Wavetale - Review

Surf the waters; uncover its mysteries. 

Console: Nintendo Switch 2

A while back me and a friend waded through the Nintendo Switch EShop. Seeing if we recognized anything and generally just having fun. One of the games that caught our eye was Wavetale. Watching the 1st of the three trailers available we couldn't help ourselves but make fun of it. It was one of those accolade trailers that flashed all of these clichéd quotes on the screen without clearing up anything. The second trailer gave us a better idea at what we were looking at and gave us what us looks like at this mysterious water Zombie. A real 'Wombie' which looked quite interesting. By the third trailer, where they showed how the Wombie was connected to our blue-haired protagonist, I was sold.

Using some leftover balance on my account, another Indie I'd never heard about was ready to be played. A new game for me to discover and to be swept away by or for it be drowned beneath more enjoyable titles. 

Whichever way it flows I'm excited to find out. So, without further ado, let's dive into thes uncharted waters see what it has on offer, and talk all about it!

Sigrid is a young blue-haired girl living with her grandmother, spending her days fishing and maintaining the lighthouse. An important task in this ravaged, sunken world threatened by 'gloom'. A dark, smoke-like phenomenon that creeps in from the edge of the world that only strong light can keep at bay. When a strong burst of gloom suddenly covers much of her world, Sigrid is thrown into the dangerous sea. Saving her from drowning is a mysterious, shadowy sea creature that allows Sigrid to walk on water and traverse this endless ocean like never before.

My experience with Indies so far is games with limited story and dialogue. The games I played were all about the feels and/or message using non-conventional storytelling. Colour me surprised then when this game started out with a slew of voice acted dialogue, clearly with a story to tell. That means I have quite a bit to talk about when it comes to the narrative. 

I can tell you without really spoiling anything that there is a lot of talk about the destruction of the world. Characters reminiscing about dead husbands, grandfathers and mothers. About trauma and dementia. Yet, nothing is milked for drama. Everything is told in the same relaxed, contemplative way. It's quite odd but I like it. Where something like Gris pulls at your heart and makes you feel, Wavetale aims for the head and tries to make you think. 

That isn't to say the game can't hit you in the feels. The conflict between Sigrid and her grandmother simmers beneath the surface from the very beginning and once the dam burst, you feel the love and pain. Both parties have great difficulty properly communicating their thoughts which feels very real. That is another big theme of this game which I won't go any deeper into. Got to leave something for you to discover on your own!

That said, I'm not done with the story yet. For a game with more than one mystery I got to say that they are pretty easy to crack. The first theory I came up for our ‘Wombie’ was right on the money and the twist with the villains can be spotted from miles away. They work but lack in impact due to this predictiveness. 

The 'Wombie' everyone.

Lastly, many plot threads end without proper resolutions. There aren't many B or C stories in this short game but those that we have don't get satisfying endings. One big story idea that is introduced late-game is never addressed again while one character's story is concluded off-screen. Only a quick gag in the ending shows you what became of them. Speaking of that ending, my experience with it was quite a memorable one just not in the way you're thinking.

It’s no time for that story just yet so let me treat you to another anecdote. While doing my research into this title I learned it has a connection with the indie game I played earlier: Fe. As it turns out the developers of Fe, Zoink, were assimilated into the developer of Wavetale, Thunderful games. What a coincidence, no!?

Now, with the shoreline in our back it's time to dive into the deep end with the gameplay. Wavetale is a 3D adventure game in which you surf all across the world finding sparks, fighting gloom monsters and helping out the locals. It's basic but fun stuff, especially the movement.

It's so fast and fluid and there are so many different moves and ways for you to keep the flow of movement. From double jumps that you can chain into a glide to cover a lot of air to entire water slides that makes simple travel from one location a blast. I guess this is how Sonic fans feel! It is easy though to lose control over Sigrid thanks to all of this fast movement. Especially if you haven't played for a few days and are a bit rusty, so keep that mind. 

Most of your time here is spent traveling across this endless ocean, gathering sparks and helping out the people in a series of fetch-quests, but that isn't the only thing you do. You have light and heavy attacks and some jump related attacks that you can chain together to deal with enemies. Not much too it, not very invigorating, but functional. Something to give you a bit of variety in-between all the travelling and platforming. Boss fights are also here which are quite neat. It's more platforming than combat but the scale of the bosses makes them fun to go up against. 

Lastly, if the normal fetch quests and exploration you can also take part are all done with, you can test your skills in a race or two. Not my cup of tea but I have to say: the one I tried was more enjoyable than I thought it would be. 

Before we weigh the anchor with the conclusion we need to talk about the graphics and the performance. Wavetale is a 3D game with a very expressive, cell-shaded look that goes for style. It's a simple but colourful look with jagged edges and basic lip movements which works for the style of game this is. While I do prefer the 2D art from certain pictures and flashbacks I realize implementing that in a 3D space, on an Indie budget, would not have been realistic. 

What doesn't do the graphics any favours, which doesn't do the entire experience any favours, is how this game runs. I encountered very noticeable pop-in and slowdown in many areas. Load times are long, comparable to those of Metroid: Dread if I have to compare it to another Switch game. When the game gets busy with many enemies and whatnot the framerate drops and when in the shop, Sigrid's model flickers every couple of seconds.

Whenever you load a save file, for a brief second, a ton of completed objectives appear on the left side of the screen. It's nothing game breaking or creates unplayable conditions but these issues are noticeable and definitely annoying. 

And now for that big anecdote. A good closer if there ever were any. Wavetale conked out at me right after beating the final boss. The cutscene just wouldn't play. Once I restarted the game, instead of redoing the final boss I was booted into the post-game. I completely missed the ending of the game! I had to resort to YouTube to experience that 3–4-minute ending cutscene. 

Conclusion

The fun with these spur of the moment Indie purchases I’ve been making over the last year or so is that you never know what you'll get. It could be amiss but WaveTale is definitely a hit. It's a short, heartfelt adventure that shines through in its fast, joyful movement and thoughtful story, even if its gameplay loop and technical issues hold it back on even the brand-new Switch 2. It’s a breezy, relaxing experience that occasionally hits surprisingly heavy notes, making it a worthwhile indie pickup if you’re in the mood for a small, emotionally resonant journey.