- Deep combat mechanics that make you think
- An incredibly stunning environment
- Perhaps the best in the genre
With Version 1.4 of Wuthering Waves dropping there hasn’t been a better time to jump into the world of Solaris-3, provided you already have of course. It is one of those games I always meant to try out, but never got around to, and what better time to rectify what has turned out to be a very glaring error?
Part of what put me off is I already had Genshin Impact, and I know every game has its own little tricks and treats but I had the notion they would be too similar, a reskin if you would. I was wrong, it doesn’t happen often, of course. Genshin Impact is good, but that HoYo loyalist part of me is sad to say Wuthering Waves is in a whole other league.
However, the story is not the most original. You play as Rover who awakens in the middle of nowhere with amnesia and gets dragged into a world with some generic enemies because surprise, you are the chosen one. The narrative won’t win any awards, but it doesn’t have to because oh my god, the combat.
An unexpectedly in-depth combat system
Each character has their own attack chain, special skill, and ultimate – as you might expect – along with the usual dodging out of the way of attacks to deliver your own. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was the deeper mechanics you get.
Enemies occasionally open themselves to counterattacks, glowing with white rings, disrupting their moves and letting you wail away on them. If you manage to degrade your foe’s armour in this way, you can initiate massive finishing blows. Switching between your three characters is also encouraged by intro and outro moves that offer buffs and extra damage, so there is a lot of timing to track, keeping you on your toes.
On top of this is the Echo system. Slaying foes often sees them leaving behind echoes of themselves, which you can harness and equip. This gives you extra skills to use, including several handy healing options, and a variety of buffs. All of this adds up to fast-paced and unexpectedly strategic battles, which I very much enjoyed.
Taking the slow plod out of exploration
Wuthering Waves has also successfully improved upon the exploration issues prevalent in this genre. There is still a stamina wheel, a mechanic I will always detest as they drain far too quickly, but beyond that getting around the world is a joy. Especially thanks to the wall run feature making climbing much easier. You literally jog up a cliff face instead of slowly climbing at the pace of an arthritic snail riding a one-legged turtle.
Soon into your journey you also unlock the ability to glide, a staple of the genre, and a group of tools called Utilities. This includes a Grapple, assisting you to zip through the air. It’s got a long cooldown and you don’t exactly go flying, but it is a nice boost. This is hands down the best exploration I have seen in a game like this.
Truly a stunning audio-visual feast without the phone-breaking heat
Another possible best I have seen from the genre is the graphics. The opening cinematic was wonderful, but I was thinking, “ok that’s blown the budget, downhill from here”. The drop never came. The environment continued to be gorgeous. It is not life-changing, you won’t be awed into silence, but it is genuinely beautiful. I never got bored walking around exploring thanks to the looks, and the stellar score playing in the background.
With this action-packed combat and beautiful graphics, I was expecting my phone to be heating up like I was playing in the bowels of hell. To my surprise, it really didn’t, and I sincerely tried to break it.
All the graphical settings were set to max to the point I was getting warnings, and I had my phone in “pro gamer mode” to cook it even more, but at no point did it go beyond a pleasant hand-warming. It was actually quite welcome in the winter weather. It is so well optimised for the beautiful looks and smooth gameplay it delivers.
The best approach to Gacha I have seen
Something I do need to praise Kuro Games for is how well it sets up free players for success in one simple way; you can make a genuinely kick-ass team for free. Rover is a powerful damage dealer who can be consistently relied on, you get given a decent healer when you unlock the gacha tutorial, and by logging in for five days you get a solid sub-DPS. Don’t forget that free 5-star selector you get which includes one of Wuthering Waves’ best DPS characters in Calcharo. You could also pick Verina, a fantastic support who is sitting at S-tier on our Wuthering Waves tier list, and deservedly so.
Gacha always feels like making money out of the customers is the main objective, Wuthering Waves does an incredibly good job of bucking that trend. Yes, you can pull for characters you like the look of, but you don’t have to. You can take this free party and throw it at every challenge with pretty good odds of winning. I don’t feel the need to change my tactics or party each time someone new comes along because there is a fully serviceable safety net. Kuro Games even has a few codes for extra currency in case you do feel like going for one, which we catalogue in our Wuthering Waves codes article.
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