The latest entry to the open-world gacha genre, Wuthering Waves has been out for a couple of weeks. In these past weeks, this game has had a whirlwind of issues and changes that have players coming and going.
Constant Crashes
At launch, the game was unplayable for many players. The ping constantly hit 999 for me. For other players, it crashed the game altogether. Over the past weeks, Kuro Games has been implementing hotfixes to address the issues. While there are still ping spikes, the game is much more playable than it was at launch.
Questionable Voice Acting
For players who play in English, there has been a lot of criticism of the lackluster, almost robotic performances from the cast. Kuro Games has addressed its plan to fix its localization quality. This issue isn’t centered on the voice acting, but also on the translation quality as well.
Character Changes
Within the first week, a character received a slight tweak in his design. It has the internet crying over it.
The character Scar had a questionable black square in the crotch area of his jumpsuit. After an outcry from a minority of players, the developers changed the jumpsuit to a two-piece jacket and pants and removed the odd square. This change has fans screaming, “Bring back the onigiri!”.
However, this change isn’t stopping artists from drawing the character with the original design.
Despite Everything, Hope Remains
I have not personally been able to play the main story due to the ping spikes blasting my game into oblivion for a few minutes at a time paired with my spotty internet service. There are reports of a lackluster story, but I cannot comment on it. However, in the tiny moments I’ve been able to play, I’ve enjoyed the combat.
When switching characters in Genshin Impact, the incoming character is idle when switching in and out. It’s not a giant issue, but sometimes it can kill the flow of battle. Wuthering Waves builds on its predecessors and implements a new mechanic. When switching characters in battle, characters do an intro and outro attack. This buffer layer adds to the experience and doesn’t allow players to miss a step in battle.
Another new mechanic is the ability to absorb enemies in the open world. Instead of farming for artifacts, players farm enemies to absorb enemy abilities to utilize in battle. It’s an odd mechanic. However, turning into a dancing turtle to heal is something I didn’t know I needed in my life.
Dedicated Studio
Kuro Games has been on it releasing hotfix after hotfix every day since launch. Every time I log in, there’s a new update to improve the game’s performance. I applaud the studio’s effort to make their game playable.
Final Verdict
These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Despite the game striking out on a lot of fronts, what is keeping me interested in the game is the combat. A story can always be improved upon, but a combat system is forever.
For now, I look forward to the day when I can play the game without my ping spiking to oblivion. After that, I look forward to watching the story unfold and seeing how Kuro Games develops the story in the coming months.
Wuthering Waves is currently available on PC and Mobile. Console ports will come in the future.
