WrestleQuest is a breath of recent air, full of all of the makings of an outstanding wrestling recreation in addition to all of the wacky hijinks of a fantasy-action RPG.
Developed by Mega Cat Studios, WrestleQuest is a turn-based RPG that includes motion figures residing in a toy box-esque fantasy world competing in slobber-knocking wrestling matches. The recreation follows rookie wrestler Randy “Muchacho Man” Santos as he dungeon crawls his means by way of seedy underground wrestling federations to turn out to be an awesome world champion like his idol and WWE Hall of Famer Macho Man Randy Savage. To get there, Muchacho Man should make a reputation for himself within the native wrestling scene by defeating champions within the hopes of being referred to as as much as the large leagues, the place he can tackle even more durable and extra well-known wrestlers.
After taking part in 4 hours of a hands-on preview of WrestleQuest, it’s clear the sport will not be solely an approachable and entertaining recreation for die-hard wrestling followers and newbies alike, but it surely additionally seamlessly meshes the larger-than-life personas of professional wrestling with the whimsy of a fantasy RPG.
WrestleQuest has in-depth wrestling gameplay mechanics which can be intuitive
WrestleQuest performs like “The Strongest” storyline in Square Enix’s Live A Live remake if it beefed up the pro-wrestling side of its preventing game-esque match. At the beginning, you select your taste of wrestler, whether or not that be an underdog, showman, or a powerhouse, which every have their professionals and cons. For instance, I wished my Muchacho Man to have a technical wrestler model like AEW’s Bryan Danielson. In actual life, technical wrestlers are sometimes nice at placing their opponents in submission holds and have distinctive ring consciousness, permitting them to suppose additional exterior the field than your common wrestler.
A technical wrestling model in WrestleQuest manifests itself by having your character dish out extra debuffs to opponents and doing bonus injury with gimmicks (with the caveat that your regular assaults deal much less injury). Bouts in WrestleQuest are turn-based one-on-one, tag group, and six-man matches, the place you’ll be able to strike, use particular strikes (gimmicks), taunt, and use gadgets in your celebration and your opponents in a quick-time-event style. Gimmicks embody your wrestler’s signature and ending strikes (which drain motion factors), in addition to pinfalls (which don’t drain AP). Pinfalls provoke a mini-game the place it’s essential to hit a shifting rectangle thrice in a brief time period.
WrestleQuest’s real-life wrestling tradition nods can have you in a chokehold
Much like with real-life wrestling, the tempo of a WrestleQuest match is dictated by how a lot hype you and your opponent are producing. If you miss too many prompts, the hype will sway from you to your opponent, giving them extra buffs. However, with the correct mixture of gimmick assaults, strikes, and well-timed taunts, you’ll be able to sway the digital crowd again into your nook of the squared circle and put your opponent down for a three-count. The recreation even options particular match circumstances the place you get bonus gadgets for taking out opponents in a selected order with sure strikes. You may customise the music and pyrotechnics to your character’s entrances earlier than a giant match.
On paper, all of those mechanics might sound as tedious because the WWE 2K collection’ wrestling simulator strategy. In WWE 2K, matches are riddled with minigames that pull you out of the merriment you’re making an attempt to have, however WrestleQuest’s wrassling-themed options by no means felt too overwhelming to parse, nor did they turn out to be monotonous. That stability is thanks partly to the way it packages in any other case dense wrestling terminology in an approachable action-RPG world.
WrestleQuest additionally recounts its storyline by way of a wrestling podcast and effortlessly bakes in wrestling terminology, making the spoils of your hard-fought matches really feel just like the chronicling of a once-in-a-generation expertise. Big-money matches kick off with promo segments the place you get to resolve the witty comebacks Muchacho Man will spit into his microphone, which isn’t solely as enjoyable to tug off as watching real-life wordsmith wrestlers in promos however may assist in matches. These real-world nods have been a delight every time. I particularly popped off at WrestleQuest’s requirement that I do a desk spot to unblock a path to treasure. I by no means thought that eradicating an impediment in an RPG was akin to how wrestlers try to interrupt a sturdy wrestling desk earlier than.
WrestleQuest will get the small print proper
Many wrestling recreations give drama exterior the ring quick shrift, if there’s any non-in-ring gameplay in any respect. To my shock, my enjoyment contained in the ropes of WrestleQuest’s many rings was matched by the galavanting I did by way of the sport’s walkable 2D cities and environments crammed with colourful characters. The wacky sidequests and characters felt integral to accentuating the tone of the sport’s bigger world moderately than tangential distractions from it. I lit up as I discovered I may chat with Gundam-looking characters, a depressed lizard man, and real-world wrestling superstars like Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Jeff Jarrett. And the random wrestling encounters in these areas have been completely hilarious. Seeing a hoop pop up out of nowhere for a match as if a Pokémon enviornment may simply seem on the sidewalk as canine walkers crossed paths on the road tickled me every time.
All in all, WrestleQuest’s consideration to element for wrestling terminology, its charming pixel artwork, and its deal with being a fun-to-play fantasy RPG make it really feel particular compared to different up to date wrestling video games.
WrestleQuest is slated to launch on August 8 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and the Netflix app.
