The long-awaited release of WrestleQuest is less than a month away. I recently played a build of the game and have an initial review of what to expect.
WrestleQuest is a wrestling RPG based on the imaginary world of action figures. The game was announced last March by Skybound Games and Mega Cat Studios.
The game features the licensed likeness of stars like “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Road Warriors, Diamond Dallas Page, Jeff Jarrett, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and more. The story is narrated by Conrad Thompson, who helps the game shift back and forth in a podcast studio between the two main characters, Muchacho Man and Brink Logan.
Characters
While Muchacho Man clearly takes his inspiration from Randy Savage, it’s evidently clear that Brink Logan takes after Bret Hart, even though he’s not a featured character in the game.
You’ll find yourself running into quite the cast of characters throughout your time in WrestleQuest, from action figures to random dinosaurs and elephants. It very much feels as if the characters in Toy Story were involved in professional wrestling.
There are also several characters in this game that are based on the legendary wrestlers from yesteryear, including The Brooter, who is clearly based on WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.
Familiar Territory
If you’ve played a standard RPG, you will feel right at home with WrestleQuest. It will be easy for someone familiar with the genre to pick up and play this game with relative ease. With the in-game battles playing out in the form of a back-and-forth wrestling match.
You’ll be able to utilize your basic attacks alongside gimmicks that allow you to perform special and tag team moves. You’ll also get the utilization of a manager later on that will provide boosts to you based on what you do in the matchup.
You can also assign each character a separate trait referred to as a “hype type” to differentiate each character’s play style. The following options are selectable:
- Powerhouse
- Showman
- Sidekick
- Technician
- Underdog
Finish The Story
The story in itself takes some time to really pick up. The early part of the game very much feels like a tutorial. The problem with this is once the story really picks up, you shift characters and are forced to play as the other instead. Every time I found myself getting invested in Muchacho Man’s story, the game shifted to Brink Logan, resulting in me being taken out of the story.
Based on what I’ve played so far, I think it would have been in WrestleQuest’s best interest to have created two separate playthroughs of the game, with one as Muchacho Man and one as Brink Logan. By putting their stories together, I think it really hinders the immersion the game is trying to suck you into.
I’m guessing as the game continues, Muchacho Man and Brink Logan will eventually meet up and join forces. Maybe that will change my opinion later, but right now, I would have preferred their stories to be separate.
Overall, what I’ve played of WrestleQuest so far has been an enjoyable experience. This game will certainly delight old-school wrestling fans who enjoy the RPG genre. I look forward to experiencing the entire game when it releases on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on August 8.
Disclaimer: This WrestleQuest build is still in development, and not indicative of a final review of the game.
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Are you looking forward to WrestleQuest next month? Are you a fan of the RPG genre in video games? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
