Overview – developed by Pippin Games and published by Eastasiasoft, Wife Quest is an action platformer with Metroidvania elements. The heroine Mia must rescue her husband Fernando from the monster girls that have kidnapped him, with some risqué action and fanservice elements. This title is available on all console platforms, with links to each version at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Wife Quest used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story. For the gameplay section, I will be only covering the core gameplay and will be omitting some details about bonus content, this is to prevent spoiling any of the surprises that the game has.
Story – the former warrior Mia has to go on a quest to rescue her husband Fernando, who has been kidnapped by monster girls who keep trying to seduce him. Travelling the land surrounding her home, Mia must battle the bosses of each area and their minions, punishing them for their sins when she defeats them. Can Mia defeat the monsters girls and reunite with her beloved Fernando?
Gameplay – this title is a side scrolling action platformer with some Metroidvania elements, where the player as Mia, travels the different environments and battles the monster girls that live there. When starting the game, Mia is armed with just a sword to fight with, but she does find a magic shield that will allow her to deflect attacks and prevent damage.
The zones that Mia travels through are separated into different sub-stages, with checkpoints sporadically through them as well as challenging encounters. There are also areas where paths can branch off, adding a simple puzzle element to the exploration where switches must be hit to open gates in different ways. The exploration also has some Metroidvania elements, with new paths being available as new skills are obtained.
Each enemy that the player encounters has their own unique look, attack patterns and some are specific to the region they are in. They can be battled with the sword or by using magic, dealing damage by reflecting attacks or by sending projectiles back at them. When Mia defeats an enemy she can punish them with both hilarious and lewd results, Jumping on them, choking them and hitting them as a few examples.
When an enemy is knocked out, they can drop treasure which includes gold to be used at the shop (discussed further down), hearts to heal the player and gems to refill the magic meter. Alongside the drops from enemies, treasure chests can be found scattered across the lands, with hidden paths and secrets where increased riches can be found.
The secrets that can be found include music tracks, special images for a gallery and hidden power-ups to boost Mia’s strength. When a region is cleared, a checklist will appear showing the performance for that area, showing how many enemies have been defeated, treasure located and more. After the stage has been beaten for the first time, new challenges will be added with rewards for completion, including time challenges that promote speedrunning.
During each of the levels, a boss battle will occur with Mia fighting the Monster Girl leader of that area. Each of the bosses has their own distinct design which thematically fits their area, with challenging platforming and combat that has increasingly difficult patterns. When the boss is defeated, Mia will punish them during a cutscene and obtain a new skill, using magic for each of the abilities which are useful when backtracking for challenges.
Outside the stages, there is a shop that Mia can visit which is operated by the Dwarf Ymir, who provides upgrades to weapons, magic and new outfits that make Mia stronger. Mia can also purchase items that can aid her in battle, which are potions to refill health and magic, heart containers to increase overall hit points and mana crystals to boost total magic. Ymir also has gallery and music tracks available for purchase, adding another reason to replay stages for coins.
There are additional modes that can be unlocked while playing, alongside the content that is unlocked during the course of the game. This adds an incentive to keep playing and trying to clear all the challenges, coupled with the rewards that are provided from the Ymir challenges and hidden pick-ups. The game may feel short to some, but there is a lot to do with challenges, speedrunning/time trials and collectables that are scattered throughout the game world.
Now with the gameplay covered, let’s move onto the other aspects of the game, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls for Wife Quest are basic at the start, with just movement, attacking with the sword and jumping. However, as new skills become available like the shield, the inputs and controls become more complicated with new prompts that will make it more challenging. But even with the increasing complexity of the controls over time, the game plays comfortably in handheld and docked modes, with either a pro controller or Joy-Cons.
Difficulty – there is a gradual difficulty curve to this title that increases over time, but there are some moments where it can feel like it spikes. This is most present during boss battles, when first learning patterns and trying to avoid getting hit by everything. To offset these challenges, the difficulty can be lessened a little by grinding coins, buying upgrades and collecting potions. There is also a good checkpoint system, which allows players to leave and return to the boss if they need upgrades.
Presentation – the visuals for this release use a vibrant pixel art style to the graphics, with detailed sprites for characters, smooth animations and thematic backgrounds that fit each zone. The cutscenes and character interactions are put forward with dialogue boxes, using expressions that show a range of emotion well. One thing to note is that the majority of enemies are “bouncy” which doesn’t take away from the gameplay, but it may not be to every ones taste.
In the sound departments, the voice work is limited to general sounds including pain and laughter, with some risqué sound bites used at different points, which have a slightly sexual side to them. The soundtrack has a good balance to it, with music that fits each area and encounter, with an excellent fantasy motif throughout, bringing the whole experience together.
Final Thoughts – I had a fun time playing this title, with the gameplay that has elements of Metroidvania and has an old school vibe to it, having gameplay similar to titles like the WonderBoy games. The role reversal where the heroine saves her husband is a nice change, with the angry wife punishing her enemies being a fun extra layer to the experience. The fanservice elements can be off putting to some, but the humor of it doesn’t detract from the overall product.
I can happily recommend this title to everyone, but I will make it clear that the difficulty spikes that can occur during boss battles are a slight negative with this release. However, the checkpoint system, the ability to grind coins to buy upgrades and recovery items can lessen the difficulty. There are also the secrets to unlock, the extra game modes and challenges that add to the experience further, giving players a lot to do in this game.
In the end, I give Wife Quest a final score of 4/5. This is a very good side scrolling action platformer, with an abundance of bonus content to obtain and unlock, including gallery images, music tracks and extra game modes, creating a rewarding and fun challenge for players. If you want to check this title out for yourself, links to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 