Thunderful is not unknown to us. The grouping of studios with the Swedish publisher has already given us some indie nuggets, including The Gunk and Lost in Random, currently still available in the Xbox Game Pass. If we choose these two titles, it’s because Wavetale comes close to them on certain elements, while offering us a universe that is both original and poetic. After being a Stadia exclusive since 2021, it is finally coming to our consoles and to the Xbox Store for €29.99.
Mist: Dirt
A small steamer slowly approaches an island overlooked by a lighthouse. The narrator succinctly tells us the story of this world, flooded several years earlier. Once at the quay, Captain Baine, an old sea dog, exchanges a few words with the inhabitants of the lighthouse, the young Sigrid, cheerful and willful and her grandmother Doris, whose surly mood is accompanied by a often sharp.
- Where is Charlie ?
Before leaving, he warns them against the resurgence of the “Dirty Paws”, apparently dangerous creatures as well as the arrival of the “mist”. In order to prepare, Doris asks Sigrid to gather electrical sparks scattered across their small island to get the lighthouse back up and running.
This introductory sequence allows you to take the controls in hand. Double jump, dash on the ground or in the air, planing using the net which is also our weapon, running, Sigrid’s panel of movements allows us to give precise indications for the rest of the adventure. Verticality will have a large place in the game. This brief training phase is punctuated by the recriminations and warnings of the old woman, the water representing an apparently mortal danger.
- The very comprehensive adventure diary
However, not everything goes as planned and a huge tsunami of black molasses then appears on the horizon and engulfs Sigrid. Before losing consciousness, she notices a disturbing figure in the middle of the wave. When she wakes up, she finds that she has been taken to an isolated reef. His first steps into the unknown are worthy of those of a prophet from another time, suddenly transforming the ocean into a huge playground where speed is king.
Surfing with the Shadow
The return to our starting island frees Doris, a prisoner of molasses, who guides us towards the rest of the adventure. We quickly take pleasure in surfing the waves, making Sigrid twirl between platforms, sliding in pipes with convoluted curves and hooking the grappling hook in extremis thus avoiding making a dive of several tens of meters. Enemies vaguely resemble blistered ticks and show only tentative resistance, even to their upgraded versions (four enemy types in total) later encountered. On the side of Sigrid, her offensive arsenal does not shine by its diversity either since it is necessary to be satisfied with a simple blow, a spinning movement but slower to launch as well as a crushing in the air. In addition, the game is extremely permissive because our life goes up gradually, even during fights and no damage penalizes the vertiginous fall from the top of a tower.
- dirty paws
The main objectives of the scenario are extremely classic and are part of the same virtuous loop throughout the game: free the characters caught in the molasses after a few fights and collect sparks to power a generator in order to unlock access to the next area. No risk of getting lost, because they are permanently displayed on our integrated compass, with the distance that separates us from them.
- I am the friend of the (big) beasts
Our progress is sometimes slowed down by the presence of a huge metallic snake which offers us great climbing prowess without however turning into excessiveness. The adventure journal is very well done. Indeed, it presents the different protagonists encountered with their character and their history as well as the snippets of memories from the past to be collected which make it possible to retrace the chronology of the Wavetale universe.
A not-so-generous amusement park
We appreciate the very childish artistic direction which gives pride of place to the emotions of the various main protagonists. The relationship between Sigrid and Doris is of course the central element and the grumpy old lady becomes particularly endearing with her well-felt punchlines and her general aura that brings everyone to heel.
- The shadow offers us a shell
The game benefits from a quality French localization which allows you to fully appreciate the story in the language of Molière, even if the subtitles are sometimes not completely matched with the voices. The musical tracks (one of which is sung) effectively accompany Sigrid’s journey and brilliantly match the various events, oscillating between melancholy and discovery, even taking on mysterious, even downright gloomy accents during certain darker passages.
The level design offers beautiful sequences of platforms and slides, unfortunately too rare and above all too short, the fault of the lack of decorative elements allowing these sequences of particularly exhilarating figures. Only the challenges of Asta Falk the local surfer allow you to really give your all on timed courses. Other characters also offer us short quests consisting of searching for one or more objects in the surrounding area.
- Grind at full speed
The reward is always the same: a barrel of minor sparks. The latter, which are also collected from defeated enemies and during our exploration, can be exchanged on Baine’s boat for purely cosmetic rewards, sometimes with a taste that we soberly qualify as “doubtful”.
A sea of tears
Nothing extraordinary in terms of success: the list remains particularly short and with the exception of a handful linked to racing events and the very “carambar” strokes of humor once again from Captain Baine (But what can we expect from a sailor whose tamed seagull is called Steven Seagull?), everything is unlocked naturally over the course of the story. None of them are unfortunately related to filling the diary, which does not push the player to explore the recesses of the game to complete it.
- Baine’s jokes
On Xbox One, some textures appear late and characters’ faces are particularly pixelated during close-ups. The texture and collision bugs are numerous enough to be noticed, as well as some particularly restrictive automatic camera movements, especially when they appear during certain somewhat technical jumps. The adventure is very short, around six hours, but maintains a certain narrative rhythm throughout. As it stands, it would have been detrimental to want to stretch the experience unnecessarily, except by offering additional challenges.
Tested on Xbox One and Xbox Series X
