Ever since Mega Cat Studios unveiled their next big project, WrestleQuest, during an ID@Xbox showcase, my interest has been piqued. Having played tons of sporty titles over the years like the WWE 2K series, WCW Mayhem and TNA Impact, the switch to an RPG concept is a fascinating approach.
Fortunately for me, I’ve had the privilege of going hands-on with a preview build of WrestleQuest in a bid to see whether it delivers a main event quality experience, or might end up jobbing on the undercard. And initial impressions certainly suggest it’s more likely to meet the high expectations wrestling fans will have, than not.
Mega Cat Studios, in collaboration with Skybound Games, have developed WrestleQuest with the aim to create an RPG that encapsulates the spirit and passion of the wrestling business. Not necessarily the modern side of it, but more the old school 80’s and 90’s era when everything was quite flamboyant and over-the-top. As such, they’ve even got a raft of licences for legendary wrestlers to add extra authenticity to proceedings.
First and foremost, WrestleQuest follows Randy ‘Muchacho Man’ Santos on a journey to reach the career heights of his idol, Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage. He wants to take on any and all challengers to prove he’s the best because wrestling is still real to him. No longer will he settle for being a big fish in a small pond, leading to an adventure that may open his eyes to what the industry is really like.
There’s also a secondary protagonist, Brink Logan, who’s another wrestler that aspires to leave a legacy similar to that of the Macho Man. All he ever does is lose matches though, purposely doing so to elevate co-workers and help create interest in the family company, NCW. It’s time for a change however, and now he wants more for himself as well as his siblings.
The fantastical pixel world the adventures are set in is akin to a vibrant toybox; one populated by all kinds of action figures, including wrestlers of course. Every area is almost like a playset, while simultaneously being reminiscent of the territory setup back in the day and paying homage to a particular superstar – creating excitement using the likes of the Road Warriors and Junkyard Dog. The environments within these vary from the desolate wasteland to the extremely icy north, with a host of potential hazards and occasionally tricky environmental puzzles to overcome.
Various figures looking for a fight also hang around in dungeon style sections and should you catch their eye, scores are settled in the squared circle. Once the bell rings, the action unfolds as a turn-based affair with four options available. You can perform a standard attack, pull off a special gimmick, taunt the crowd, or use an item. The ultimate goal is to wear down your opponent enough to enable you to go for a pin count, unless they aren’t fellow wrestlers, in which case they’ll be defeated by merely draining their health.
The basic attacks are interesting as causing additional damage is possible through the correct quick-time event inputs. Going for the pin attempt is also a matter of timing, with it requiring you to stop an on-screen indicator when it’s in the green zone three times. Having these moments should aid in engaging the player and keep their attention during the back and forth encounters.
Gimmicks come in the form of special abilities and manoeuvres, used sparingly as they cost action points. Whether you wish to go for a heavily damaging stunner, an elemental focused barrage, or even heal up, it’s your call. Things become more exciting when tag partners come into play for battles seeing an ally or two join your side. Not only can their fresh gimmicks be accessed while taking their turn, but a selection of cool tag team moves are on the cards too. Through progression and levelling up, the arsenal of all the playable characters increases, thus enabling new ways to approach how you lay down a good beating.
This is wrestling though, and appeasing the crowd in WrestleQuest is a pretty important aspect of the fighting. That’s where the Hype Meter comes into effect, with pre-match promos and customised entrance walk-ons adding to it beforehand. Keeping the Hype Meter filled by varying your moves provides all kinds of mid-match boosts, including an increase in slambucks currency awarded upon victory. Depending on which Hype Type your character is can see positive and negative impacts occur too.
Obviously, there are some minor features and design choices in WrestleQuest that I’ll be hoping to be improved or altered slightly upon its full release, but otherwise there’s great potential here. Storytelling is front and centre, with a cast of familiar faces and brand new creations coming together for a nostalgia-fuelled adventure. Throw in the highly interactive action full of awesome gimmicks, and this could be one to sink a ton of hours into.
The outrageous side of the wrestling universe and RPG elements seem to go hand in hand, so I’m excited to delve further into WrestleQuest on 8th August when it launches for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
A huge thanks go out to Skybound Games for giving us early access to WrestleQuest on PC and we’ll be following up with a full review of it on Xbox nearer that release.
Will you be stepping between the ropes in WrestleQuest? Let us know by reaching out via the comments section below!
