Islands of Wakfu Critic Reviews

Though the combat is thin soup at times, and Islands commits that cardinal gaming sin of repeating a boss with a new sprite and more hit points, there's a lot to like about this surprisingly lengthy prequel.

A nice an entertaining adventure that mixes the essence of the beat 'em up genre with some adventuresque elements, obtaining an interesting result from the latest chapter related to Dofus's universe. It's a worthy purchase unless you're looking for some online multiplayer options and a innovative way of presenting its unique story.

At $15, Islands of Wakfu is a fine (but only fine) addition to a brawler fan's library.

Islands of Wakfu has a hand-made, nutty charm that generally eases even the sharpest of aggravations. As a standalone it may not be as measured or as involving as its MMO big brother, but it retains enough character and spectacle to overcome the handful of rough spots.

Islands of Wakfu features a good variety in gameplay with some exploration, fast combat and lot of puzzles to solve, but each of these individual aspects has some flaws that disrupt the final result.

To paraphrase its own introduction, Wakfu is an enigma wrapped in a blanket wrapped in a tortilla. But it very well could be the best-looking tortilla on XBLA. A fun game with lots to offer those with an open mind, Islands of Wakfu is worth a look for those with a sense of adventure.

While I can't recommend playing the game solo, I offer a hesitant thumbs-up to a pair of players looking for something unusual and off the beaten track.

Islands of Wakfu's plot is interesting, though abstract, and the art and music are fantastic but the gameplay really holds it back. It's not an experience that really lasts either. Fans of similar games are encouraged to give it a try, but there are better ways of spending your money on XBLA. It's not bad, but it just isn't as good as it should be.

It's got a lot going for it in the graphical and sound department, and while the gameplay suffers initially from an unfair difficulty spike, if the player can tough it out and stick with it long enough to get some upgrades he or she will be smiling for the rest of the journey.

A curious and pretty action RPG from Ankama, some nice ideas, but gameplay can't match entirely its gorgeous visuals.

This is a very different game compared to Dofus, as action and combat are prominent here and RPG elements are the least. Those who are looking for an adventure game should consider more options before buying it, although it shines visually.

At the end, Islands of Wakfu doesn't offer enough gameplay to keep the experienced player interested. If you haven't heard of Wakfu or Dofus, you won't like this one either.

Islands of Wakfu, for a first game of Ankama Play, doesn't lack generosity, nor qualities. Its richness encompasses several gameplay mechanics, a lot of old school 2D games references, fresh ideas, and high production values with superb 2D visuals. Sadly, its gameplay is also far to rough on the edges, and more importantly hurt by a difficulty level that is poorly balanced. A lot of gamers will probably surrender before completing it because of that, a few will love to overcome those challenges, but all of them would have gained much by discovering such a title, if only it could have gotten rid of those shortcomings.

Whereas Super Meat Boy accounted for its punishing difficulty by creating micro levels, most of which could be traversed successfully in just a minute or two, Wakfu frequently commits the cardinal sin of using extended sections of grind to raise the stakes during its seismic and vaguely arbitrary difficulty spikes.

You'll have a fun time during the six hours this game will last, but it's too simple to be the action RPG many gamers expected it to be.

Though being visually marvellous, Islands of Wakfu fails to engage and entertain as we hoped. The clunky gameplay mechanics and its slow paced progression will in fact bore most gamers long before the adventure reaches its narrative climax.

Looks and sounds better than it plays.

Unfortunately Islands of Wakfu only currently supports two difficulty settings, Initiate and Goddess Mode – the latter of which removes the threat of death altogether.

Islands of Wakfu offers beautiful trees in boring forests. It's filled with good ideas but none of them has in the end turned out really well in the game.

Clunky combat makes this visually appealing role-playing outing one for a rainy day only. When it's raining dragon spit, obviously.