Wario: Master of Disguise

Screenshots

Notes

Wario Master of Disguise is a platformer. It has slightly awkward controls where you platform with just the d-pad (up to jump) so the touch screen is free to do interactions. You have a magic "disguise" wand to change into different forms, unlocked as you progress, than can interact with the environment. Outside of that, it plays out pretty much like Warioland 4 except you change forms at will rather than getting them when you're hit by enemies or environment hazards. It has a bit more of a metroidvania flavour as a result, although it's still divided into levels rather than a big connected world.

The touch screen minigames to open chests get repetetive over time and are a bit of a break in the flow of gameplay.

The problem with Master of Disguise is that it's just not very fun. One handed platforming is awkward, and the game is designed around this so you move slowly and awkwardly. Also Wario's physics change drastically with different forms which is quite disorienting. The touch screen controlled abilities are... kind of fine but having to keep switching forms by drawing is annoying. Opening chests gets annoying very fast which really makes the game feel bad. And because of the way the map is split into two that you use doors to travel between, and that you can't see the other half of the map, makes exploration unnecessarily tedious.

I put this down for most of a month and when I came back, was not motivated to push through and finish the game.