Wrestling has never been hotter than it is right now.

Between the growing popularity of WWE and the emergence of AEW, plus so many local promotions and pop culture documentaries and reality shows, these athletes are on the biggest, grandest of stages.

More so than those that came before them and the stars WrestleQuest strives to cast a spotlight on. Sgt Slaughter. The Legion of Doom. Jake the Snake Roberts. Fan favourites for their time, no doubt, but these guys weren’t regulars in the years’ biggest films or featuring prominently on chat shows.

WrestleQuest reintroduces them to the world, blending the real-world stars you know and love, catapulting them in a fantasy land where gators can be your managers and you’re piledriving oversized rats.

Suffice to say, this is one of the most unusual, unexpected, yet interesting games releasing this year. On one hand, it’s got a typical wrestling premise – build up a star, going from rookie to world champion, dealing with dodgy promoters while sharing the ring with legends.

On the other, it’s an RPG. From turn-based battles, to tag-team special moves, levelling up your stats, changing your profession and finding new equipment from chests and vendors.

It probably shouldn’t work. It initially makes no sense, and yet when it gets going, WrestleQuest really is a blast. The story does take a long time to get itself going and there is a level of absurdity you have to accept before getting attuned to the experience but once in its stride, I couldn’t put WrestleQuest down.

As Randy “Muchacho Man” Santos, you’re trying to follow in the footsteps of your idol – well, you can probably guess who that is. And as your career unfolds, you encounter all sorts, some of whom want to keep you down, some who want to help, and others who kind of just get caught up in things.

The mechanics are really cleverly implemented, like having pre-match smack talking to build up fan hype and expectation. That hype can then be fed into a match in a momentum meter at the bottom which can give you additional boosts, like reduced damage and increased strength. However, if you keep using the same moves or you miss opportune moments, you lose some of that fan reaction, and the boosts in kind.

As you level, of course, you get new special abilities, some power oriented that wear down health more quickly, some are debuffs to weaken an enemy. And it all depends on the kind of wrestler you’re trying to be. You and your party can switch out your gimmick and be anything from a technician to a high flyer. All come with pros and cons.

And you can even get a manager to distract enemies, immobilise them, and put them in a position where a tag team or big power move can put them down for the three count. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention you also have to pin enemies to knock them out.

It’s remarkable how much of a traditional RPG this is, but done in a style that feels fresh and very wrestling-themed. For the most part, this is a great use of wrestling legends, each of whom you’ll be eager to meet and see how they fit into this weird and wacky story.

It’s also surprisingly deep as well, with some vast areas to explore, a wide open map with a ton of locales to visit, optional quests and battles so you can grind, and explore off the beaten path.

Of course, the world is also full of its own hazards which you need to watch out for as well, like noxious smoke and flames, so as well as your traditional battles, you also need to be aware of danger around every corner.

The game also has a genius art design with characters looking closer to the 90s WWF action figures with screws to connect up the joints of the arms

WrestleQuest is as well-designed an RPG as you’ll find, it’s complete, has an interesting story, and well-honed mechanics that suit the experience and holdup throughout. It also has a great sense of humour that pays homage to wrestling legends better than most of the major promotions who wheel them out for one-off stints.

It’s slow to start and probably is mostly for a hyper-focused niche of wrestling and RPG fans, but WrestleQuest is an enjoyable romp with some great action, moments, and discoveries to make. It all comes together just great.

Verdict

WrestleQuest might just be this years’ best wrestling game, certainly it’s most unexpected. With a cast of who’s-who legends, some interesting twists and turns and a sense of humour fans will love, Mega Cat have built something quite brilliant. The mechanics are smart, the environments are full of easter eggs, and the game holds itself up surprisingly well despite a slow start.