Squids Odyssey (Wii U) Review

The once peaceful ocean has become victim to a mysterious black ooze, which turns crustaceans in the surrounding area into squid murdering psychopaths. A shoal of squid have no choice but to fight back against these cranky crustaceans using the best weapon they have: Their bodies.

The objective is simple: stretch the squids' tentacles using either the left analogue stick or Touch Screen, then fling them towards enemies to deal damage or take a more tactical approach and knock the enemies off the edge of the level, instantly killing them.

Players are awarded a rank at the end of each level in the form of a three-star system, common in many smartphone titles. A star is awarded for completing the level in a set amount of times, another for keeping all party members alive and the final star is awarded for finding the hidden star in that level.

Squids Odyssey plays like a standard turn-based RPG, with the player taking their turn with each of the party members, and then the enemy team follows up with their attack, if they are close enough. Each squid has a set amount of stamina, which decreases every time that squid moves. There is enough stamina for about two to three full power flings or several smaller ones, but stamina fully replenishes after the enemy team have taken their turn.

There are four different classes of squid, each with their own unique skills and abilities. Scouts have the ability to dash a certain number of times after a fling to gain extra momentum, Troopers can use a ground pound to attack and knock back enemies within range, Shooters can fire a ranged attack that also knocks enemies back and Healers can fling themselves into other party members to heal them.

Scattered around each level are items that can be collected to provide a random status effect such as refilling stamina for that turn, turning the current squid into a spiky shell for protection, activating invulnerability for one attack, and also an item that makes any additional flings from that turn cover a larger distance.

Pearls are the currency found in Squids Odyssey and can be used to purchase things from the shop, like stat-boosting helmets and items that aid the player when used. Helmets can be used on multiple squids when purchased as their stats are transferred to the squid upon "using" them. Party members can also be levelled up individually by spending pearls to improve their stats, which in turn also increases the number of times they can use their special abilities.

The only bad thing about Squids Odyssey is that the menus can be rather slow and clunky to navigate, regardless of what control method is used. Other than the clunky menus, there isn't really much else to be said about Squids Odyssey, only that it is a great addition to the Wii U eShop.