A turn-based wrestling game called WrestleQuest is on its way from Skybound Games, and new video shows off "cage match" gameplay that will make appearances along the hero's journey. No wrestling legacy could ever truly be complete without the occasional cage match, after all, and WrestleQuest looks like it could have such content in spades.
Developed by Mega Cat Studios, the team behind recent indie game hits with a retro touch such as Coffee Crisis and Little Medusa, WrestleQuest takes a turn-based approach to the wrestling industry and pays homage to more than 30 icons throughout its history, including long-time favorites like Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Andre the Giant. There's a fair bit of crossover between wrestling fans, gamers, and the musclebound athletes themselves (Kenny Omega recently even sported a Sephiroth-themed entrance to a match against Will Ospreay).
A new video highlights a cage match event of the sort that will appear in WrestleQuest. In the footage, Randy Santos heads to some bars along the edge of the ring. His ally, The Brooter, selects from a series of possible moves with an associated AP cost. He goes with "Brooter Boot," a powerful ability he proceeds to use against the pair's opponents. The adversaries continue to exchange blows as Randy climbs the wall before one of his opponents rips him away from his perch. Everything gets a bit wild from that point, but that's wrestling.
While the game itself was announced almost of a year ago, the WrestleQuest's release date was only confirmed in November at a Nintendo Indie World Showcase event. The game is due to arrive in a few months on platforms besides the Nintendo Switch, with appearances slated for all major hardware. Wrestling is clearly too big to be contained by more typical boundaries, even when appearing in a video game developed by a smaller studio.
For understandable reasons, most wrestling games focus on high-action brawls in and around the ring. Few wrestling games try their hand at something dramatically different, the way WrestleQuest is doing with its turn-based approach. And while the RPG might not seem like an obvious fit, the genre's diehard fans have been making their presence known for years. Last year, a wrestling fan defended Kingdom Hearts' plot with a sign that appeared during AEW Rampage. That incident carries on a tradition that has found fans holding up signs to argue about the quality of other popular JRPGs. Perhaps with WrestleQuest, such fans will find a few more of their favorite things in one convenient package. If nothing else, the game's release could be an event to remember.
WrestleQuest releases in May 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
