Wave Wave Review

By , on March 18, 2014
Last modified 10 years ago


Wave Wave - GameClub
  • Publisher: GameClub
  • Genre: Action
  • Released: 5 Mar, 2014
  • Size: 61.4 MB
  • Price: FREE!
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Simple, addictive action
  • Pulsating visuals are both stylish and integral to the rules of play
  • Offers a real challenge to speed-run freaks

 

CONS

  • Visual noise can be overwhelming
  • Punishingly difficult

VERDICT

Though its influences are obvious, everything in Wave Wave, from its visual distortion to its geometric foundations, works in service of its frantic, addictive gameplay.


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Wave Wave is a twitch arcade game which reverberates with the echoes of other mobile hits. Its mazes, which take the form corridors with triangular obstacles jutting from the floor and ceiling, are reminiscent of those found in Flappy Bird. However, its geometric presentation, lo-fi audio, and timed gameplay owe a huge debt to Super Hexagon.

In Wave Wave, you must guide your triangular avatar past angular stalagmites and stalactites. You tap to screen to make your tiny avatar rise, and release to make it fall. 

It's a simple mechanic, but one which the developer manipulates to great effect. Some stages replace deadly obstacles a near impossible assult course of health-reducing items. Other stages have items dotted around the maze that will affect how you play - including one that infuriatingly reverses your controls.

As you play, the world warps and twists around you. Here, the function of the geometric aesthetic becomes clear. Even as the world contorts, the triangles still indicate the correct path through the distorted landscape, helping you to keep your bearings amidst the flux. Gameplay modes like Random Infinity and Rotator Infinity maximise this visual noise to dizzying effect, with the maze inverting and spinning wildly thoughout. 

There's another element Wave Wave has in common with Super Hexagon beyond its pulsing visuals and chiptunes soundtrack, and that's its difficulty. Even on its lowest difficulty setting, the game is brutally challenging, setting a relentless pace from the word go, and trying to trip you up within seconds of beginning each round.

However, big challenges often deliver big rewards. In Wave Wave, there's a palpable thrill to beating your previous high score - even if only by tenths of a second. What's more, the instant restarts encourage you to keep going back to the well, catching you in a frantic loop of life, death, and rebirth. 

Though its influences are obvious and impossible to ignore, Wave Wave does manage to find its own voice. There are few games that make extending a run from 30 seconds to 31 seconds quite as satisfying, entertaining, or maddening. For that alone, it should be applauded.

Screenshots

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