https://youtu.be/JTFZa209Phg


Hello, MF Kraven here- and welcome to a less than 10 mins review. A YouTube series where I take a look at niche titles, hidden gems & often overlooked games & tell you whether or not you should buy it, in less than 10 mins. So if that is the type of content that you like, consider subscribing, & liking this video.

today I bring you Journey of Wrestling- a wrestling management sim for the simpleminded folk like me.
//Before anything I'd just like to say that a review key was provided to me from the dev, & I will be giving a copy of Journey of Wrestling. All you have to do to enter is just write in the comments below who YOUR favorite wrestler is. Past or Present. (giveaway open from now till June 11th 00:00 PST)//

Book your own promotion how you see fit. Angles, feuds, push who you want & With a community already behind it since 2017, Journey of Wrestling or JoW like i'll be calling it from now on, you get limitless scenarios ranging from the Golden Era of the 80s, to the Summer of Punk, Birth of AEW & even totally made up promotions like SouthPaw Regional Wrestling. But is JoW worth your money or is it just another SWERVE in the plethora of wrestling games out there. Let's find out.


//Graphics, Sound & Artstyle//

Built on Chronium engine, this web based game found it's way onto Steam- and you know what? I'm glad it did, otherwise I would've never heard of it, & I was once very fond of the TEW series. While more reliant on pixel art as opposed to uncanny valley-esque regens & downloadable portraits, i like it because you can always use Creative Points, to edit a wrestler, championship, show, feud or anything else.. but ill delve into that in just a bit... The music is, kinda annoying.


//Gameplay//

As aforementioned, you can pretty much edit absolutely everything, but chances are- the community has already edited it in some way. You take the role of a booker, you're given 3 tasks for the year and you can either fulfill em or not. Set how many weeks of booking you want to do before an event or "PPV" (the default of 2 weeks seems more than fine). Check the segments, and if you want, even create your own, kinda like I did with this Hex segment with Voo & Doo being my tag team that I'm pushing to the moon. The goal is to make your promotion the best in the world. That can be accomplished through leveling it up through booking, the more you use a segment the more it levels up. The more prestigious the match the better for your event AND if it's a title match, it can level up the championship as well. But if you book without feuds & purpose- it can level down!

Each wrestler has two main stats, work rate & charisma, but they can gain attributes, be trained or take classes to speak better- however like in real life practice makes perfect & you can level those stats up organically through matches & segments. Take your wrestler to the next level when they start going over, Overness will add an extra buff to their workrate & charisma. It'll be more likely that whether they win or lose, the crowd will still be behind them, so like they say- catch lightning in a bottle.

Even though there is a sandbox mode for every game you play, it already sort of feels like its a sandbox as long as you have enough Creative Points- that you can earn by booking... and if you're like me, I like using the Auto Booker to see what the algorithm wants to do for a mere 15 Creative Points, each show has given me anywhere from 20 to 80 creative points.

//Price//

14.99 USD

//How Many Hours Estimated//

I feel like I've only dipped my feet & I'm about 9 hours into my gameplay. I wont lie, some of the time spent on the game I just went back to reminisce on the good ol days. Mr Brodie Lee was one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, & nabbing him from Chikara Pro Wrestling in 2011 so that I can push him properly, finding out where Sting was so that he can take on the Undertaker at WrestleMania 30... Making Chris Benoit travel with the boys instead of going home prior to the events.. Telling the producers to cut the Muhammad Hassan segment from Smackdown! I can see myself sinking a GOOD amount of time into this.


//Is it Playable on SteamDeck?//

While it is playable, its meant more for something like, the benefit of playing it on your PC vs a mobile device is that a notepad entry is a lot easier to manage than to bring a yellow legal pad with you everywhere to remember what you're booking and who you're pushing and doing what with whom.



//Final Thoughts//

Mahin my brother, you have created the perfect love letter to all of us true wrestling fans out there. I'm very happy that I was contacted through email about this game as I've been pretty busy with life these past couple of months. But JoW was so good, it filled me with so much joy that I knew I had to spread the word of it. If you're checking out this review as a non wrestling fan, all I can say is- this is a management game that seems like it's hard to get into but the mechanics of it are as simple as a management game gets. It's fun, it's rewarding, it can be silly at times but the dedication that the community has to JoW is what really help it shine. And if you're watching this as a Pro Wrestling fan, whether you're AEW or WWE hell even NJPW, AAA or CMLL fan. This is the game you NEED to play. My love for GM Mode began with Smackdown vs Raw 2006's iteration. Which I still play today. I traded my whole Xbox for a PS2 & a copy of the game, ditched school for 3 days to go play it at a friends house & had such an amazing time. Journey of Wrestling invokes all of that & more. So, is it worth your $15? Absolutely.


//Buy it Now!//


UPDATE; i love it on SteamDeck much more now

https://youtu.be/JTFZa209Phg Hello, MF Kraven here- and welcome to a less than 10 mins review. A YouTube series where I take a look at niche titles, hidden gems & often overlooked games & tell you whether or not you should buy it, in less than 10 mins. So if that is the type of content that you like, consider subscribing, & liking this video. today I bring you Journey of Wrestling- a wrestling management sim for the simpleminded folk like me. //Before anything I'd just like to say that a review key was provided to me from the dev, & I will be giving a copy of Journey of Wrestling. All you have to do to enter is just write in the comments below who YOUR favorite wrestler is. Past or Present. (giveaway open from now till June 11th 00:00 PST)// Book your own promotion how you see fit. Angles, feuds, push who you want & With a community already behind it since 2017, Journey of Wrestling or JoW like i'll be calling it from now on, you get limitless scenarios ranging from the Golden Era of the 80s, to the Summer of Punk, Birth of AEW & even totally made up promotions like SouthPaw Regional Wrestling. But is JoW worth your money or is it just another SWERVE in the plethora of wrestling games out there. Let's find out. //Graphics, Sound & Artstyle// Built on Chronium engine, this web based game found it's way onto Steam- and you know what? I'm glad it did, otherwise I would've never heard of it, & I was once very fond of the TEW series. While more reliant on pixel art as opposed to uncanny valley-esque regens & downloadable portraits, i like it because you can always use Creative Points, to edit a wrestler, championship, show, feud or anything else.. but ill delve into that in just a bit... The music is, kinda annoying. //Gameplay// As aforementioned, you can pretty much edit absolutely everything, but chances are- the community has already edited it in some way. You take the role of a booker, you're given 3 tasks for the year and you can either fulfill em or not. Set how many weeks of booking you want to do before an event or "PPV" (the default of 2 weeks seems more than fine). Check the segments, and if you want, even create your own, kinda like I did with this Hex segment with Voo & Doo being my tag team that I'm pushing to the moon. The goal is to make your promotion the best in the world. That can be accomplished through leveling it up through booking, the more you use a segment the more it levels up. The more prestigious the match the better for your event AND if it's a title match, it can level up the championship as well. But if you book without feuds & purpose- it can level down! Each wrestler has two main stats, work rate & charisma, but they can gain attributes, be trained or take classes to speak better- however like in real life practice makes perfect & you can level those stats up organically through matches & segments. Take your wrestler to the next level when they start going over, Overness will add an extra buff to their workrate & charisma. It'll be more likely that whether they win or lose, the crowd will still be behind them, so like they say- catch lightning in a bottle. Even though there is a sandbox mode for every game you play, it already sort of feels like its a sandbox as long as you have enough Creative Points- that you can earn by booking... and if you're like me, I like using the Auto Booker to see what the algorithm wants to do for a mere 15 Creative Points, each show has given me anywhere from 20 to 80 creative points. //Price// 14.99 USD //How Many Hours Estimated// I feel like I've only dipped my feet & I'm about 9 hours into my gameplay. I wont lie, some of the time spent on the game I just went back to reminisce on the good ol days. Mr Brodie Lee was one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, & nabbing him from Chikara Pro Wrestling in 2011 so that I can push him properly, finding out where Sting was so that he can take on the Undertaker at WrestleMania 30... Making Chris Benoit travel with the boys instead of going home prior to the events.. Telling the producers to cut the Muhammad Hassan segment from Smackdown! I can see myself sinking a GOOD amount of time into this. //Is it Playable on SteamDeck?// While it is playable, its meant more for something like, the benefit of playing it on your PC vs a mobile device is that a notepad entry is a lot easier to manage than to bring a yellow legal pad with you everywhere to remember what you're booking and who you're pushing and doing what with whom. //Final Thoughts// Mahin my brother, you have created the perfect love letter to all of us true wrestling fans out there. I'm very happy that I was contacted through email about this game as I've been pretty busy with life these past couple of months. But JoW was so good, it filled me with so much joy that I knew I had to spread the word of it. If you're checking out this review as a non wrestling fan, all I can say is- this is a management game that seems like it's hard to get into but the mechanics of it are as simple as a management game gets. It's fun, it's rewarding, it can be silly at times but the dedication that the community has to JoW is what really help it shine. And if you're watching this as a Pro Wrestling fan, whether you're AEW or WWE hell even NJPW, AAA or CMLL fan. This is the game you NEED to play. My love for GM Mode began with Smackdown vs Raw 2006's iteration. Which I still play today. I traded my whole Xbox for a PS2 & a copy of the game, ditched school for 3 days to go play it at a friends house & had such an amazing time. Journey of Wrestling invokes all of that & more. So, is it worth your $15? Absolutely. //Buy it Now!// UPDATE; i love it on SteamDeck much more now