WrestleQuest Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Speedrunning Tips

WrestleQuest from developer Mega Cat Studios is by far one of the most creative video game releases of 2023.

One part throwback, turn-based RPG, one part wrestling game and everything that comes with that world, WrestleQuest ends up feeling through presentation and depth like a love letter to both.

Highly accessible, to the point of being available on mobile via Netflix, the game is one of those capable of registering as a sleeper hit.

That said, it does encounter traditional video game challenges, such as fun factor, length and replayability questions. How it grapples those determines whether it's more jobber or championship material.

Graphics and Gameplay

WrestleQuest is a beautiful pixel art-based throwback to past eras of video games and JRPGs that gives off a similar vibe to modern classics such as Stardew Valley.

There's always something fun to discover in this world where there are statues treating the likes of "Macho Man" Randy Savage like a gods.

If it's not a surprising attention and care for detail pertaining to the history of pro wrestling, it's finding something hilarious in this toybox-based world like two would-be robbers trying to take the lips off a Mr. Potato Head knockoff to keep him quiet.

The colorful game isn't afraid to push players into all sorts of biomes, such as random-feeling icy ones. Matches can take place pretty much anywhere, towns and areas have collectibles to discover and past pro wrestlers can be good or bad, like the evil bandits led by The Road Warriors.

While WrestleQuest is downright stunning and nails the atmosphere of both JRPG and a live pro wrestling show, it's the sound design that should earn accolades. The dialogue is funny and funnier still are the grunts and slaps during combat. Live crowds watching the action are loud and the in-ring soundtrack always manages to match the vibe of the occasion. Even overworld music will have players nodding their heads along, as it perfectly fits what the art sells the eyes.

There just aren't any games that let a player cut a promo on a velociraptor while performing their entrance before heading down to the ring to kick its butt. It's usually hilarious—players start in Get-Stretched Gym with Chin Music Makers on their feet.

The enthralling blend extends to the combat, where mages, wizards, manas and summons of JRPG variety get pushed aside for punches, grapples, high-flying moves off the top rope and finishers.

Basic button inputs do wrestling moves, while players will have to expend their action points (AP) to do more complex maneuvers (including tag-team and managerial interactions). Timing matters on these inputs when it comes to damage output. Unlike traditional RPGs, of course, a battle isn't over when HP runs out, as downed opponents will still need to eat a pin to actually lose, player included. That pin is also timing-based.

Where JRPGs might grade a player's skill after a fight, WrestleQuest very much keeps it within pro wrestling spirits—the grade is the viewing audience's hype meter. If a player wins but the fans thought it was a stinker, players will get reduced rewards.

That permits even more strategy than one might expect when the player happens upon a boss fight. Ripping off a taunt might consume a player's whole turn and lowers their defense stat. The hype meter will boost nicely, but an opponent can take advantage of the gamble.

While navigating the world, players will encounter little puzzles in dungeons and enemies walk around the screen like RPGs of old—though players can run once a battle starts.

It's all very fun and engrossing, if not a little repetitive at times. But the sheer vibe of the experience as a whole makes some redundancies easy to shrug off.

Story and More

If one can't tell from some of the above already, WrestleQuest does a fantastic job of leaning into that real-or-fake conversation around pro wrestling. Working a live crowd is just one example.

Take one of the protagonists, Muchacho Man. It's downright hilarious to watch him go through with these matches as if they were real, not scripted and fake. Around him, though, everyone comments on kayfabe, scripted results and the like, representing that modern tug-of-war between kids and adults for current pro wrestling.

The other protagonist, Brink Logan, is a bit of a carny whose every decision comes from a place of helping his own family's promotion exclusively. Which isn't to say it's bad, but it's hard to top...well...Muchacho Man. Come on.

Along the way, players will progress both stories and there is actually a loose-feeling morality system at play too, which seems to impact outcomes.

The story beats, if the potato head example wasn't enough, can feel all over the place but always entertain. Seasoned pro wrestling fans, at least, won't go un-entertained.

Overall, it's an action-figure-esque world and the whole vibe matches up to real life well. If two kids were sitting playing with action figures in a ring, they would have the match, then maybe some "backstage" jawing for storyline purposes. That's what happens here, too.

General exploration and rewards earn players customization pieces. They can tool with different styles of entrances, for example, such as whether cameras flash as the wrestler walks to the ring.

Actual attire is not unlike gear systems in other RPGs, meaning one headband might provide a bigger stat boost or bonus than another. It's fun to tinker with and at times, the right gear across a tag team can make all the difference.

While it's not the deepest affair in these areas, it doesn't need to be. There is a near-feeling endless amount of NPCs and wrestlers to interact with and discover.

There is an expected, modern-feeling suite of options too. Besides difficulty and such, if players don't feel like playing the timing mini-game on every pin, they can turn on an auto-pin option.

Speedrunning Tips

WrestleQuest probably isn't going to be the type of game that drums up a years-long speedrunning community, but it should be pretty interesting to see how would-be runners choose to tear through it.

At launch, some old speedrunning staples apply, such as skipping cutscenes and dialogue if possible.

Out in the world, actually unearthing the treasures in each area doesn't feel critical to a run. And most non-boss encounters can typically get spammed through with basic attacks. Each enemy on the overworld map has a specific movement pattern, so learning those in order to avoid fights will likely be key in runs, too.

Bosses are a little trickier, but for runners, a skill gap in the form of proper timing on combination moves and specials, plus pins, will obviously come into play.

Conclusion

WrestleQuest has one very, very important thing going for it—heart.

The game just oozes passion project. It's blatantly obvious those with a soft spot in their heart for both pro wrestling and RPGs came together to make something special. So much so, it wouldn't be a surprise to see fans of one but not the other dip into new waters because of this effort.

Often goofy in the same way a child might make up narratives with action figures but self-aware enough to blur kayfabe, WrestleQuest is a smash hit. Some of the nitpick-worthy things such as pace of combat will vary by player, but it's an immersive, grin-inducing romp that causes the hours to quickly tick past.

The only question gamers with even a passing interest in either pro wrestling or RPGs should ask is how soon until the next game. Until then, WrestleQuest is a powerhouse and walks down the ramp to its in-ring debut like it knows it.