Anyone that knows me can vouch how I don’t play metroidvania style games too often. But when Wife Quest came across our desk, it looked cute enough to try. Plus at 7 bucks, it’s quite the steal!
I’m not knocking people that like metroidvania style games either, they’re just not what I gravitate toward mostly. I can however appreciate the work that goes into them, especially when done well, like with this title. How does Wife Quest stand up? Read our review to find out.
Wife Quest
Developer: Pippin Games
Publishers: Eastasiasoft
Platforms: Windows, Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5
Release Date: September 30, 2021 (PC), March 16, 2022 (Consoles)
Players: 1
Price: $7.99 USD
The initial presentation in Wife Quest is along the lines of your typical harem style anime with the fiery main character named Mia. Unfortunately, Mia’s husband Fernando has been kidnapped by monster girls. They don’t seem to be keen on harming him, however, and just want his company.
Each of the girls have their own unique levels complete with enemy types and attack patterns. The most fun I’m having with the game is with the unique animations each enemy has whenever they go down. Once defeated, Mia gets to them and subdues them completely.
As mentioned, you play as the plucky spitfire knight Mia. The scenery starts with her waking up in a tiny little house next to a beach coast, but to her surprise her man Fernando is gone.
The only thing remaining is a note stating that a gaggle of monster girls have abducted him. Mia then promptly picks up her sword to chase after the monster ladies that nabbed her beau.
The first levels get you familiar with the controls and the core gameplay fairly quickly. The old adage of ‘go left and check behind you’ also rings true in this metroidvania style game too.
It doesn’t make backtracking too terribly annoying and cumbersome, though. Each boss rewards you with a unique ability or weapon to progress further so don’t be afraid to explore!
The graphics in Wife Quest are nice for a sprite focused 16-bit era style game. The traditional anime style character art in the cutscenes and certain game areas seem to be lacking a bit in quality, though.
They’re not terrible, but definitely look like rough sketches or rushed and flawed final products in some places. One scene that sticks out is when you’re on the in game shop menu. Everything just looks janky.
The music in Wife Quest is what one would expect from a game of its style. It has chiptunes that reek of nostalgia and add flair to the overall experience nicely. I found myself tapping my foot while sitting on the couch playing. Listening through my headphones reminded me of old NES and SNES-era music.
I noticed quite a few similarities to various other indie side scrollers like Super Meat Boy, in particular. There’s levels where you have to constantly jump, glide, and dodge enemies and projectiles while being slowly forced to move forward by an impending deadly boulder trap rolling behind you, Indiana Jones style.
The saving grace gameplay-wise is the in-game shop where you can upgrade your sword, shield, and magic power. Players do this by collecting gold coins dropped by enemies, and in treasure cheats hidden all over each level. These are sometimes hidden in plain sight or behind walls that take a good bonk with a special caveman club to break down.
As mentioned, a fun thing to do is every time you down an enemy monster girl, Mia has a special animation for each one. These vary from her stomping on their back, putting them into a wrestling Boston Crab hold until they submit, or simply beating them senseless with the caveman club.
All in all I’m still having a lot of fun with Wife Quest, more fun than I thought I’d have with a cheap indie game. Wife Quest is definitely worth nabbing and playing through if you’re looking for a good time waster then grab it!
Our Wife Quest review was done on Nintendo Switch using a copy provided by eastasiasoft. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Wife Quest is now available for Windows PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
