This open world bicycling game from the developer of Nidhogg is so chill that ‘you don’t really have to do any of the challenges if you don’t want to’

For me, open world games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption 2 really only peak when I’ve fought my way through the missions and completed the main story and there’s not much left to do except… doing whatever the heck I want. Sometimes that’s making sure I’ve explored every single inch of the map, sometimes it’s completing a few activities to 100%, but often it’s just cruising around and taking in the sights.

It’s cool to hear the next game from Nidhogg developer Meshoff, open world biking game Wheel World, keeps that wandering, objectiveless spirit in mind for those who don’t really wanna do much of anything but ride around and get lost in the world.

“You can really just hang out in this game,’ said Mark Essen, cofounder and creative director of Meshoff, developer of Nidhogg, in the Annapurna Interactive Showcase today. “You don’t really have to do any of the challenges if you don’t want to. You can just cruise around and appreciate the scenery.”

That comes directly from Essen’s experience as a biker. “Sometimes I go out and I don’t necessarily know where I’m going to go on a bike ride, I’ll just go,” Essen said. “Wheel World is like that. It’s open world. You might start playing thinking you want to do a race and then maybe you just bike around. That’s OK.”

Which isn’t to say there isn’t a lot going on in Wheel World. When I played the demo last week, which is now available on Steam as part of Next Fest, I immediately met an immortal bike daemon named Skully who revealed a plot involving more proper nouns than a fantasy novel: the friendly wraith told me about the Chain of Life, Legendary Parts, Bell Shrines, the Sewer of Spirits, and the Great Shift. I won’t get into all that, but in a nutshell, an enchanted yet basic talking bicycle needs you to find and install sweet new bike components scattered around the world, for reasons.

I started riding Skully around and immediately found jumps to sail over, new wheels and other bike parts hidden in boxes scattered around the map, lots of oddball locals to chat with, and a bicycle gang who challenged me to a race. All of the wheels I found had different attributes for power, handling, and grip, and a couple gave me buffs for off-roading biking. More than that, they just looked cool, and with a customizable frame, fork, handlebars, saddle, and train, I was immediately enchanted by the idea of all the sweet mix-and-match possibilities of my new bike.

The demo ends once you cross the bridge to the main continent of Wheel World, leaving me eager to explore more of this beautiful and unusual open world filled with races, jumps, challenges… you know, if you want to do them. Wheel World launches sometime this summer.