Review: Wunderling
For whatever reason, fans of the Super Mario games have enjoyed engaging in absolutely ludicrous speculation and obscure fact-finding about their world and lore (i.e. the Peachette discourse, or Mario punching Yoshi). They turn the chirpy and innocent into the grotesque, and project somewhat dark implications into the behind-the-scenes goings-on in the Mushroom Kingdom. More often than not, Wunderling from Retroid often feels like a byproduct inspired by that absurd Mario conjecture, with the high-concept pitch being: what if there was a Mario game with a Goomba as the hero?
Wunderling is a difficult game to detail because any barebones explanation of the gameplay would sound like how the gameplay of any other platformer would be described—the player controls the hero to make it from one end of the level to the other by avoiding obstacles with precise jumping. But within the context of Wunderling and its unique mechanics, this basic premise becomes a distinct and memorable experience of its own. And it certainly helps that Wunderling has an attitude that makes it stand out.
The beautiful Vegetable Kingdom is in the grip of a wicked witch by the name of Kohlrabi, and only the brave Carrot Man is willing to run and stomp through her forces and save the damsel, Princess Pea. A prologue has the player in the shoes of Carrot Man, going on a rampage and jumping on every one of Kohlrabi’s lemon-shaped henchmen. But this sentient carrot isn’t the hero of the story—in fact, he can be characterized as a cocksure egomaniac.
Instead, the poor minion that Carrot Man footstools off of becomes the sorceress’s chosen one. Your Wunderling is given the task of chasing after the menacing Carrot Man and is bestowed with the amazing ability to jump. The Wunderling becomes an underdog, encountering and clashing with the arrogant Carrot Man numerous times. Tonally, Wunderling resembles satirical movies like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, or for Broadway aficionados, the stage musical Wicked.
But another twist comes with the premise of essentially playing as a Goomba; your Wunderling can only run continuously in one direction, only turning around when hitting a wall. What ensues is a game that is less about running and jumping and more about planning.
Wunderling starts off as a one-button game, never using the analog stick except for navigating through the menus. The player cannot change direction at will or stop moving forward, leading to a number of different scenarios as the game throws a variety of obstacles in your way. These include gaps, spike balls (with unsettling smiling faces), one-way doors, locked doors, dash pads, and collapsing floors. The reason why I hesitate to only classify Wunderling as a platformer is that even with the platforming mechanics of running and jumping, the autonomous nature of the movement turns the gameplay into more of a puzzle. Your Wunderling is a fragile little boy, with death resulting from single hits and small mistakes, and it takes some planning ahead to get it to the end of each level.
Another layer of the gameplay adds some urgency: your Wunderling will be collecting seeds (that turn to golden flowers after being collected) in these levels, but they aren’t only mere collectibles—they sustain your Wunderling’s life. Along with avoiding hazards, players will also have to make sure that they don’t become stranded without any of these flowers nearby. The Wunderling, along with going through a correct path from start to finish, will have to do it with little error as well.
Throughout the six worlds of Wunderling, players will accumulate a number of abilities that aid in their quest: one world introduces a regenerating berry that will give the Wunderling a dash ability, which will give it some additional jumping distance. Another world gives it a wall jump, while the next world introduces walls that cannot be wall jumped off of. Finally, the Wunderling will gain an air dash that can break through rocks. Some of these powers can also assist in obtaining the one treasure chest in each level, all with a fun cosmetic item for the Wunderling—some can’t be obtained until getting one of these late-game powers.
Even with all of the abilities stacked onto the player’s repertoire of moves, the gameplay of Wunderling may sound straightforward. With the controller in hand, however, it’s shocking how sensitive and nuanced the limited movement options are. Platformers usually have playable characters that jump higher the longer the jump button is held, but Wunderling makes the player jump with such precision that even the most minute over or undershooting will result in a quick death. Even with the right strategy and route in mind, trial-and-error is required to try every little adjustment.
Yet, while many trial-and-error games have frustrated me in the past, I never felt angry at Wunderling. One could argue that this game doesn’t leave a lot of room for improvisation or versatility—most of the levels feel like corridors. But having just a couple of ways to go about finishing a level seems fitting when taking the puzzle element of the game into account; to find the solution of navigating the level successfully becomes immensely satisfying. This isn’t a fancy physics simulator, it’s a problem-solving challenge.
On occasion, however, the nuance expected from the player might be a bit too much. Take one ability, for instance, where a pick-up gives the Wunderling wings—the jump button will give it some height, but the rules change when in the air; the player can’t change direction, even when hitting a wall, until landing on solid ground. Some parts of these flying levels will have spike balls on the wall that are quite difficult to avoid, so the player will have to bump into the wall to have a slight bounce. It’s contrived, as the bounce feels more like feedback rather than a required part of the gameplay, and having something that would otherwise be insignificant in other games as an essential gameplay component in this one requires a certain jump in logic.
I can say with some certainty that I really enjoy Wunderling—it takes familiar elements from platformers and remixes them into something truly fun and original. A minor worry that I have is that it may look too familiar on the surface. Its cutesy, colorful pixel art and catchy soundtrack may make it look too derivative of other character-based platformers, but actually delving into the game’s content reveals much more.
Going with the idea that Mario fans extrapolate a lot of darkness when speculating about lore, Wunderling goes that route in having some morbid world-building. Respawning as the Wunderling has the player character come out of a spherical device as yellow sludge, accompanied by a fitting sound effect that almost makes me shudder when I hear it. A later world that takes place in a factory has some background storytelling that shows some horrid and cruel implications for these minions. And Carrot Man himself comes across as an agent of total destruction, though it’s amusing to see that his finite number of 1-ups is canonical, and as you chip away from his lives in boss encounters (with the player being the boss), he begins to deal with his mortality.
Retroid’s game embodies what I want from a parody video game: Wunderling not only pokes fun at the thematic elements of Mario-like platformers, but it also deconstructs how those games are played. Everything players know about those games are remixed to create something entirely new, challenging their usual logic. It’s funny and pleasant to look at and listen to, even with the grisliness and grotesqueness underneath—but perhaps that’s what makes Wunderling so funny.
This game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using code provided by the developer. The reviewer is also acquainted with people involved in the development of this game.
