Starwhal (Wii U) Review

Starwhal is primarily a multiplayer game; designed with the versus modes in mind. These modes can be played by four people locally, or by one against three CPU enemies. Each player controlled whale can be customised with a diverse range of cosmetic items, and by picking a skin colour. The variety is great, allowing for everything, from a normal narwhal, to a narwhal with a beard wearing a tuxedo - this would be nothing without the variety the developers have packed it with.

There are many arena styles, many of which introduce new obstacles such as ice or lava. Traversing the stages is great fun, something that relies on a rather interesting gravity system. By using A or B, the whales get propelled forwards, and during their acceleration the angle can be adjusted. The gameplay feels great and is simple enough that anyone can pick this up and get going very quickly, which is essential for a fighting title. Furthermore, everything has a great weighty feel to it; there is nothing more satisfying in the game than sliding round the stage, and then sliding the narwhal horn under an opponent and nailing an all-important heart shot.

There are many modes which involve different winning criteria. The Classic mode is similar to the Smash Bros. series stock battles, and while it may seem like it's the most fun, the other modes present some interesting twists. There is a points mode (pretty self-explanatory) along with a couple of other interesting modes, one of which involves the narwhal players escaping from the gamepad player who's task is to blow up the other whales before the timer hits zero. The balance of the gameplay is great and the unusual, yet simple, controls make this a pickup-and-play title, therefore, even newcomers can get stuck straight in, and yet, the physics are complex enough that it can be played skilfully and hard to master technically.

There isn't a whole lot of single player content on show, though. There is a very challenging challenge mode, best played after mastering the weight of the physics, but aside from the challenges, there is nothing else much apart from fighting the AI, which, while a decent challenge, is not nearly as entertaining as fighting with friends.

One other point of note is the lack of online multiplayer, which may well have been butchered by the Wii U's use of friend codes anyway, which pretty much further writes off buying this if you don't game locally with others. Other than that, the presentation is great. Everything is bright and colourful, the whales and stage details stand out from the background, the music is fantastic as it really pumps the mood up! It feels very cathartic to play, much like Nidhog, and akin to this, it's a much better experience in multiplayer.