Wonder Wand Preview: A Big Switch!

Magically switching soon onto multiple platforms comes Wonder Wand. Developed and published by Pixlas Wonder Wand sees you take on the role of a fox wizard trapped in a dank and dark prison. And then must use a mysterious wand to escape. And save the townsfolk from the villainous boss that lurks deeper in the dungeon. In this indie-action-adventure title, you’ll use said mysterious wand to swap places with enemies, items, and more in your quest to save the day.

The preview build of Wonder Wand I am playing was released as part of this year’s SAGE event. And I have to say that I have liked what I have seen thus far. The game rather heavily tips its wizard cap to the classic 2D Zelda games in more ways than one. And makes a valiant effort to recreate the puzzle gameplay in them. But if you want to find out how successful or not it pulled that off you’ll need to read this preview!

Wonder Wand‘s release date has yet to be announced. And is set to release on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. The title can be wishlisted on Steam.

Story – Wonder Why?

In a mystical fantasy land in the long distant past, or possibly far future, you find yourself a prisoner for reasons unknown and mysterious. You play a young fox who must escape prison, save the villagers of the local town, and defeat the prison’s boss, the nasty Big Wart. That is about the long and short of the story as it stands. To be blunt dear reader there isn’t much here. This is another case of an indie-dev’ focusing more on refining the gameplay than getting too lost in crafting the story. And that is fine. And not something I can in good faith knock them for.

Wonder Wand’s story is intentionally enigmatic.

Outside the boarding on the comically enigmatic intro, there are hints at a quirkier tone. Along your adventure, you’ll find a collection of items that presumably belong to the residents of the town that you are saving. Each is wacky and has a silly edge to it. Which if handled well could be quite charming. Aside from that there isn’t much to say. I feel there could have been more tutorial text at the start of the game. Or at least a splash screen saying what button was which but. It is early days. And that is stuff that can come into play later.

Gameplay – Switch Around

As I said at the start of this preview Wonder Wand is a 2D Puzzle-Adventure title that tips its cap to the 16-Bit fantasy games of yore. More specifically The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. This title has a look and feel rather reminiscent of it, as well as the Gameboy Colour Zelda titles. But more on that in a moment. Your goal in this adventure is to lead our protagonist through a strange prison. Swapping places with any monsters and objects to avoid disaster and to solve a series of puzzles that come your way.

Wonder Wand has a neat loop to its puzzles.

Some require a fair bit of planning and solving, others require good reactions. And some need both. The breadth of difficulty throughout this preview build is rather refreshing; it is never too easy yet never too hard. With the challenge growing at a steady pace. Yes, it is plain to see this is from early in the title’s length; this feels like it is more of the tutorial/opening level. And it does everything there that it needs to; Introducing the game’s concepts in an even-handed way.

A Link to Today

As I alluded to earlier this title very much feels like a classic 2D Zelda game. The best way to describe the gameplay loop is to imagine an entire Zelda game based around one of the more gimmicky items you’d find in a dungeon. Goodness, I even recall there being a similar item in one of the Oracle games! At a push of a button, you’ll fire out a magic bolt from your wand and swap positions with almost anything. You have to use this magic wand to go from area to area, solving the puzzles, collecting treasure, then eventually defeating the end boss.

The boss fight is a great challenge.

The experience thus far is pleasant. That is the best way I can describe it. It is fun for what it is and offers a unique challenge. The controls can be a tad iffy at times. And in wholehearted honesty, I’m not sure if that is due to me being inexperienced with the game or that the keyboard controls feel a little off to me somehow. The title does support controllers. And I have to say that in that regard the controls are every bit as tight and responsive as you’d hope they’d be. And I dare say is the better way to play this one.

The Need for Speed

A curious element of the build of Wonder Wand that I previewed is that there seems to be a rather eager focus on making it as Speed-Run friendly as possible. As you go along you will unlock various speed-run challenges for you to complete. It’s an interesting choice to be sure. And whilst it does give an excuse to go back and challenge yourself there is a part of me that worries that the developer may end up becoming more focused on making a Speed-Run-friendly game than making one that may have more complex and time-consuming puzzles.

To be blunt I don’t feel terribly compelled to save this guy for a speed-run.

But all we can do is see how that develops. Plus I suppose for people who are more interested in those challenges it is a fine addition. And it would be profoundly shortsighted of me to start ringing the alarm bells on a modest optional feature like this one. With all of that said Wonder Wand offers a fun experience that shows a lot of promise. Collecting treasure and saving prisoners to restore the little village feels like it could be a cute feature. And the core gameplay is solid enough even if it does need expanding out a little more.

Graphics & Audio – Familiar Faces

As is often the case with indie titles Wonder Wand wears its influences on its sleeve. Many of the graphics have a very familiar Zelda-like look to them. Granted, given this is a preview build this may all change. And hopefully so. Whilst the design references are clear, and the material original, some aspects like the guard designs risk being accused of plagiarism. This might not mean much from some fatso game reviewer but the corporate types out there are less sympathetic. Beyond that, the design of the game is fine. It does feel that our main character could do with a little tidying up. But there is nothing in here that feels out of place too much.

The soundtrack is great for a title like this. It feels exactly like the music for a game like this should. Having the right adventurous tone mixed in with a healthy slice of retro flare for good measure. My issue with the soundtrack isn’t a matter of quality. But more a matter of volume. In the current build, there is no way to turn down the volume in-game. And given how inconsistent the volume mixing can be in this one some moments can be disarming when they come along. But let’s be frank, I’d be pretty surprised if the game launched without basic sound options.

Wonder Wand was previewed on PC.