Highlights
- Gacha fans should watch out for Wuthering Waves, a game inspired by Genshin Impact with unique gameplay features like climbing cliffs and turning enemies into allies.
- Players will dive into a post-apocalyptic world during the story of Wuthering Waves, where the arrival of the mysterious "Rover" character intensifies the suspicions of the Resonators who protect the land.
- Being one of the early birds to join Wuthering Waves through pre-registration will provide access to enticing rewards like in-game currency and advanced resonance potions.
Genshin Impact was released in 2020 to worldwide success and continues to be one of the most popular video games for mobile four years later. It’s no surprise that other game companies have been trying to emulate the Genshin formula to hopefully get their own hit gacha game. Guangdong-based Kuro Games is one of them as its latest title, Wuthering Waves looks a lot like MiHoYo’s hit fantasy game in terms of art style and gameplay. With the abundance of action anime gacha games in the market, it’s only natural for players to wonder what sets Wuthering Waves apart from Genshin Impact and the rest of the competition.
Online gacha games rose in popularity in the 2010s in Japan, and they quickly caught on worldwide. These types of games work by persuading players to open loot boxes and receive a random item. The best gacha games will have loot crates containing a rare or powerful character or item, incentivizing fans to buy and open multiple quantities using in-game currency and even real-world money. For fans of the genre, or just Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves is a game to keep an eye on.
Wuthering Waves Looks Like Genshin Impact with More Difficult Combat
Wuthering Waves may be an open-world gacha game like Genshin Impact, but its visual style and combat mechanics help set it apart.
What to Expect from Wuthering Waves’ Story and Gameplay
The story of Wuthering Waves is quite different from the plot of Genshin Impact and other MiHoYo titles. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world that was ravaged over a century ago by a catastrophic event called “Calament.” This brought strange and violent creatures that terrorized the land, though the natives managed to survive the invasion and rebuilt their homes and businesses from the ruins. Now, the world of Wuthering Waves seems like a dreamscape, with vast mountainous land and various architectural landmarks to explore. However, something dangerous looms in the background. The arrival of the player character known only as the “Rover” further intensifies the suspicions of the Resonators who protect the land.
Wuthering Waves’ gameplay is quite similar to Genshin impact. Official footage shows players hacking and slashing through enemies and gliding from cliffs. Here are some elements that set it apart:
- Climbing:Wuthering Waves is filled with steep cliffs, which players can enjoy traversing using a grappling hook and a wealth of climbing stamina. Apex Legends and Titanfall 2 grappling hook afficionados will surely enjoy playing around with this mechanic.
- Reduced Party Size: This game only allows three party members at a time, which is one less character compared to Genshin’s party size.
- Turning Enemies into Allies: Players can also collect Echoes, which start as enemy units, and use them for battle. This Pokemon-style mechanic isn’t as prevalent in other fantasy gacha games.
Wuthering Waves Entices Players to Join Early Through Pre-Registration Milestones and Closed Beta
While it is set to release in May 2024, players can get a glimpse of Wuthering Wales through a closed beta test. The latest one will be on PC and Android and recruitment will end on April 7th. This particular test will focus on the game’s localization efforts, so players are encouraged to provide feedback through a survey. Those interested in the CBT can access it by joining the game’s official Discord server and checking the announcements for the registration link.
The game also has pre-registration milestones that promise players big rewards for joining early. There have been 16 million pre-registrants so far, and these players can expect to receive the following rewards on release:
- 80,000 Shell Credits (5 million pre-registrations reached): These are the regular in-game currency that players can use to buy various in-game items.
- 10 Advanced Resonance Potions (10 million pre-registrations reached): An Advanced Resonance Potion adds 8,000 EXP to a chosen resonator. Resonators are the main cast of characters that players can use for combat and exploration.
- 200 Astrite (15 million pre-registrations reached): This is one of the premium currencies in the game, though it is unclear yet what players can get using it.
The rewards for the 20 million and 30 million pre-registrations are Sigil: En Route and 20 Lustrous Tides. The former is a name card, while the latter is used for banner pulls.
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Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is an open-world RPG made by MiHoYo. Focusing on the interactions between seven elements, Genshin Impact is a free-to-play gacha game with a host of characters, weapons, regions, and more.
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