Details: Written by: Brian Moats; Category: Video Games; Published: 30 January 2023

GIVE ME BACK MY FERNANDO!!!

Wife Quest (2021)
Developer(s)	Pippin Games	Publisher	Pippin Games
Platform Availability	Steam, Epic Games, Xbox, Switch, PS4/5	Genre	Action Platformer
	1	13+		4-8hrs

Story

The story is pretty straight forward. Mia and Fernando are married and live together in a land...full of monster girls...who all want Fernando. Fernando is kidnapped (maybe...) and Mia is angry and out to save her husband.

Playable Characters

You play as Mia who is trying to rescue her husband (Fernando) from a group of sexy monster ladies who just want to spend time with him. Mia and Fernando live a simple farm life, but their home seems to be surround by monster lands. Two major observations I have made about this world:

1. Fernando seems like the last man on earth because there are no other men anywhere in the game. Mia often tells the monster ladies to find their own man, but where?!

2. This is definitely not the first time he has been taken by the monster ladies. Fernando seems all too chill about being kidnapped and expresses his desire to go home to Mia...but does he really? More on that later.

Without knowing how often Fernando is kidnapped, I can't really say whether Mia's anger is justified. Mia is definitely filled with rage and more than happy to dispatch the many, many monster girls in the most painful ways.

Game Mechanics

The gameplay is very good. It is a pretty standard platformer with new areas unlocked as the character acquires new movement skills. You have the basic actions of moving, swinging your sword, and jumping; later in the game, you will acquire additional moves such as a shield, glide, dash, charged up a smash attack, and a bow. These advanced moves use mana, which is limited in the normal game mode; you will have to think somewhat carefully how to use the moves. The limited mana isn't usually a big issue as there are plenty of sources of mana throughout the levels; however, during boss fights, that is not the case.

The level design pairs very well with the moves you have. Early in the game, you have to think a little more carefully about your movements and attacks, but as you acquire new actions, health, and attack damage, you can quickly run through earlier levels revealing hidden treasure. There were only a few segments of the game I didn't enjoy on my first playthrough (specifically the switch rafts in the Hellcano). Overall, the levels had their own unique twists and fun challenges to overcome.

Graphics

gif04 I personally enjoy this style of sprite art. Everything is very clear and characters actually show emotions to match their personality. The sprite animation works very well; nothing ever popped out as jarring. There were a few times that elements in the level made me question whether it was a safe platform to jump onto or not. Some of the "traps" didn't stand out very well; this is mostly by design of course. The graphics made navigating the levels also pretty easy even if I still need to find a few hidden treasure chests hidden throughout the land.

Of course, with any anime style game with girls, there will also be an emphasis on the chest. I started this review off saying this game will not be for everyone. I watch a lot of anime so I am desensitized to a lot of it. It is definitely not the reason I played this game, but it also wasn't a reason I would choose not to play it either. They certainly don't try to hide it and is very clear from the main art of the game. That all said, the character designs are all very good. Each major character is very distinct and match the personality they have given the characters.

Audio

The games soundtrack is pretty good for a game of this style. It never felt over powerful or out of place. It isn't necessarily a soundtrack I am going to be listening to while not playing the game, but it certainly makes the gameplay enjoyable. The sound effects of the characters are definitely very entertaining and a highlight of the game; this is especially true once you reach the ice world and face off against Fria, The Front Queen. I won't spoil it...she is just an entertaining character.

Final Thoughts

My question after playing the game is...who is the real bad guy? Mia seems all too happy to cause the monster ladies a lot of excessive pain and always smiling about it. Also, I feel Fernando is being saved by the monster ladies since it is clear Mia has a temper issue and may have some psychological issues she needs to work out.

In all seriousness though, Wife Quest was a great experience. There were levels that were harder than others, but rarely did the game seem unfair (except maybe in the Hellcano with the switch rafts). The progression of skills acquired is good, and there is reason to return to earlier levels with the newer skills to obtain hidden treasures. The game is very forgiving when you die sending you only back to the beginning of the current segment of the level or the last mid-segment checkpoint. The story and characters are a lot of fun. The first time I played through the game, I was laughing a lot at the dialog and the ways Mia would finish off the enemies.

The only problem I ever had was in the Hellcano with the switch rafts. It was very hard on normal mode to make the needed jumps to avoid the lava especially on 12-15. This was probably the only time I actually got frustrated with the game on normal mode. During my live stream of playing through the Magic Mode, I made a lot of mistakes, but it was mostly from just playing around and not worrying about dying. So, certainly not the game's fault at all when I died a handful of times in a few segments.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game. For a game under $8 (sometimes cheaper on sale), you can't go wrong if you don't mind the theme and enjoy a good anime storyline. I am looking forward to picking up a few other Pippin Games other titles.

Also...Mia is the real villain in my eyes. :)