Wavetale Wiki - Complete Guide

Quick Facts

Developer: Sundawg Studios

Publisher: Thunderful Publishing

Release Date: November 30, 2022 (Nintendo Switch, PC); December 6, 2022 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)

Genre: Action-Adventure, Platformer

Game Mode: Single-player

Art Style: Comic-book inspired, cell-shaded

Setting: The sunken islands of V shaped by a mysterious sludge called the Gloom

Playtime: Approximately 5 to 7 hours

What Makes It Special

At first glance, Wavetale looks like a traditional 3D action-adventure game, but it separates itself from the pack through its incredibly fluid traversal system and its striking, hand-crafted aesthetic. The game doesn't try to be a massive, hundred-hour open-world RPG. Instead, it focuses on delivering a tight, meticulously paced experience that feels like playing through a high-quality Saturday morning cartoon.

The most defining feature of Wavetale is the net ability. The protagonist, Sigrid, doesn't just walk, run, or swim to get around; she surfs across the ocean, swings from floating debris, and vaults over obstacles using a magical, glowing net. This mechanic turns the environment itself into a continuous, kinetic playground. There are rarely moments where you are just holding forward on a joystick; you are actively timing swings, launching off ramps, and chaining together movements to maintain momentum.

Furthermore, the game’s visual presentation is wholly unique. Developed by Sundawg Studios—a team with deep roots in animation—the game utilizes a comic-book art style complete with halftone dot patterns, bold ink outlines, and dynamic panel-style transitions during cutscenes. The water effects are particularly noteworthy, rendering the ocean not as a realistic body of water, but as a stylized, glowing canvas that reacts beautifully to Sigrid's movements. It is a game that looks spectacular in screenshots but feels even better in motion.

How to Play

Wavetale’s gameplay loop is built around three distinct pillars: traversal, combat, and puzzle-solving, all of which revolve around Sigrid’s transforming net and her mysterious companion.

The Net and Traversal

The core of the gameplay is Sigrid’s net, which she uses to grapple, swing, and surf. When Sigrid is on the water, the net acts like a wakeboard, allowing her to glide across the surface at high speeds. When she approaches floating debris, shipwrecks, or Gloom structures poking out of the ocean, she can shoot the net at these anchor points to swing around them like a pendulum. Mastering the "swing and release" timing is essential for crossing large gaps, reaching high platforms, and escaping enemies. The game continually introduces new environmental objects to grapple to, ensuring the traversal never feels stale from the opening minutes to the end credits.

Combat Mechanics

Combat in Wavetale is fast-paced and focused on crowd control and momentum. Sigrid does not use traditional weapons like swords or guns. Instead, she uses her net to slam into enemies, bash them away, or pull them toward her.

• Light Attacks: Quick swings of the net that can stagger basic enemies.
• Heavy Attacks: Charged strikes that deal massive damage and can break enemy shields.
• Dash: A crucial evasive maneuver that allows Sigrid to phase through incoming attacks. When upgraded, dashing can be chained multiple times.
• The Companion: Early in the game, Sigrid merges with a mysterious entity. This allows her to temporarily transform her net into a giant, heavy sword. This "sword mode" deals massive area-of-effect damage and is necessary for breaking through heavily armored foes, but its use is governed by a cooldown meter.

Enemies primarily consist of Gloom-infused creatures, ranging from small, irritating swarm bugs to large, hulking brutes that require precise dashing to defeat. Combat encounters are usually integrated into the traversal, meaning you are often fighting while swinging over the water, requiring you to manage your momentum while dodging attacks.

Puzzles and Progression

Puzzles in Wavetale are environmental and physics-based. You will frequently need to manipulate objects using your net—pulling heavy crates to weigh down switches, dragging floating platforms to create new grappling paths, or swinging around to activate distant switches. The game also features light Metroidvania elements. As you progress through the story, your companion gains new abilities, such as a mid-air double jump or a dive attack, which allow you to backtrack and access previously unreachable areas containing collectibles.

The Upgrade System

Progression is tied to a straightforward upgrade vendor. By exploring the world and defeating enemies, you collect two main currencies: generic coins and specific "Gloop" drops from elite enemies. At upgrade stations (which double as fast-travel points), you can spend these resources to increase Sigrid’s max health, reduce the cooldown of her sword transformation, increase the damage of her heavy attacks, or add extra charges to her dash. The upgrades are meaningful and noticeably change how the game feels to play, particularly the dash and sword cooldown reductions.

World & Lore

The setting of Wavetale is one of its most compelling aspects. The game takes place in an archipelago known as V, a collection of islands that were swallowed by the ocean following a catastrophic event. The remnants of civilization are now scattered across a flooded landscape, with humans eking out an existence on small rafts, floating platforms, and the rooftops of ancient skyscrapers that jut out of the water.

The Gloom

The primary antagonistic force in the world is the Gloom, a dark, oily, toxic substance that continuously rises from the depths of the ocean. The Gloom corrupts everything it touches, turning sea life into monstrous creatures and swallowing up remaining landmasses. The Gloom isn't just a plot device; it is a physical barrier in the game world. Pools of Gloom act as hazards that will damage Sigrid if she touches them, and Gloom waterfalls frequently block your path until you find a way to drain or bypass them. The origin of the Gloom is tied directly to the ancient history of the islands and the nature of Sigrid’s mysterious companion.

The Island Communities

Despite the grim setting, the world of Wavetale feels remarkably alive and cozy. The surviving humans have banded together into small, distinct communities spread across the islands. You will encounter a fishing village built on a network of wooden planks, a bustling marketplace situated on a massive stranded cargo ship, and a hidden sanctuary carved into the side of a cliff.

The non-playable characters (NPCs) you meet are well-written and memorable, each dealing with the apocalypse in their own way—some with despair, others with stubborn optimism, and many with a cynical sense of humor. Sundawg Studios excels at making you care about these communities, which makes your mission to protect them feel personal rather than like a generic "save the world" trope.

Sigrid and the Companion

You play as Sigrid, a young woman who is not native to the main islands but arrives from the outside. When she encounters the mysterious, glowing aquatic entity, they are forced to merge to survive an immediate Gloom attack. This merger creates the game's core dynamic: a constant, bickering banter between Sigrid (pragmatic, grounded, and determined) and the entity (arrogant, sarcastic, and hiding a deep secret about its past). Their evolving relationship is the emotional backbone of the story, moving from mutual annoyance to genuine friendship as they uncover the truth about the sinking of V.

Getting Started Guide

Wavetale is an accessible game, but because its traversal mechanics are slightly different from standard 3D platformers, new players can occasionally find themselves struggling with momentum or combat flow. Here is a step-by-step guide to getting your bearings and mastering the early hours of the game.

Master the Swing Early

The single most important thing to learn in Wavetale is how to swing effectively. When you grapple onto an anchor point, Sigrid will swing in an arc. Do not just hold the grapple button until she stops. To maximize distance and height, you need to watch the arc of your swing. When Sigrid is at the highest point of her swing and moving forward, let go of the button. This will launch her in a parabolic arc, carrying your momentum forward. If you let go too early or too late, you will plunge into the water, losing your speed and leaving yourself vulnerable.

Keep Moving During Combat

Standing still in Wavetale is a quick way to see the game over screen. Because there is no traditional block or parry mechanic, your only defense is the dash. When fighting groups of enemies, focus on hitting one or two times, then immediately dashing through an enemy to reposition. Use the environment to your advantage—swing around a pole to dodge an incoming attack, then release at the apex of your swing to slam back down into the enemy. Treat combat as an extension of your traversal, not a separate mode.

Upgrade the Dash First

When you first gain access to the upgrade vendor, you will have a few options. Prioritize upgrading your dash to give you extra charges. Having two or three dashes in quick succession makes both exploration and combat infinitely easier. It gives you a massive margin for error when crossing large gaps of Gloom and allows you to easily dance around heavily armored enemies while waiting for your sword ability to come off cooldown.

Talk to Everyone Twice

The islands of V are filled with NPCs who offer side quests. These quests usually involve finding a lost item, clearing out a small Gloom nest, or fetching a specific resource. Completing these side quests is highly recommended for two reasons. First, they reward you with the currency needed to buy upgrades. Second, and more importantly, they unlock "fast travel" buoys. Wavetale does not have a map-wide fast travel system from the start; you can only fast travel between buoys that you have activated by helping the local community. Doing side quests early saves a massive amount of backtracking later in the game.

Don't Ignore the Collectibles

Scattered across the map are glowing collectibles that often require tricky platforming to reach. In many games, these can be skipped, but in Wavetale, they are tied to lore and character development. Finding these items often unlocks diary entries, comic book pages, or audio logs that flesh out the history of the world and explain what the Gloom actually is. If you want the ending of the game to have its full emotional impact, take the time to explore and find these lore pieces.

Use the Sword for Breakable Walls

When you unlock the sword transformation, it is easy to view it purely as a combat tool to kill big enemies. However, you should also use it to interact with the environment. If you see a wall with large cracks in it or a cluster of heavy debris blocking a cave entrance, switch to sword mode and hit it. Behind these breakable walls are almost always hidden caches of upgrade materials or secret pathways that lead to optional areas.

Common Questions

Is Wavetale an open-world game?

No, Wavetale is not a traditional open-world game. It features large, interconnected zones that you can freely explore, but the overall progression is linear. You will unlock new areas of the map as you progress through the story and acquire new abilities for your companion. It is closer in design to games like Ratchet & Clank or Sunset Overdrive than it is to Breath of the Wild.

How long does it take to beat?

A straightforward playthrough of Wavetale, focusing only on the main story and skipping most side content, will take roughly 5 hours. However, if you take the time to explore the islands, complete the side quests for the NPCs, find all the lore collectibles, and fully upgrade Sigrid, you can easily spend 7 to 8 hours in the game. It is a tightly paced experience that respects your time.

Is the game suitable for children?

Yes, Wavetale is highly suitable for children and younger gamers. It has an E10+ (Everyone 10 and up) rating. The combat is cartoonish and lacks any blood or gore; enemies simply poof into clouds of dark smoke when defeated. The story deals with themes of loss and environmental disaster, but it handles them with a lighthearted, optimistic tone that is easy for kids to digest. Furthermore, the platforming mechanics are forgiving, with no permanent punishments for falling into the water.

Does the game run well on the Nintendo Switch?

Wavetale performs surprisingly well on the Nintendo Switch. While it doesn't reach the pristine 4K resolutions of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X versions, the art style is incredibly forgiving. Because the game uses bold comic-book lines and flat colors rather than hyper-realistic textures, it looks fantastic on the Switch's screen, both in docked and handheld modes. The frame rate is generally stable, which is crucial given how dependent the gameplay is on precise swinging timing. The Switch version is an excellent way to play the game.

Is there any replay value?

Wavetale is primarily a single-playthrough experience. Once you have beaten the story and uncovered the lore, there are no alternate endings, new game plus modes, or multiplayer features to draw you back in. However, for players who enjoy speedrunning or mastery-based gameplay, trying to optimize your routes through the islands and maintain perfect traversal momentum offers some inherent replayability. The game tracks your completion percentage, so completionists may find themselves returning to clean up the last few hidden collectibles.