It’s like Wind Waker meets 3D platformer.
One of the most important factors in making a narrative adventure game compelling is providing a world that players can enjoy just by being there. The world itself is important not only to tell a compelling story, but to ensure that the moments between major plot points are punctuated with memorable experiences. player. Wavetale nails this element perfectly. Simply navigate the world of Wavetale, surf the oceans and fly through the skies just mesmerizing. This helps elevate the experience from good to truly great.
Wavetale takes place in a post-apocalyptic world almost completely flooded and covered in dangerous smog. A few isolated lighthouses, powered by a resource called Spark, seem to be all that keeps the encroaching smog at bay and allows the world’s surviving inhabitants to live. You play as Sigrid, a girl who lives alone with her grandmother on her one of these lighthouse islands. When Sigrid meets strange creatures that act as physical reflections underwater, she finds herself able to run, jump, and surf on the surface of the ocean. With water no longer acting as a barrier, Sigrid is free to explore the world, helping people and seeking information about her own parents and her world before her flood.
Wavetales occur across one large map. Removing the smog opens up more and more maps to explore. This is not necessarily an open world, as the Lighthouse Island acts as a central hub with a straight path through the smog. However, by the end of the game, many worlds have opened up, with many side quests to discover. A typical gameplay loop is to search for sparks to power a lighthouse, clear an area of smog, and then travel to a newly opened area to solve the problems faced by the residents there. We support. This usually includes many 3D platforms, up to the top of islands and ruins that dot the ocean. Much of this platforming is built around the idea of using nets to tackle specific points. Some of these act as anchor points to jump or grapple to another location, as well as others launch you into the air. Yes, and may be incorporated into time trial based side objectives. This allows you to purchase alternative cosmetic items for Sigrid. None of these have any real impact on gameplay, but are a fun bonus for someone like me who can’t help but have it all in a 3D platformer. The most fun part of the system is simply gliding along the surface of the water. There is nothing particularly complicated or nuanced about this mechanism. It’s just satisfying. So Wavetale as a whole seems to understand very well that you don’t need deep complexity to enjoy something.
Of course, the downside to this emphasis on simplicity is that gameplay can feel repetitive. This is most evident in combat encounters. Enemies are rarely a real threat and the majority are downed by his two hits. Combat feels a little forced as a result. It lacks the enjoyable fluidity of the rest of the gameplay system and just slows down the platforming. The exception is the occasional boss encounter. These mostly use the movement system legitimately to enhance the encounter. You may have to race to the top of a structure when an enemy fires at you, or climb the enemy itself to reach a higher position. The focus could have greatly benefited the combat gameplay.
Especially the Switch version is mostly well translated. The game’s cel-shading art looks great both docked and handheld, but with anti-aliasing applied, the docked experience is surprisingly good. Ambient occlusion is also lacking compared to other versions of the game, but given the cel-shading art style, it looks pretty good even without ambient occlusion. The art looks great overall, especially the shaders used for the ocean. The characters all have hand-drawn and animated facial features, and while compression artifacts are evident in close-ups, they look great in well-animated cutscenes. The point is that some of the more ambitious boss encounters can result in prolonged framerate drops.
Wavetale offers an engaging and familiar world that is fun to just walk around. Sprinting across the water as you move from island to island is effortless fun. Many of the lesser combat encounters can feel repetitive and somewhat pointless, but are punctuated by some of the more engaging boss fights. The world around her is justifiably fascinating. There are some technical issues in some areas, but overall the net experience is one of the most fun and unique games I’ve played this year.
