Mate, the surfing here is really good! A thought I must have uttered with intended silliness several times in a game demo that wasn't the lengthiest vertical slice in the world. But every now and then, you come across a title that nails it in one specific but stand-out department. Even if it comes in the form of just one solitary if broadly-applied mechanic, sometimes that's all you need, and when it comes to Wavetale -- developed in-house by Thunderful -- I am all in on this sea-faring, low-poly styled action-adventure. As good ole' Todd Howard would say: it just works. In a matter of minutes, Wavetale has my attention.

A sentiment that I'm sure concurrent Stadia users might've aligned with last year when it first debuted, given this game has been out for a little under a year on Google's platform. But let's pretend for a moment this is an entirely new, upcoming prospect for those on PC and console alike. Wavetale, a game set in the fictional Strandville archipelago -- atop an ancient sunken city -- centers on the adventures of Sigrid, a young girl whom early on befriends an odd-looking sea-dweller. Granting her the ability to quite literally walk on water. And by extension, surf across it at her and the player's brisk, care-free leisure. I say care-free, but there's of course a cataclysmic event to prevent, island natives to save and an all-round mystery to uncover as to the fate of what lurks below the waters.

Little story was uncovered during this brief snippet of gameplay. A story-critical objective to gather enough energy-emitting creatures to activate a device was the furthest the narrative progressed. Not that that ended up mattering: it's more than enough an incentive to tackle what might be Wavetale's best asset: its surfing mechanic. A mechanic that isn't all that complex or laden with layers to unpack. Simply hop off an island or outpost onto the open body of water and your character treats it as if it were any ordinary stretch of land. The joy stems from the pacing and self-made rhythm you voluntarily find yourself engaging in as the distant landmarks inch closer and the oceanic world passes by around you. But it doesn't stop there: sure you can keep surfing until your targeted location is reached, but how about hopping from off the water at a frantic pace and landing dramatically on land like you were some frog laden with one too many energy drinks.

Indeed, it's a more energetic, care-free approach to basic movement, but Wavetale's very specific sense of speed and groove gets the ideal middle-ground spot on. Not too slow to feel like a chore, nor too fast to feel like one can't get a handle on control. Even at spots that require you zipping through the air by way of grappling points to climb and reach higher levels, Wavetale's overall breezy aesthetic and lax approach to adventure only exemplifies why its general controls are a treat to play around with. To the point one can't help but establish a make-shift meta requiring one to see how well or far in one can land after another one of those charged-up leaps off the water. And Wavetale is more than happy to let you frolic about its world -- so happy I was worried that at one point I'd break the game and possibly clip into a place I was not supposed to. I didn't and so the adventure would continue, that same zig-zagging maneuver whilst surfing seldom tiring, seldom growing stale.

Perhaps because Wavetale's visuals too serve as a fitting compliment to the tone and style of gameplay Thunderful are encouraging here. Sure, there are combat encounters that slow the pace down momentarily; not the most demanding of times, but the kind of "action" prefix that doesn't mitigate too much of the favored pacing. But overall, Wavetale's low-poly, almost dream-like manifesting of the surrounding space provides an interesting juxtapose to its otherwise near-apocalyptic suggestion. After all, this is a majority-sunken world where only islands are left. Yet this curved lack of jaggedness to character models and enemies alike is the kind of contrast that works wonderfully.

Short, sweet and to the point on what it wants to convey, Wavetale is the epitome of a game demo done right. One whose gameplay -- and its novel approach to traversal in this case -- speaks for itself, deprived of any unnecessary prompts or reasoning for why it's there to begin with. The fact that you're so quick not just to get to grips with the controls, but in doing so relish the freedom it generates, says a lot about how great it generally feels to surf the oceanic surroundings. To glide, hover over and even hop out at an energetic and lively pace from. Hard as it is to say if this will last -- or if the game can rustle up enough interesting locales as a means to break up the long-haul journey -- Wavetale's pleasant, low-poly visual palette is reason enough to see what Thunderful have conjured from such watery depths. Being able to explore said world in such a way -- gleefully setting course, hopping from one island to the next without restraint -- well, allow me to reiterate and end this in the very same way I started it: mate, the surfing here is really good!.