Wrestling with Emotions is something I can’t wait to experience every minute of | Hands-on preview
Before I wrote reviews about all the weird and wonderful games that my lovely editor throws my way, I wrote about the equally weird and equally wonderful world of wrestling. I’ve always been fascinated by this flamboyant blend of sport and entertainment, so when the muscles and steel chairs make their way into video games I’m always happy to get tagged in. Wrestling with Emotions combines big sweaty performers with dating sim romance, and I can’t wait to play the full game.
For now though fans of love and grappling will have to settle for the demo, titled Demo Dawg’s Treat. It lasts significantly less than an hour, but gives a really good taste of what Wrestling with Emotions has to offer. You’ll get to meet some of the beefy romance options, see how the MEAT system works, and begin your journey into superstardom.
One fateful night while watching your favourite wrestlers suplexing each other, our protagonist has a flash of inspiration. An advert calling for potential wrestlers to join the roster of Wrestling with Emotions (or WWE for short) tells anyone interested to go out and buy the latest wrestling magazine to apply for the job, and one trip to the shops later you’re filling the form in.
You’ll get your first taste of the silly comedy that Wrestling with Emotions has to offer in this scene, when presented with a bunch of daft options to put on the form. After writing down that I weighed just enough to crush a cake and that my best feature was my nipples, I sent off my application and was invited to train with my childhood stars. If you aren’t a fan of wacky comedy this probably isn’t the game for you, but I was in my element.
Once you get to the training centre you get to see a little more of the systems that make this visual novel tick. There are four key stats in the game that indicate the options you can choose when faced with a decision, and they handily spell out the word MEAT. Muscle is pretty self explanatory, but there’s also Elegance, Attitude, and Theatrics that you can use to solve problems and shine on the grandest stage.
By far the best part of the demo involved choosing locations to upgrade these base stats (although admittedly most of the choices were locked). The first of these powered up my Elegance with a makeover, which involved actually customising my character’s nails, arm tattoos and jewellery. Next up was an Attitude adjustment, which saw me rating the bands who wanted to play at the local hangout spot. It’s nice to play a dating sim that isn’t entirely made up of dialogue options, and I can’t wait to see what the other MEATy routes involve.
Depending on your MEAT stats, it seems like in the full game the potential lovers will be more impressed with your character. I only got to meet a handful of them in this demo, but the variety was pretty darn impressive. Whether you want to romance a badass luchador in a cat mask or a weird green melting man, there’s sure to be a muscular mate for you in Wrestling with Emotions.
One of the things that impressed me most in this Wrestling with Emotions demo is the art style. The unusual and colourful aesthetic is just a perfect fit for a game full of flamboyant wrestlers, and alongside the wonderful writing it just brings this charming world to life.
It’s also worth mentioning the inclusivity in the game. From pronouns to romanceable characters, this dating sim is for everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender, and the developers are clearly very proud of that fact. This will mean a whole lot to a large group of people (myself included) and I just love that this is the direction this genre is going.
By combining dating sims and wrestling, Wrestling with Emotions has created something I can’t wait to experience every minute of. This silly and inclusive world definitely has my attention, and I’ll be back for more bodyslams and cuddles as soon as possible.
Wrestling with Emotions: New Kid on the Block is coming to PC “soon”.
