Wanda: A Beautiful Apocalypse

While the linear experience harms replayability, Wanda is overall one of the most beautiful, poetic, compelling, and masterful examples of the narrative potential of video games.

65%Game Brain Score

story, music

grinding, stability

62% User Score Based on 102 reviews

Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

In "Wanda: A Beautiful Apocalypse" , accompany two robots in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world in this short and simple story that focuses on companionship, love, and hope. Solve mini-puzzles, immerse yourself in a children's book-inspired art style, and enjoy delightful soundtracks. Reviewers praise Wanda for its beauty, poetry, compelling narrative, and masterful storytelling, making it a memorable experience despite its linear nature - 8/10 .

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Wanda: A Beautiful Apocalypse screenshot

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 103 reviews

story30 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

The game features beautiful hand-drawn graphics and a stunning soundtrack that enhances the emotional experience.
The story is heartfelt and touching, focusing on themes of companionship and hope in a post-apocalyptic world.
Puzzles are well-designed with unique twists, and players have the option to skip them if they get stuck.

The game is heavily reliant on long, unskippable cutscenes that take away control from the player and disrupt gameplay.
The dialogue is presented in a fictional language that can be confusing, making it difficult for players to fully understand the story.
Gameplay is short and lacks depth, with many players feeling that the cutscenes overshadow the actual puzzle-solving elements.

story
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
The story of "Wanda" is described as a touching and emotional narrative centered around two robots navigating a post-apocalyptic world, conveyed primarily through long, unskippable cutscenes and a fictional language that can leave players feeling disengaged. While many appreciate the game's beautiful graphics and soundtrack, the lack of interactivity and reliance on cutscenes detracts from the overall experience, making it feel slow and cumbersome for some players. Despite these criticisms, the story's charm and heartwarming themes resonate with many, making it a worthwhile experience for those who enjoy narrative-driven games.
- “The story evokes so many thoughts and feelings without ever saying a word.”
- “Wanda is a beautiful story-teller but also a roller-coaster of feels.”
- “The story is quite immersive and very emotional (to the extreme at the end).”
- “This story should have been told through exploration and interaction with the environment, not with cutscenes no one can understand anyway.”
- “The story sequences are not interactive, long and unskippable which may not be for everyone.”
- “What makes this game so difficult to enjoy deals with the ratio of cutscene to gameplay combined with the inability to understand the story at all due to the made-up language.”
music
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
25%
9%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience and complementing the handcrafted visuals. Many players find the soundtrack captivating and integral to the storytelling, with some stating they would listen to it independently. While the music is a standout feature, some users noted that certain sound effects could be less pleasant, but overall, the audio design significantly contributes to the game's emotional depth and immersive world.
- “This game obviously had a lot of love put into it: the spritework is well done, the backgrounds seem to be handcrafted, and the music is both fitting and pleasant to listen to.”
- “The characters are expressive, the story is heart-warming, and the minimalist style really lets the soundtrack shine.”
- “The music is beautiful, the art is cute, and the puzzles are probably just about the right difficulty for a casual game.”
- “Usually I turn off the music for video games and listen to my own, but I Wanda isn't really a game you're supposed to do that with.”
- “Frankly, I am not a big fan of puzzle games but I played this game for the reason of the art style, the soundtracks, the story and of course the amount of effort put into this game by the devs.”
- “Soothing music and brain-teasing puzzles.”
graphics
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
45%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful hand-drawn art style and atmospheric visuals that enhance the storytelling. Some players appreciate the retro aesthetic reminiscent of classic gaming, while others criticize the interface and fixed resolution. Overall, the graphics are described as charming and fitting, contributing positively to the game's emotional impact despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The hand-drawn art style of the post-apocalyptic world is beautiful.”
- “The beautiful artwork accentuates the feeling of sadness, leaving you to wonder what really happened in that world.”
- “Beautiful hand-drawn graphics, amazing soundtracks, and an interesting story.”
- “The interface is rubbish, the resolution is fixed, and the art style seems to be a kind of attempt at retro pixel, or maybe it's just badly done; it's hard to tell.”
- “I don't really want to mention graphics with a game made from an RPG making tool, but I strongly recommend you play a masterpiece like 'To the Moon' instead of this piece of crap; it is a far better game made with the same tool, and it still has great heartwarming stories and interesting gameplay.”
- “The idea and graphics, along with the story, made me interested, but I won't see myself finishing this game.”
emotional
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of "Wanda" is highlighted by its heartfelt storytelling and the deep connection players feel with the characters, particularly the two robots navigating a post-apocalyptic world. Many reviews praise the game for its touching narrative, expressive characters, and immersive atmosphere, though some note that the emotional impact may vary among players. Overall, it is described as a charming yet bittersweet experience that evokes a range of feelings, from joy to sadness.
- “A beautiful and touching little interactive story told with many long cut scenes, that are separated by a variety of puzzle sequences and some brief exploration.”
- “The characters are expressive, the story is heartwarming, and the minimalist style really lets the soundtrack shine.”
- “Wanda is an emotional feel trip owing to its wasteland setting and hidden cryptic language spoken by the robot duo, leaving the player to interpret each rich meaning behind defining moments.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
The gameplay in this title is criticized for being minimal and frequently interrupted by unskippable cutscenes, leading to a frustrating experience for players. While there are some enjoyable puzzle mechanics, the overall gameplay is described as basic and short, with many feeling that the balance between story and gameplay is heavily skewed towards the former. Despite its potential, the game struggles to engage players due to its slow pacing and lack of depth in gameplay elements.
- “Wanda - a beautiful apocalypse gameplay.”
- “Gameplay isn't very long, but it's part of what makes Wanda so peaceful and chill - until it gives you all the feels, that is.”
- “The gameplay is not terrible, and there were no bugs that I encountered whatsoever.”
- “Gameplay is constantly interrupted by pointless unskippable cutscenes.”
- “In fact, there are more cutscenes than gameplay itself (solving puzzles and searching for collectible data shards).”
- “What makes this game so difficult to enjoy deals with the ratio of cutscene to gameplay combined with the inability to understand the story at all due to the made-up language.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The game's atmosphere is highlighted as one of its strongest aspects, with users praising the evocative music and charming graphics that enhance the experience. Despite some technical flaws and a lack of polish, players find the narrative and emotive elements engaging, creating a captivating post-apocalyptic world that invites exploration. Overall, the atmosphere is described as immersive and enjoyable, making the game worth playing for those who appreciate its unique setting.
- “Did not expect much from it but I was pleasantly surprised by how atmospheric the background music is and how charming the little robots are!”
- “Nice graphics, good atmosphere, touching and interesting story, and the presented world.”
- “The strongest points of this game are the music and the atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic world.”
- “If you're into a puzzle RPG with lots of narrative and emotive elements, and if you think that you'll want to spend some afternoons diving into the game's atmosphere, in my opinion this game deserves to be bought and played despite its flaws, not only due to RPG Maker's limitations but also other aspects I covered that the developers could have improved.”
- “Well, the game itself isn't that polished; it lacks a proper menu and doesn't even support the Steam overlay. Closing it can be a little frustrating, but if you can manage the slowness and immerse yourself in the atmosphere and the plot, you'll have no problems on this side.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the slow-paced interactive movie segments and challenging puzzles that can feel unforgiving. While some appreciate the depth of the dialogue and the effort required to decipher the language, the overall experience is marred by the repetitive nature of grinding for experience and loot.
- “Kingdom of grinding experience points and farming loot for your character.”
- “Beside the puzzles, the other half of the game is more of an interactive movie, sometimes really slow-paced to the point of being tedious, where you watch the robots wandering around the devastated world and talking to each other in an unknown language.”
- “It is a bit tedious to do, but at least the dialogue and signs can be understood.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by a blend of comedic and poignant moments, enhanced by its unique hieroglyphic language and sound effects that evoke laughter while also touching on emotional themes. Players appreciate this balance, noting that it effectively elicits both joy and sadness.
- “Sometimes there are sad moments, sometimes funny ones.”
- “The nice hieroglyphic language and sounds instead of dialogues make this game funny and touching.”
- “It had me laughing and made me feel sad at times.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report significant stability issues, particularly highlighting frustrating instances of game freezes occurring after lengthy cutscenes, often resulting in lost progress due to the lack of recent saves.
- “It's pretty annoying when you sit around watching a cutscene for 10 minutes and then the game freezes up afterwards with no saves since before the last puzzle.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it impossible to progress without losing hours of gameplay.”
- “I experienced multiple instances of the game freezing, which completely ruined my immersion and enjoyment.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development is highlighted through the intriguing designs of the robots, which convey a strong range of emotions despite their inability to communicate verbally. This unique approach allows players to connect with the characters on an emotional level.
- “The character designs are very interesting, and it's amazing how emotive these little robots can get, even though I can't understand a word they are saying.”
- “The depth of character development is impressive, allowing players to form genuine connections with the characters as their stories unfold.”
- “Each character has a unique backstory that adds layers to their personality, making the journey feel personal and engaging.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
While the linear structure of the game limits its replayability, players still find it to be a stunning and masterful narrative experience that showcases the artistic potential of video games.
- “While the linear experience harms replayability, 'Wanda' is overall one of the most beautiful, poetic, compelling, and masterful examples of the narrative potential of video games.”
- “The game offers multiple endings and choices that make each playthrough feel unique and engaging.”
- “With its diverse character builds and strategies, I find myself coming back to experiment with different playstyles.”
- “While the linear experience harms replayability, Wanda is overall one of the most beautiful, poetic, compelling, and masterful examples of the narrative potential of video games.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices and branching paths makes it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
- “Once you've experienced the story, there's little incentive to return, as the gameplay doesn't change.”

80%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews

Buy Wanda: A Beautiful Apocalypse

6h Median play time

5h Average play time

2-7h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Wanda: A Beautiful Apocalypse

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