Wolfstride Critic Reviews

Wolfstride is an obvious labor of love that manages to be much more than the sum of its gameplay and presentation parts. The mecha battles and management would have offered a very solid loop on their own. The game could have easily been a mostly narrative-driven game with a relatively small number of repetitive mini-games. The combination of both creates an emotionally charged adventure that immerses the player, makes him care about relationships, and drops in cool mechs engagements. Think of it as heavily inspired by Cowboy Bebop but with more mech brawls.

Wolfstride is a stylish RPG for people who love the atmosphere from old-school anime such as Cowboy Bebop, Ashita no Joe, and its recent-ish spin-off Megalobox. Its story goes from unabashedly comedic to dramatic in a heartbeat and manages to remain consistently compelling. While the gameplay could have offered further variety, this is one title where the story and atmosphere are enough to make it resonate with practically any audience.

Wolfstride might have gotten off to a rough start, but I think if you go into it knowing that it’s a story-forward game, you’ll enjoy it quite a bit. I ended up liking the game way more than I thought possible. It kept surprising me. It hooked me with its style, then its humor, and when I thought I knew everything, it showed me its heart. For only $18 CAD, Wolfstride has my strongest recommendation.

All in all, Wolfstride demonstrates how great a game can be when the characters in it are full of personality, and also succeeds in presenting a combat system that’s fun and challenging, without losing simplicity. Its characters are a bunch of lovely, lowly criminals that conduct themselves kind of aimlessly through life, failing upwards more than progressing, and perhaps, under all that rubbish you can find actually nice people with complex minds and even more complicated lives. But of course, Wolfstride is, first and foremost, a game about mechas demolishing each other, and the game never lets you forget it.

Because this game oozes love for mecha anime and RPGs without falling into being merely referential or nostalgic, Wolfstride is its own beast — a zany, at times heartfelt tale built atop a solid gameplay foundation of meeting giant robots and punching them in the face.

Ultimately, that blend exemplifies the entire experience in Wolfstride. There are good ideas at work with the combat, style, and interesting story twists. But for everything it does right, it does two things wrong. Whether it’s aggravating attempts at comedy, tasks that feel like a chore, or a tone that just can’t decide what it wants to be, there is always something standing between you and the ideal experience. So really, your experience will be defined by how much you can enjoy, or at least tolerate, the worst parts. There’s gold in them thar hills, but you’ll have to dig through a ton of peepoo to get to it.

Wolfstride is an enjoyable anime-like mech fighting adventure with an interesting cast of characters. Other than the slow start, it's easy to ignore the parts that fall short.

Wolfstride has its flaws, but if you’re willing to get past them, it ends up having a unique charm in its story, characters and combat that’s worth checking out. Sure, the giant anime mech battles may be a main draw, but you’ll stay for the clever bits of character development and glimpses into the history and personalities of these rascals as you get to know them. Wolfstride doesn’t always land with a huge mechanical blow, but it can still deliver a decent hit overall.

Ota Imon has something interesting to say with Wolfstride. I just hope it finds the right voice to say it with next time.

Wolfstride is a Brazil-developed robot battle RPG inspired by Japanese anime. A voluminous story, fun characters, rough and tough dialogue and a unique combat system make this an experience that will stay with you. However, the script is not always consistent, and combat lacks depth. While you will likely have fun for the majority of the game, don’t go in expecting an RPG with deep systems; but give this a try if lowlife punks and robot battles are your thing.

Pacing issues and some, uh, highly subjective humour aside, Wolfstride is a pleasingly original, sharply animated and silly JRPG tribute. Go in with some patience, and it’ll eventually be rewarded with an infectious mecha-battler with heart and style.