At PaxEast I played a plethora of games from a game about teenage dinosaurs, a game about making coffee, a zombie game, a game about a kid with a backpack, etc… I came across so many games with so many unique and oftentimes crazy concepts that surprisingly spoke to me on a personal level. Perhaps, none more so than WrestleQuest. I’ve been a pro wrestling fan since I could walk. As a wee young lad, I would climb on the back of the couch (aka my Grandmother’s living room version of the top rope) and jump off to hit my uncle with a frogsplash. While my 31 year old ass is way too big to do that anymore, I’ve still been an avid fan of pro wrestling, both in real life and with video games.
WrestleQuest is an upcoming game that has been on my radar for a while, but I haven’t hadn’t been able to demo it to see if it is a game worthy of Andre the Giant-size hype yet. That all changed at PaxEast. There I was finally able to dive into the game for a bit, and I discovered a RPG that felt like it was made by other lifelong wrestling fans.
Gameplay Impressions:
The game featured turn-based gameplay that was fun and had a real pick up and play factor to it. The matches were quick and felt different than any wrestling game that I’ve played previously. The brief tutorials were executed well, explaining all the nuances of the gameplay without feeling like a slog.
The Map:
This is where the pro wrestling historian in me smiled with glee. The map consists of different locations that you can walk up to and explore. All of them the locations that I experienced were extremely detailed and pro wrestling themed. I especially enjoyed seeing the statues of legendary pro wrestlers from the past such as the Macho Man Randy Savage and the Jake the Snake.
Final Thoughts:
Overall when I walked out of PaxEast for the final time that weekend, I knew that WrestleQuest was probably going to be the game that I’m going to spend the most hours in. It feels like a project that was created specifically for me. I can’t wait until it drops so that I can continue laying the Smackdown on all that stands in my way.
