Game & Wario

Gameplay and plot

Game & Wario contains sixteen minigames, of which ten are single-player only, two support up to two players, and four are multiplayer-only for up to five players. Every game uses only the Wii U GamePad, without Wii Remotes. In "Gamer," the player controls 9-Volt on the GamePad, playing microgames while watching the television screen to hide the game from 9-Volt's mother, 5-Volt. 9-Volt has an awakeness meter that depletes when hiding; the game ends if he is caught, loses all lives, or falls asleep.

Other minigames use the GamePad differently: tilting it controls characters in Ashley and Ski, while viewing alternate perspectives occurs in Kung Fu and Taxi. Multiplayer minigames involve passing the GamePad or having one player use it for a special role. Players earn tokens during minigames to use in a 'Chick-N-Win' capsule machine for collectibles and additional minigames. The story follows Wario, who learns of a new console with a second screen and designs his own console, with his friends creating their own games.

Development

Development began in January 2011, before the Wii U's release, by Nintendo SPD and Intelligent Systems. Yoshio Sakamoto produced and consulted, while Goro Abe and Naoko Mori served as lead directors. The game was initially planned to come pre-installed on the Wii U and not be tied to any Nintendo franchise. A prototype called "Shield Pose" was shown at E3 2011, where the player used the GamePad as a shield. The teams struggled to create general minigames that demonstrated the Wii U clearly, finding the task creatively restrictive. Some ideas were shelved for future WarioWare titles. During summer 2011, the decision was made not to pre-install the game, as the project had grown too large.

Reception

Game & Wario received a 61/100 on Metacritic based on 60 critic reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews. Critics praised "Gamer" for its inventive GamePad use, "Taxi" for tactile depth, and "Pirates" for replayability. "Gamer" was considered the best entry by Game Informer and IGN, with IGN noting its unique sound and visual design. "Fruit" was the only multiplayer minigame commonly praised, compared positively to Hidden in Plain Sight and SpyParty.

Minigames frequently criticized included "Kung Fu," "Ashley," and "Ski" for unintuitive controls. "Patchwork" had praised gameplay but was deemed uninteresting by IGN. Critics criticized the small number of multiplayer minigames and the excessive use of the GamePad for precision-based tasks. Collectibles were praised for capturing the series' humor, though the overall package was considered lacking content and experimental compared to past WarioWare titles.