Wave Break

Wow, what an annoying game. Wave Break seems really stylish and creative aesthetically, which it definitely is and its vibes are great. It’s a really cool premise and has great art and music. Unfortunately, once you play for 5 minutes you quickly realize it’s an unpolished, frustrating mess. I’m not sure if I’ve ever played a game with clunkier control of movement than this—to begin with, more of the gameplay involves 3D platforming than actually boating/skating, and this is ironically easier to do running around on foot (with your character who, putting it generously, has the physics of a Fall Guys character) than with the boat. The boat feels so slippery to move, even on land, and there’s no option to change the control sensitivity. It’s so exasperating trying to go anywhere with the boat when so often you’ll slide just a little bit and end up falling off the ledge you spent 1 of your only 3 minutes in the level platforming to. The level design is also a buggy mess—there are so many places where you can get stuck in a tiny gap and be unable to move out, move in and out of weird geometry edges, or even clip through the floor and fall out of the map. Further, a lot of the objectives are themselves very buggy. One of the objectives in the first level that requires doing a certain trick out of a window took an hour and a half of me repeatedly doing it before the game finally decided to recognize it. I was actually planning to refund the game (which I have never done before for any game) but this single objective took me so long that I ended up outside of the 2 hour refund window. I also got stuck for nearly an hour retrying the [spoiler]helicopter jump[/spoiler], the very last objective in the last level, because it would never let me grab it properly (and the first time it did was with only a few seconds left on the timer, and it made me restart even though I had finished the objective). Then, there’s the skating tricks aspect of the game, which almost feels like an entirely separate game (though equally frustrating). I actually spent most of my hours in Wave Break just doing tricks in a corner of the first map, trying to get the 999,999 combo achievement and grinding money. While this was a little bit less obnoxious than the platforming objectives in the levels, it’s still very annoying since the game is really finicky about combos and it kept not triggering the correct tricks or ending the combo the instant I touched the water. There were also some input issues I had where the game would randomly make me jump without me pressing the button, instantly ending my combo. Another major issue I had is that the game provides basically no information to the player, which is exacerbated by there being very few community guides or even videos of Wave Break online (if you are playing this game and get lost I highly recommend consulting Biglaw’s GDQ run from 2022). Firstly, aside from an extremely basic tutorial, the game provides zero information about the different types of tricks you can do, how they’re scored, and so on. In order to even have a chance at building up a decent combo, I had to more or less mash around while recording my gameplay with a gamepad viewer, then rewatch it frame-by-frame to figure out what button combos triggered what tricks, and even then, after hours of practice, I’m sure there’s a lot I still don’t know. That’s how opaque this game is about skating tricks, the exact thing you need to do to score points. Additionally, there’s one level with a collectible hidden behind a breakable rock wall, yet absolutely nothing in the game indicates that you can damage the environment at all. I spent two entire hours looking for this last collectible thinking my game was bugged before I found a single Steam community discussion where the dev told people to try breaking rocks—that’s the closest to a canon explanation you get. I’m sure there are more things I’m forgetting, but I hope by now a theme is clear—as much as I love the style of Wave Break, it feels like there was absolutely no polishing or playtesting of the gameplay or player experience, as it’s incredibly confusing, clumsy, and buggy. I can think of very few other games that are as actively frustrating and un-fun as Wave Break was, so I’d really recommend steering clear of this game despite its creative premise and atmosphere.

I'm a big THPS fan and this game has a lot of potential, but by the time I got to the third level, the bad level design just put me off playing anymore. The first two levels are good but the third was awful. Also being shot at by NPC's you can't even see is just not fun. Hopefully a sequel would improve the issues.

The game mechanics are wonderful.. But this game is extremely hard. The way you have to navigate your boat and trying to collect mission items is so counter intuitive on actually enjoying the gameplay. I just wanna do big combos and cool tricks but I feel like it's holding me back on genuinely enjoying the game. I get it, the classic THPS games had the same thing but I never liked it then and I won't like it now. Giving it a positive review because I like the gameplay, aesthetic but hate the difficulty despite the devs making it easier.. It's still very hard.

love it

WOW this game is hard af. the controls are terrible in my opinion especially on the steam deck. To late to return now and refund. wont be playing this again though thats for sure. it reminded me of tony hawk games and reminded me why i hated games like that. also online is dead so if you are buying this to play online matches you will NOT find any lobbies. I do like the theme but that’s literally it tbh.

I really wanted to like Wave Break, as for most part it copies Tony Hawk, which is a good thing, but controls are way too clumsy to make the game enjoyable. Asked for a refund.

Wave Break, developed and published by Funktronic Labs, is an audacious arcade experiment that fuses the trick-chaining DNA of classic skateboarding games with the momentum and physics of high-speed boating. Branded as “skateBOATING,” the game wears its influences proudly while committing to a neon-soaked identity all its own, channeling synthwave aesthetics, irreverent humor, and a relentless focus on flow. It’s a title that immediately announces its personality—loud, stylish, and kinetic—then challenges players to meet it on its own terms. The core of Wave Break revolves around mastering movement on water as if it were pavement. Players pilot nimble boats through compact, densely designed maps packed with rails, ramps, half-pipes, and environmental features meant to be hit in rapid succession. Tricks mirror familiar skate staples—grinds, grabs, flips, manuals—and the scoring system encourages long, uninterrupted combos that reward spatial awareness and timing. What makes the game distinct is how water physics shape these mechanics: momentum carries farther, turns are broader, and lining up a grind often requires anticipating drift and current rather than snapping to an angle. When it clicks, the sensation of carving a line across the map, launching into the air, and chaining tricks back onto a rail is exhilarating and unique. Campaign play borrows the mission-driven structure of classic arcade skate titles, presenting short runs with tightly defined objectives. These range from hitting score thresholds and collecting letters to executing specific trick sequences within strict time limits. The pacing is brisk and often unforgiving, pushing players to learn routes quickly and optimize lines across each map. Early on, this intensity can feel abrupt; the hybrid controls demand practice, and the clock leaves little room for hesitation. Over time, however, repetition turns into mastery, and the challenge becomes less about survival and more about expression—finding cleaner routes, bigger airs, and smoother transitions. Beyond pure tricking, Wave Break layers in light combat to amplify its chaotic charm. Weapons can be fired mid-run, letting players pepper rivals or environmental targets without breaking combos. The shooting is intentionally arcade-simple, acting as seasoning rather than a main course, but it adds a playful edge that differentiates the game from straightforward score chasers. In multiplayer modes, this combat-forward flavor comes into its own, turning matches into frenetic blends of trick competition and boat-to-boat skirmishes. Variety is bolstered by a suite of modes that cater to different playstyles. Free Play strips away timers and objectives, offering a sandbox for practice and experimentation. Time Attack and score-focused challenges emphasize optimization and precision. Competitive modes, including deathmatch-style arenas, highlight the game’s combat side and reward aggressive play. Perhaps most importantly, the Park Creator empowers players to design custom trick environments and share them through community features, dramatically extending longevity for those who enjoy crafting lines as much as riding them. Customization and progression add a welcome sense of ownership. Completing objectives earns currency used to unlock cosmetic items, stat modifiers, and new options that subtly shape handling and scoring potential. Visual personalization—outfits, decals, and boat flair—fits naturally with the game’s emphasis on style, while light stat tuning helps smooth the difficulty curve for players tackling later challenges. It’s a system that supports both self-expression and accessibility without undermining the skill ceiling. Aesthetically, Wave Break is unapologetic. Neon palettes, pastel sunsets, and retro-futuristic architecture define its spaces, while a driving synth soundtrack fuels momentum and mood. The presentation is cohesive and confident, though it occasionally competes with readability during high-speed runs; learning to parse visual information amid the glow is part of the learning curve. Sound design complements the visuals with punchy feedback for tricks and impacts, reinforcing the rhythm of combo play. The game’s most persistent critique centers on approachability. The learning curve is steep, tutorials are relatively light, and early missions can feel punishing due to strict timers and unfamiliar physics. For some, this friction is a barrier; for others, it’s the crucible that makes eventual mastery satisfying. Once the movement language is internalized, the systems reveal depth and nuance, but patience is required to reach that point. Ultimately, Wave Break succeeds as a bold genre mash-up that prizes flow, style, and experimentation. It doesn’t aim to replace skateboarding classics; instead, it reimagines their core pleasures on water, embracing the quirks that come with that shift. For players drawn to arcade purity, expressive trick systems, and a strong audiovisual identity—and who are willing to invest time learning its rhythms—Wave Break delivers a distinctive, high-energy experience that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly strange. Rating: 8/10