WrestleQuest is a turn-based RPG that features multiple wrestling legends from the 80s and early 90s. Developed by Mega Cat Studios, WrestleQuest has awesome pixel art accompanied by an outstanding soundtrack. In my review of WrestleQuest, I’ll talk about all the good, bad, and the ugly. With that said, buckle up, and let’s get ready to rumble!
Story and Characters
The story of WrestleQuest follows multiple protagonists – each with their own goals. Both characters want to succeed as a pro wrestler. Since they are far apart from each other, they want to become a champion and become the breakout megastar for their respective promotions. During the story, there are many twists and turns that force them to cross bumpy roads to reach their goals.
The primary inspiration for both characters is the legendary Macho Man Randy Savage. While it isn’t a deep and impactful story, it had its moments here and there. I especially enjoyed how the main character (Randy) wants to keep kayfabe alive and gets confused whenever anyone talks about the behind-the-scenes of wrestling.
That doesn’t mean that the narrative is bad, but rather quite linear and sometimes all over the place. You’ll often find yourself skipping the dialogues just to get to the wrestling part.
While the story itself isn’t memorable, the characters are extremely fun to interact with. Whether you look at your party members or NPCs, you are bound to find interesting and over-the-top characters. I found Toy Box Jimmy – our party member, to be hilarious. His voice lines and overall demeanor are awesome as he acts like a street gangster despite looking like a little kid.
Throughout the game, you will come across various NPCs that either want to become a wrestler or are here to enjoy the show. Some NPCs are worth interacting with as you’ll learn their story the more you talk to them – especially your party members.
The best part is that there are a few cameos from influencers as well. This made it exciting to explore the hub areas and try to find as many easter eggs as I could. If you are a fan of one of these YouTubers, you’ll love meeting them in the game.
You can also spot legendary wrestlers like Jake the Snake, DDP, and many more throughout the game as well.
Gameplay
The core gameplay loop revolves around you roaming the overworld until you reach your next destination. Your end destination is usually a wrestling ring where you’ll have to fight minibosses or bosses to complete the quest. In between, you’ll come across various points of interest, dungeons, NPCs, and enemies.
The game features a turn-based combat system that is quite fun at first but eventually becomes exceedingly repetitive and cumbersome. You’ll have to perform the same type of moves over and over again until the enemy’s HP reaches zero. While this is remedied a bit later on by adding a wide variety of skills and a rock-paper-scissors type moveset, you’ll still have to rely on successfully performing the QTEs.
I found myself trying to avoid enemies as much as I could so that I wasn’t forced to fight the same type of enemies over and over again. This is made difficult since most enemies are static in a dungeon and will attack you on sight. With no stealth options, you are forced to fight them no matter what. However, the awesome soundtrack and fun characters kept me wanting to play more.
There are multiple mechanics that keep things fresh like doing an entrance, tag team moves, manager assistance, equipping strong gear on your team, and different types of enemies just to name a few.
During my playthrough, I did encounter a few bugs – some game-breaking and some harmless. Since they weren’t nearly as common, I did not mention them in a separate section. However, keep in mind that your game might crash; forcing you to lose your progress if you haven’t saved in a bit.
QTE’s Galore
Before I talk about anything else in terms of gameplay, I need to mention that WrestleQuest is filled to the brim with quick-time events (QTE). If you are a fan of QTEs, then this game is made for you, and it’s almost as excessive as Asura’s Wrath. However, if you’re like me and get annoyed after a few of those, it’s going to feel like a chore to work your way through each prompt.
Every attack has a QTE that is often followed by another one. Whether you are doing a follow-up attack, counter, or using certain gimmicks, you will have to use your arrow keys to complete the quick-time event.
After playing the game for a prolonged period, QTEs became the bane of my existence. Even though I am a fan of turn-based combat and the occasional quick-time event, this made me dislike both of those things.
Turn-Based Combat
WrestleQuest features a turn-based combat that is quite fun. During your turn, you will have to choose between four options: strike, gimmicks, items, and taunt. Since gimmicks (special skills) cost action points (AP), you will have to use normal strikes as well.
The game encourages you to try out different things as it will build up the hype meter. The more hype you have, the more power-ups you’ll gain. Plus, certain skills require you to have a high hype meter.
After you progress through the game a bit, you will unlock new moves like the tag team moves. This allows two of your wrestlers to work together and deal damage.
Once you defeat your enemies, you will either have to pin them by doing a QTE (yet again) or complete certain objectives when it comes to boss battles. To its credit, the game does feature a wide variety of moves that assist you in fighting tougher enemies.
RPG Mechanics
Since this is an RPG by heart, it has all the mechanics that you would expect of one. You need to have a party of three wrestlers that you can level up and give items to. You’ll increase your stats and gain new abilities after leveling up which can help you in the next match.
Plus, you’ll find tons of items across the maps that you can equip on your team to further enhance their stats such as attack and defense. The game encourages exploration as you’ll find hidden treasure chests in different areas that give you stronger items for your team.
Side Quests
While exploring the overworld, you will sometimes come across NPCs that want you to do a side quest. Usually, these are quite easy and you’ll complete them in no time. However, once in a blue moon, there comes a side quest that requires some effort – which I appreciate.
These quests aren’t anything to write home about, though. They do not provide any major lore or add to the world in a meaningful way. While they might seem fun at first, I quickly found myself ignoring them as they were not worth the time and effort.
Karma System
If you are a wrestling fan, you’ll be familiar with the terms “heel” and “face”. The karma system is basically your chance to either become a bad guy or a good one. Throughout the story, you will come across certain choices that will impact the outcome.
Doing so will move your karma in the direction of your choice. Heels and faces have different benefits as you’ll unlock new gimmicks that are unique to them. This keeps the game fresh and provides replayability if you want to unlock new moves or get all the achievements.
Minigames
Every good RPG needs to have fun minigames that you can play to take a break from the main quest. Luckily, WrestleQuest is no different. You’ll get to play various minigames that provide a fun distraction from the main quest. One of the more enjoyable minigames is the one where you have to go to a bar to dance and set a high score.
However, I found them to be quite easy and simple. Due to that, the minigames became a distant priority for me as I preferred going through the story to having a good time playing them.
Presentation
The presentation is probably the strongest suit of WrestleQuest. It perfectly captures the 80s and 90s wrestling aesthetics. Whether it’s the characters or the environment, you will have a great time looking at everything.
The art style is superb and it looks absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. On top of that, the soundtrack accompanying the game makes for a wonderful time. I especially loved the main menu theme – which is the main theme of the game.
Another thing that I had a chuckle at was when you pause the game, all the “hype music” will stop and the game will instead play an elevator tune.
Verdict
Overall, I had a great time playing WrestleQuest. It ticked all the right boxes for me as a wrestling, turn-based combat, and RPG fan. The gameplay loop can be a bit tiresome and repetitive (especially the QTE’s) if you plan on playing for prolonged periods. Plus, you might encounter random bugs here and there – some of which can even be game-breaking.
Luckily, the over-the-top characters and amazing soundtrack keep the players hooked and wanting more. The overall presentation of the game is superb as it captures the 80s pro wrestling aesthetic perfectly. You’ll love WrestleQuest if you are a fan of good ol’ pro wrasslin – Ooo Yeah!
What did you think of our WrestleQuest review? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
This review is based on the PC version of WrestleQuest. The key was provided by Mega Cat Studios.
