As a huge fan of the Wave Race series, who has continued to be disappointed that Nintendo doesn’t seem interested in making a new one, I’ll admit that whenever I see a new title promising racing on the water in some way, I’m down to check it out. There have been very few titles to take up that mantle, with only two I’ve played in the Switch generation, and while they were both decent there’s still more than enough room for someone else to smash it. Unfortunately, and somewhat consistently with the other Smoots titles, Crazy Wave comes in short of being worthwhile by a fair margin.

With a setup that seems to be trying to merge together racing on the water with some Mario Kart-style power-ups, I’ll at least credit the core idea with having some ambition. Across a small number of modes, which vary only slightly in how they’re set up regarding rules for the most part, you’ll hit the water trying to best the competition. Championship mode will give you the full-on “Wave Race Kart” experience, Slalom will throw more buoys into the mix requiring a bit more precision, Battle Royale has more of an elimination vibe, and Time Trial should be self-explanatory.

The issue though is that, in general, the level of care put into the experience comes through as being low. While you will hit some mild waves in some spots, more often than not this simply feels like racing on a blue track, really failing to capture the essence and exciting potential of racing on the water. As has been the case with too many indie games that opt for power-ups, they’re implemented pretty poorly as a whole, with many feeling pretty useless and others feeling over-powered and lacking any skill requirement to use. While the lacking gameplay aspects are more my concern it’s also impossible to miss that in terms of presentation there’s nothing here to get excited about, and at best it looks a generation or two behind the overall curve.

While I’d have loved for something in this package to jump out and impress me, it failed on pretty much all counts. I suppose for families or people who are just looking for something different to play together on a budget, this could offer up a little fun to enjoy together. That said, if you were hoping for something that would capture even a hint of the challenges and fun of the Wave Race series you’ll likely be sorely disappointed.