PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

TAKING A DEEP DIVE INTO MEGA CAT STUDIOS' WRESTLEQUEST VIDEO GAME

Tales From PAX East - “WrestleQuest” by Mega Cat Studios Video Game Preview

Alright so let’s have a little departure from the usual “wrestling reports” I do and talk about a cool thing I saw at the PAX East video game convention this past weekend in Boston, MA. 

Introducing “WrestleQuest”, by Mega Cat Studios and published by Skybound Games

If that video is all you needed to head over and wishlist it on Steam, godspeed. The link is at the bottom. I did this thing too. But if you need a little more, I got you covered. The Mega Cat Booth was pretty crowded for most of the weekend, between in-booth appearances by Jeff Jarrett, a convention panel on the History of Professional Wrestling in Video Games, and even a surprise visit from WWE’s Xavier Woods. In fact it wasn’t until Day 4 that I was able to get over there just as the convention hall opened to get a peek at the demo. I even got some time with Megacat’s “Video Game Enthusiast” (and man in a sweet gold robe) James Deighan to go over some of the smaller details of the game. 

So it’s a wrestling video game but definitely not the sort of arcade-y “wrestling game” or management sim we’re used to seeing. Nah, this shares more DNA with turn-based role playing games like old school Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound or probably even more closely with the Super Mario RPG games. The demo starts with you as young Randy Santos, watching Macho Man Randy Savage fight a dinosaur (who is definitely not a riff on Stone Cold) on tv and then going outside and having wrestling matches with your stuffed animals on a bed of couch cushions. I mentioned to James that this detail IN PARTICULAR resonated with me, being a small child in the 80’s doing elbow drops off a couch onto a teddy bear and couch cushions laid out on a concrete side room floor. He mentioned that one of the things they wanted to touch on in the narrative were people’s first memories of experiencing wrestling, whether that was via TV or a local match and then how that inspired a generation of children to role-play that fantasy back at home. It was a cool touch. 

The demo rolls forward several decades (probably) and now you are the MUCHACO MAN RANDY SANTOS. Mind you, your character does exist in a world where Macho Man himself exists and seems to be worshipped like a literal god (based on this giant statue in the center of the world). Other game worlds will feature similar tributes to Andre the Giant, Jake the Snake Roberts and more. The in-game world and narrative has plenty of nods for wrestling nerds, from the posters in the backdrop, to the various wrestlers who definitely look INSPIRED by some you may have seen before, to watching wrestling tapes as part of your tutorials, to the “narrator segments” which reveal this whole story may be taking place via a Conrad Thompson podcast, to the street gang of wrestling thugs who rob a local face paint store to honor their gods the Road Warriors, to the fact that doors aren’t locked but often have tables in front of them that you need to put another wrestler through to get past, to the previously mentioned GIANT MACHO MAN STATUE in the center of town. 

WrestleQuest has it’s roots in old-school Japanese style RPG games, so combat is turn-based. You have your basic strike attacks, your special attacks (your bigger signature moves) that cost a currency called hype (which you build through the match) plus taunts and items for boosts & recovery. Like I said, It’s a JRPG. Some attacks have combination moves associated with them. For example, knocking your opponent back on the ropes sets up a follow-up attack…but if you miss the prompt, you get decked in return. At it’s core, it’s a solid combat system but it has a number of interesting touches that systematize aspects of wrestling that are normally cosmetic in other games. Promos? Yep, you get to have mic battles with some of your opponents. Selecting the coldest burn will give you some additional hype going in to the match. Same with your entrances - They are customizable and open up opportunities for more hype bonuses heading into the match if you execute your button prompts for posing correctly. It’s a simple system but it WORKS and feels good. As the game goes on, you unlock a variety of wrestling styles, allowing you to slowly customize your character as you see fit. Change your wrestling style. Go face or heel. Update your entrance and look to match. The game gives you a lot of agency as the player to make these choices. 

Of course, because it’s wrestling that is peeking behind the curtain, they don’t shy away from the scripted nature of the product. One later part of the demo has your tag team (comprised of Brick & Stag Logan) needing to do the job for another team. But you can’t just go in, lay down and lose - You have to make sure you hit your big moves, try a pin and FAIL, following a small checklist of goals before you get overwhelmed by your larger opponents. Again, it’s a nice touch compared to other simulations where forcing the player to take the L almost always feels like the game is cheating. Here, it makes sense, both in the gameplay and in the narrative. Talking to James further, WrestleQuest actually started life as a tabletop RPG (like a wrestling D&D) but slowly evolved into a video game idea.

I really enjoyed my time with the demo. It would have been easy to make a game that just makes a bunch of wrestling jokes and call it a day but the team at Mega Cat decided to write a love letter to the over-the-top nature of professional wrestling instead. The demo definitely rides the line between that narrative fantasy of sports entertainment but also a fantasy version of what is happening behind the curtain too…but like I said, there’s some story beats that definitely hit close to home for any long-time fans. They’ve built a narrative world that revolves around and loves wrestling, much like our hearts as fans. I can’t wait to see the finished product. 

Wishlist the game on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1867510/WrestleQuest/ 

Check out their website: www.wrestlequest.com

Mega Cat Studios Twitter: https://twitter.com/megacatstudios 

Skybound Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/skyboundgames

—

Adam Cardoza is a regular contributor to PWInsider. He can be found and complained at on Twitter: @juliusblaise. Please listen to or go see his band DnA’s Evolution because it would make him happy to get the support: www.dnasevolution.com 

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet