Wave Break Critic Reviews

The problem with Wave Break being such a straight-up clone at its core is that it has a major barrier to entry. I was able to leap in well enough thanks to my own history playing Tony Hawk titles, but I could not recommend this game to anyone who doesn't also have experience with that series. The tutorial here is thin, and the gameplay will be nearly inscrutable to total newcomers.

Wave Break is a frantic, over-the-top skateboater with style and moves to burn. Its campaign mode is a welcome addition, and online play and a park editor add variety. All the pieces are here for a sublime tricking experience. The only thing missing is the Steam version’s features, most notably local play. The game is practically screaming for it, and the gameplay perfectly lends itself to local matches.

Wave Break has so many redeemable qualities, but for every positive there is a negative. Large diverse levels are hampered by the fact there are only six of them, fun fluid game play marred by jarring camera angles and frequent clipping, a rocking soundtrack only to be let down by performance issues such as frame drops. Underneath these issues is a fun homage to the Tony Hawks series, and fans will most certainly look past them while others would expect better.

Honestly, I love that Wave Break exists. It’s a delightful homage to what is arguably my favorite series of all time, complete with an interesting aesthetic and an enjoyable story as well — it’s just a shame that I spent most of my time fighting the physics, controls and camera instead of just enjoying it.

The gameplay was lacking in variety, there were no other people to play online with (I even double checked to see if the game was live at all, which it was, but nope, everything should be working). It just doesn’t feel like either a Wave Race game, a good skateboarding game, or even a good online multiplayer game. If this was a free-to-play title, I may even be a bit more lenient with it, but at half the price of a full retail game, I honestly can’t even recommend it for a laugh. I’m calling it. It’s time to abandon ship.