Gaming News Edgier than Genshin Impact! This open world video game is as beautiful as an anime
With a second closed beta launched a few days ago, Wuthering Waves is getting more attention. This open-world “gacha” action RPG is likely to attract many players. But does it have enough arguments to compete with the number 1 in this field, Genshin Impact? The terrible time that the Hoyoverse baby is going through could well benefit this newcomer.
You may not be familiar with this game, but it’s shaping up to be a serious competitor to Genshin Impact. As a reminder, Genshin Impact has enforced absolute supremacy in the gacha market for more than three years. A real revolution in the field, with an open-world action RPG in which players can collect a whole range of characters, which led many other developers to create projects with similar ambitions. Under these “Genshin killers“, we find a specific one Storm waves. Announced in May 2022 and developed by Kuro Games Studios, the title has just launched its second closed beta, reinforcing its status as the main competitor of Genshin Impact.
A complete and satisfying gacha
The (legitimate) comparison between Genshin Impact and Storm waves comes back to the table often, and in fact the game has some similarities with its competitor – such as the anime-style graphical appearance, the user interface or even the summoning system. But Kuro Games’ baby doesn’t stop there and hides a lot of new features up its sleeve.
On the one hand, the battles are based on dynamic gameplay, where the focus is on your execution speed and reaction time. The title offers the player perfect evasion and counterattack options to inflict more and more damage. Many QTEs are also offered to create sequences and combinations between all characters. Gameplay described as “satisfactory” by many beta testers, although it proved less satisfactory given the waves of monsters.
But the combat system isn’t the only advantage that makes this possible Storm waves To stand out from the crowd, the equipment system is also very original. In the game, almost 300 monsters name “Echoes” is distributed across the four corners of the map and, once dead, gives more or less rare equipment (depending on a certain percentage of luck). Each piece of equipment provides access to a unique ability and highly stylized animations. This addition, unique for a gacha of this genre, gives the whole thing a collection aspect, but does not allow players to have the same experience.. In addition, there are Echos that are rarer and have a different color than the others, strongly reminiscent of Pokémon Shinies.
Serious competition in Genshin Impact
The second closed beta of Storm wave was released on February 19th and the least we can say is that Kuro Games chose its timing well. As a matter of fact, Genshin Impact has been experiencing a certain level of rejection from its players for several months. In fact, Hoyoverse, the studio behind the Gacha King, has somewhat given up on its golden goose in favor of its newest baby, Honkai Star Rail. In six months, Honkai has received numerous improvements, including end-game content that Pro-Genshin has been waiting for for a long time.
Additionally, Genshin fans might be excited by other elements Storm waves. Like any gacha, the Kuro Games title features a summoning system that, in exchange for a few resources, allows you to obtain more or less rare characters and weapons. Here we offer significantly more attractive drop rates than the competition as well as better guarantees that our goals will be achieved. This could also encourage users to invest less real money. Additionally, like many games in the genre, there is the ability to duplicate characters to improve their stats and unlock new attacks. This aspect has often been criticized Genshin Impactbecause it encourages the player to summon again and again. However, in Wuthering Waves, the player can acquire these duplicates for free and more easily.
A communication that could change everything
Finally, Kuro Games’ communication is in contrast to Hoyoverse’s. The most notable example is the press release published on the occasion of the second closed beta. In a long text lasting several pages, they explain all the changes that have been made to the game since the first tests. There we can read:
Internally, the team has implemented a more detailed tier system to address player feedback regarding visual fatigue experienced during previous testing.
Many things, even the smallest ones, have therefore been improved in response to player feedback. A studio that listens to its players brings joy, and that’s exactly what players are missing right now. Genshin Impact. And briefly, Storm waves promises to become one of the most important gachas of the coming years and dethrone even the greatest. It remains to be seen when the game will be released and how it will be received. No release date has been announced at this time.
