to us: anime, games, movies, and summer evenings under the setting sun. It’s a game about momentum, flight, and great gameplay, but it’s also about immersing yourself in the small moments of this world and its stories. We can’t wait for you to take to the skies of Santa Rosa!” – added Robin Hjelte, Bloom & Gloom co-founder and game director.

Into the Wind will first launch for PC in Early Access at some point. There is no word on console versions.

Source: Gematsu