WrestleQuest Reviews

Forget your 2Ks and your Fight Forevers, if you want to experience fun and surprisingly authentic pro-wrestling action in 2023 then WrestleQuest is by far your best bet. Wax your back, coat yourself in baby oil, and prepare your promo, because WrestleQuest is the pro-wrestling RPG love-fest you never knew you always needed.

Wrestlequest has a cool idea on paper, but the battle system is clunky at best. That mixed with unlikable characters, and legends that deserve a better video game, make WrestleQuest very hard to care about at all. Like a certain wrestling companies PSA, "Please, don't try this at home."

It’s time to see what you got to become a professional wrestler in the 2023 video game, WrestleQuest. Take the journey to find out if you have what it takes to prove the naysayers wrong and rise up to the occasion to etch your own markings in the wrestling business. Bodyslam your way to glory!

After a bit of trouble, which resulted in a small, last minute delay, WrestleQuest is finally launching. From my understanding, the delay was a result of cross-save issues on one of the consoles it’s launching on, and seeing as it’s launching everywhere, even Netflix, your guess is as good as mine where the issue stems from. WrestleQuest is an action-adventure game that feels similar to Golf Story in the overworld, but something more similar to Mario & Luigi in combat. Throughout the game...

Putting wrestling and turn-based RPGs in a can they co-exist tag team style was an excitingly bold move that unfortunately ends in a heel turn and a crowd leaving early to beat the traffic.

WrestleQuest does a good job of taking something that you wouldn’t think would fit as an RPG game and makes it work. The world is amazing, the characters, and cameos are really going to invoke the golden era of Professional Wrestling. However, once you rip that nostalgia away you are left with a very bare-bones RPG experience that gets boring very quickly.

Powerbomb and piledrive your way through a massive pixel art universe where professional wrestling and RPG fantasy collide. PC version reviewed.

Wrestlequest has some fantastic combat mechanics and a ton of nods to the world of wrestling, but gets weighed down by its own substance far too often.

Not without its frustrating moments, WrestleQuest feels like a refreshing alternative to the usual yearly simulations. A game for wrestling fans first and foremost, but not only for them. Through all its winks and nods and underneath all the nitty-gritty, it is a game that reminds us all of the foundations of our fandom. Despite how silly things get, professional wrestling thrives when we all have the ability to lean into a character's authenticity — no matter how over the top.

WrestleQuest takes the classic idea of a video game based on pro-wrestling and flips it on its head, giving us an RPG instead of the typical fighting game. It also has tons of fan service for those who might be into classic wrestling, and tells a few interesting and heartwarming stories along the way, all wrapped up in a fun aesthetic.

The gameplay of WrestleQuest is immediately familiar to anyone who has played the old classic turn-based RPGs of the past. Once a match begins, players can choose from simple Strikes to fancy wrestling 'Gimmicks' that cause extra damage with some added flair. The system is easy enough to understand but does add some cool wrestling nuances like Tag Team Moves and calling forth Managers for help. Taking up one character's turn to set up for a tag move will allow another character to choose from a new menu of moves that can cause more damage or status effects to the enemies. There is also a quick-time event with some moves that require the player to hit the right button to cause even more damage or retaliate against an enemy's attack. Players will also have to 'Pin' an opponent after bringing their health down to zero, and a failed pin will allow the enemy to pop back up with a little healing, forcing the player to knock them down again.

There are times when promoters team up wrestlers in an attempt to create a unique collaboration that soars past comprehension. While duos like The Rock and Mankind, and even more recent ones such as MJF and Adam Cole, don’t work on paper, they were magic on screen. However, for every strange but excellent pair, there is a plethora of Hogan and Edge-style mixtures that did not work. The same notion of taking separate entries and placing them in the squared circle exists in WrestleQuest. Will this Sports Entertainment-tinged RPG manage to claim the championship or will it be an audacious but forgettable run?

My only issue with the game is that it’s got a few performance and UI quirks that it needs to iron out. I ran into a repeat issue where the game would continually load some older save when I’d hit “continue” from the main menu, requiring me to go back to the menu and load my recent save from the “load” option. Not a major deal, but did make me think the game lost my save a few times, and figured I’d mention it in case anyone had the same reaction. Interacting with characters or objects in the world can get very finicky too, as you play a game of twister to move yourself into a position the game is happy with to let it work. There’s also no map when in a zone either, and considering some of them can get a bit mazey it would’ve been a helpful feature to better know where you’re going; particularly when you return to 100% some of those earlier areas.

WrestleQuest has all the right tools to pique a pro-wrestling fan's interest, but it fails to deliver when it matters.

WrestleQuest does an excellent job at combining pro wrestling legends with a turn-based combat system that takes the best kind of cues from Nintendo's more-interactive Mario RPGs over the years. Having so much real-time interactivity during battles makes them more engaging and fun, and while the game does suffer from small sprites and a soundtrack that's weak given the legendary cast, what's here is done well. This is a fantastic pickup for any pro wrestling fans looking to get into JRPGs or for JRPG fans looking for an excuse to play something involving pro wrestlers.

WrestleQuest reimagines what a wrestling game can be

WrestleQuest is a fantastic wrestling RPG adventure with fun and satisfying exploration, combat, and character development. The game does have a few wrinkles to iron out, however, whether you’re a life-long wrestling fan or just a casual fan like me, WrestleQuest is a must-have. ¡Oh Si!

WrestleQuest is a delightful break from the normal kind of wrestling game.

WrestleQuest is a solid RPG filled with charm and great attention to detail. And it is perfect to play on the Steam Deck!