Not many of us had a lot of faith in Stadia to begin with, but we were still hoping a successful gaming experience would be delivered with it. And not only was it finally (and suddenly) given the hook earlier this year, but we've also seen games that were formerly Stadia exclusives see ports to additional platforms, with practically every bit of PR behind them treating things as though the Stadia versions never existed, and that these were brand new launches. And with these ports, we've discovered that you've been holding out on us. You could have been promoting these indie titles as killer apps for Stadia, but no, you wanted to focus on triple-A games that were already widely available elsewhere. And this meant that for the longest time, non-Stadia players didn't get to enjoy such gems as Young Souls, Submerged: Hidden Depths, and the subject of this review, Wavetale.

Set in a bit of a post-apocalyptic world that has now been subjected to massive flooding, much like the aforementioned Submerged: Hidden Depths (combined with the popular fan-made Kevin Costner's Waterworld game, it was apparently a big year for this kind of setting), Wavetale sees you playing as Sigrid, a young girl who lives with their grandmother at the city's lighthouse. The lighthouse serves the important function of keeping a dark force known as the Gloom at bay, but after an outage one day due to an incident, Sigrid discovers the ability to walk on water thanks to a mysterious being known as a Shadow, and suddenly finds themselves finally heading out into more of world in order to help try and solve things. Naturally, though, it turns out there are more secrets behind this world than expected...

While Wavetale may have a story that's predictable in parts, it does have nice twists and turns along the way that make it work, along with nice messages. The real treat here, though, is the lovable cast of characters. The residents of Strandville have some nice and colorful personalities, especially Sigrid's feisty yet more reluctant grandmother and of course, Sigrid herself. The best way to describe Sigrid is a cross between Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Ellie from The Last of Us, if that makes any sense. From the former, we have the optimistic young girl who dreams of seeing more beyond their current world (plus the obvious water angle), and from the latter, another curious girl who represents a younger generation born into a post-apocalyptic world, and naturally has an interest in what this were like in the before times. It's a nice combination that makes for a great protagonist.

In fact, I could easily describe a lot of Wavetale as a sort of post-apocalyptic fairy tale. The mysterious mermaid-like Shadows, the dark sludge-like forces, the beautifully vibrant and cartoonish style...it all just has this unique vibe to it. Despite being a sunken city, there's still this sense of wonder on display here, a feeling of pure joy when you're coasting along and Sigrid begins a conversation with her grandmother via radio about fruit from back in the day, with Sigrid openly wondering what something like an apple could be like. It really does feel like a classic tale for all ages, and more than once I thought about how this felt like it could be a perfect game for children, especially since that's a rarity in gaming these days.

That feeling of pure joy doesn't just come from the characters and atmosphere, though, but from the gameplay as well. Wavetale shows similarities to Solar Ash in this area, with gliding around on the water being fun and easy to pull off, and a grappling hook from Sigrid's net allowing them to easily hook onto launchers and platforms that lead into nicely-designed obstacle courses that allow for a lot of solid platforming. There's also a heavy emphasis on exploration here as well, be it looking for sparks that act as currency for new cosmetics, books that provide more insight into the past that become a part of Sigrid's scrapbook, or even more characters to talk to, as most of them are coated by the Gloom and need a couple of whacks from the net to free them. Even though Wavetale only clocks in at about four hours when it comes to the main story, there's still a lot left over to discover, which is a plus.

In fact, the only real drawback that Wavetale has is its combat. Not in terms of its mechanics or basic execution, mind you, its your standard semi-hack-and-slash setup that's effective and easily gets the job done. No, the problem comes from the enemies. The basic Gloom foes only come in about four types and are easily stunned before they can launch attacks. Combine that with regenerating health, and what you have is a lack of difficulty. True, the emphasis is more on the world, narrative and platforming, but even a slight bump if difficulty would be welcome. There are also a few bugs, like NPCs that become re-Gloomed after reopening the game or enemies that appear on your radar well before you get to them (plus a lacking battle theme that can persist).

In the end, though, Wavetale ends up being a magical and unique adventure, a quick little blast of pure fun worth checking out.

Closing Comments:

With Wavetale, Thunderful have managed to put a unique spin on post-apocalyptic worlds through its joyful tone, characters, style and more, making one want to spend as much time in it as possible and discover every sight to see. Of course, it helps that zipping around on the water is fun and makes for terrific gameplay, and the platforming easily evokes the classics. Audiences both young and old should give this a chance, as it's a terrific action/adventure game with a lot of heart that shouldn't just be ignored like mere flotsam.