Comedian and HBO host John Oliver as soon as mentioned “wrestling is better than the things you like.” The identical cannot all the time be mentioned of wrestling video games, however WrestleQuest, a brand new role-playing sport (RPG) from Mega Cat Studios, had the potential to offer reality to that assertion. Unfortunately, although, WrestleQuest is marred by a litany of points. Some are straight tied to its gameplay mechanics, whereas others are associated to its presentation. Together they imply that what may’ve been a promising providing for followers of wrestling has its attraction put on off in a brief span of time.Your journey in WrestleQuest begins with podcast hosts regaling you of an thrilling story, one the place athletes come from humble beginnings, taking up all challenges earlier than reaching the large leagues. You’re launched to one of many principal characters, the Muchacho Man Randy Santos, an apparent nod to Macho Man Randy Savage. With large targets and massive desires, Randy is joined by mates who’re additionally in search of to show themselves within the squared circle. Soon thereafter, you meet Brink Logan and his siblings from the chilly north. Without the pink and black motif, you won’t discover that Brink is a reference to Bret “The Hitman” Hart, till he begins speaking about being the “excellence of execution,” together with strikes alluding to the Sharpshooter and a getup akin to a mob hitman.Things get chaotic from there, as you battle alongside a humanoid stag, probably alluding to all of the moose in Canada; a toy field mechanic who all the time wears a cap and has the “five moves of doom” hinted at; a soldier who’s extra akin to a G.I. Joe character, a fish who’s additionally a high-flyer, dubbed because the “Loachador” for apparent causes, and extra. There’s even a black character, The Brooter, who does an enormous boot, and a capability associated to consuming vitamins–which was a bit too on-the-nose given Hulk Hogan’s previous racist tirade.All in all, WrestleQuest’s characters current a wacky world the place athletes are joined by animal counterparts, motion figures, and Transformers-esque robots. This is additional exemplified by the sport’s use of vivid and colourful visuals, with retro vibes harkening again to the times of traditional RPGs. The presentation evokes SNES titles comparable to Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, with lone characters transferring throughout the map earlier than getting into dungeons and cities. Battles, in the meantime, are turn-based affairs the place you duke it out with an opposing group. These enemies vary from different toys and animal creatures to weird contraptions.In-game, wrestling legends aren’t simply celebrated or idolized, they’re worshipped–complete with giant statues telling you of their deeds. You’ll meet personages such because the aforementioned Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, the Road Warriors, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Sgt. Slaughter, and extra. Some would be a part of as managers, whereas others may change into summons.I discovered these sides fairly endearing, not simply as somebody who’s been desperate to strive extra classic-themed wrestling titles, but in addition one who’s been on the lookout for a sport that showcases what wrestling is: an over-the-top spectacle the place each cartoony and severe ideas co-exist.Unfortunately, the attraction and humor quickly put on off as WrestleQuest’s quick-time event-driven fight system reveals an absence of depth and selection. I personally don’t have any points with QTEs in video games; if performed accurately, they make for partaking and thrilling moments, the place you are not simply watching a scene, however actively taking part in a single. WrestleQuest, nonetheless, forgoes moderation. Instead, it depends closely on QTEs, nearly to an egregious and exorbitant degree. Every character’s fundamental assault requires one or two completely timed button presses. Miss, and your character may both get countered, or their assault will deal much less injury. The identical could be mentioned for a lot of abilities, which additionally want buttons to be pressed when prompted. Ditto for defending towards sure talents, simply so you possibly can mitigate a few of the hits.This additional extends to the pin system, which requires you to time your button press simply because the arrow hits the inexperienced marker. For veterans of previous WWE 2K titles, you will bear in mind this as one of the crucial hated mechanics throughout a match. In this sport, nonetheless, a poorly timed click on additionally causes a downed wrestler opponent to get healed partially and get again on their toes. Naturally, you’d get attacked quickly thereafter, inflicting a tiresome backwards and forwards. You’re extra more likely to allow the auto-pin setting due to this.There’s additionally another choice that means that you can deal most injury, although this makes the sport too simple to a fault. Another not too long ago added possibility slows down QTEs, although that doesn’t change the truth that many fight actions nonetheless require them. Since QTEs are a core gameplay mechanic, it’s as if your solely possibility is to proceed taking part in even when it turns into tedious, or to take away the problem totally, with nothing in between.Combat additionally contains the hype system, the place sure actions increase or decrease hype, offering boosts to your three-person occasion relying on the thresholds that you simply attain. There are additionally managers that add passive boons, in addition to tag workforce and triple workforce maneuvers. Sadly, all of those take a backseat to questionable mechanics that, relatively than making a deep and dynamic system, turns into an overused and repetitive gimmick as an alternative. Turn-based fight is usually extra partaking when it entails deep, tactical choices, versus relying on quite a few timed button presses for a number of actions.Another considered one of WrestleQuest’s flaws is its pacing: it jumps from one workforce to the subsequent, nearly with out rhyme or cause. You can guess that the presentation may be akin to a film or a present: we see the heroes come from totally different backgrounds; we see how all have separate adventures; and, lastly, the entire gang is united. The idea works on paper, however is deeply flawed when you play for a number of hours.There had been situations when sure concepts had been launched, comparable to fixing vehicles, just for that mechanic to be of no use when it abruptly switches to a celebration that’s in one other space. There had been moments once I was in the course of a quest and I’d attain an goal, however then the sport jumps to a different character’s perspective, and that particular person is tackling a distinct quest. Likewise, there have been elements the place a brand new teammate joins the crew, solely to right away return to the earlier squad’s part, with out a lot as with the ability to see that teammate’s capabilities.Ordinarily, an RPG offers gamers a quest goal, which they end earlier than transferring to the subsequent one. Along the best way the participant encounters totally different characters, a boss, a brand new biome, or is taken on a story arc that has time to breathe so gamers can immerse themselves.WrestleQuest upends this format for one thing way more chaotic and incohesive, as if it is merely attempting to tick the bins for numerous concepts, tropes, and environments with no rhyme or cause. At one level, you are exploring a sci-fi-themed location, however then one other squad is within the desert, which then shifts to a 3rd group in a graveyard, just for that group’s quest to stay incomplete because you’d return to your squad within the sci-fi space. Lather, rinse, and repeat for over a dozen hours. This type of contrasting shifts may very well be utilized to fascinating impact if there was some narrative conceit or another gameplay or aesthetic thought inflicting it–Chrono Trigger, for instance, takes gamers by vastly totally different environments rapidly, nevertheless it’s all pushed by a time-traveling and reality-hopping story. WrestleQuest does not have something like that, it simply feels random.Gallery For the sake of transparency, there have been technical points that I skilled through the course of our WrestleQuest overview. There’s a risk that you simply will not encounter these at launch, however they’re price noting, nonetheless. The greatest was a bug in a location the place my workforce needed to cut up as much as work together with three gates. Getting found by a highlight induced a personality to get teleported to the center path, with no approach of returning to the opposite areas. Since the sport solely autosaves the newest save state, that meant loading a handbook save as an alternative. And, as you’ll have guessed, my final handbook save was a number of hours prior, which meant I needed to redo total sections.WrestleQuest has the suitable instruments to make for a memorable wrestling RPG expertise, with its quirky characters, vibrant environment, and numerous references. Unfortunately, although, its over-reliance on a rote fight system, poorly paced narrative, and points beneath the hood make for a irritating expertise. Far from being Mr. Perfect, it’s, as an alternative, the Genesis of McGillicutty.
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