Wik: The Fable of Souls Xbox 360 Review

“Oh my god, I paid almost 10 quid for this!” They were the first words that came from my mouth, boy was I pissed. Yes, I will admit I blindly purchased the title, I know I should have tried the demo first that should have been vital. I grabbed the remote and in disgust turned off the console. Then I left and went out for a quick game of football. Afterwards I muttered about Wik’s inability to walk and how he always had to rhyme every time that he would talk. The next day I came back to give the game one more try. I got as far as level ten and boy did the time ever fly. Why Wik could not walk all began to make sense now and finally I was actually having fun! Wik Works! Wow!

Yes I will admit the game is hard to get into but just give it some time and it will start to grow on you. You see Wik cannot walk he can only hop but this mechanic alone gives the gameplay great deal of scope. Coupled with Wik’s small walking handicap he also has a long tongue around objects he does wrap. When stuck to a part of colorful environment Wik can swing and swing and boy oh boy does he ever enjoy it! From trees to rocks to ledges he does swing but there is even more to the table he does bring.

The other talent that Wik does posses is the ability to snatch objects from wherever they rest. Be it insects, bugs or just little acorns Wik can use them to save the grubs but if he loses he will mourn. The object of the game is to gather these grubs with great haste and toss them to Slotham before he reaches the finishing gate. Who is this Slotham? is a question you may ask, well he is the only friend you have to help you finish this great task. Slotham walks across the bottom of the screen as you hurry to collect the bugs and try not to scream. Each level has a certain requirement of grubs to be captured in order to have any audience watching in raptures. Grubs can be taken by insects so you’d better watch out or you will have to play the level again with more grubs in your mouth. If an enemy does try to take a grub away you can rescue it by tossing a projectile his way.

In terms of visuals and audio there is not much to say, but we all know it is not pushing the 360 to its limits in any way. The graphics are nice and look great in high-definition, but the backgrounds are static for the duration of your mission. For a 2D game it looks great but there is much better out there, and some areas are dark and foreboding but not enough to give you a scare. Musically, the game has some nice compositions that will have you humming along to the eerie renditions. In terms of sound effects there is not much to write home about and no vocals are used as Wik remains silent throughout. The entire game’s story is told in text form so in this next gen environment Wik is a break from the norm. If you read the story as you advance through the game, you will find that like this review it does rhyme, they are two of the same!

All in all Wik is a surprisingly fun game to play around with. It has a different style than the other games that take cash from your wallet. There are not many other games out there it is quite like, and sadly that is a reason it is easy to dislike. Some may like it because it is so unique, but for others it will do nothing to make their interest peak. For around 10 quid you get a lot for your money and in multiplayer you can ask your partner “hey come play with me honey.” In story mode there are one hundred and twenty five levels to play through and that alone could take you a week or two. Then there is challenge mode in which new tasks will be set it could take another week to get to the end of that. To completely finish Wik is a daunting challenge to say the least, just imagine all the bugs upon which you must feast. Yes it is true that it may get repetitive at times as you finish each level and listen to Wik’s rhyme. Could I recommend this game to you? I’m not sure that I could, but it may be for you so let’s not be a stick in the mud. This game is not for all but there are a few that will enjoy it, just make sure you play the demo before you decided to buy it. Well that’s this review over now its time to flee I hope you enjoyed it and read it with glee.

7.5 out of 10