REVIEW: ‘Wuthering Waves 2.8’ Is A Strong One-Shot Story

Wuthering Waves 2.8, ‘To The City Set In Amber,’ the newest update to developer/publisher Kuro Games’ live service action/adventure game, sees protagonist Rover (Jane Jackson, The First Desendent) return to the Black Shores to touch base with her friends there. But the unexpected appearance of a crack in reality near the islands soon pulls Rover into a new adventure in the city of Honami. A place trapped in an unending time loop as it is consumed by the Lament over and over again. 

Coming off the grand finale of the Rinascita Arc in 2.7, and the looming approach of a new storyline coming with the 3.0 drop at the beginning of next year, it was clear that ‘To The City Set In Amber’ needed to be a smaller, more intimate tale. Despite the grand concept of an entire city locked in its own destruction, Wuthering Waves 2.8 delivers just such a story, and even tops it off with the perfect setup for what comes next. 

The brief opening at the Black Shores provides a bit of fun as players get to interact with The Shorekeeper (Staphaine McKeon, Neon Genesis: Evangelion) and Buling (Elizabeth Chu, 7 Bears) in turn. Seeing Shorekeeper’s reserved affection and hearing her call Rover, “my star,” again after a year apart, feels like a true homecoming moment.

Rover brings a more somber tone to Wuthering Waves 2.8.

Meanwhile, the fiesty divinator that is Buling brings the punch and humour she always does as she tries to boss around Black Shores’ operatives to get them to listen. The back-to-back meetings do a great job of creating a strong sense of fun and shifting energy that gets the update off to a strong start. 

Once Rover has gone “through the looking glass” into the doomed city of Honami, Wuthering Waves 2.8 introduces a far more sombre tone as Rover. With the help of new allies, Resonator Chisa (Leader Looi, Black Myth: Wukong), and the city guardian, the adorable floating capybara Namipon, the protagonist is tasked with unravelling the secrets of a city trapped reliving its worst day. 

The two core cast additions in this story are both conceptually strong, but one struggles a bit with a core element of their presentation. The visually adorable Namipon should bring nothing but brightness to the narrative. Their positivity and ever-present willingness to brew a nice cup of tea to help their comrades settle down after a rocky encounter are great core elements for a supporting character. The failing for Namipon is in the voice work. 

Making Chisa a non-resident of the city adds a lot of texture to the narrative.

The Guardian of Honami’s voice clashes too much with their look. The voice is too calm and paced. The lines feel like they should be enthusiastic, but the audio assigned to the character never quite feels like it belongs with what’s being said.  

Happily, the far more prominent Chisa completely sticks the landing. As another outsider who accidentally stumbled into the city, Chisa has been surviving its time-distorted streets for months, making her resolve to escape strong but tinged with a bit of grim determination, as her options for a solution have grown fewer. 

The choice not to have Chisa be a resident of the city is surprisingly good. As Wuthering Waves 2.8 gives her and Rover opportunities to bond, the game introduces world-building elements outside the doomed city poised to matter in upcoming stories. Most significantly among these is the concept of Resonators being persecuted in parts of Solaris.

Wuthering Waves 2.8 introduces the idea that powered individuals are persecuted in this world.

Through a poignant flashback sequence, we learn that Chisa’s home region despises Resonators. Due to the dangers that can come when one Overclocks, and the unfair guilt the society heaps on them for threats not their fault, Resonators are forced to wear identifying collars that hold their powers in check. 

The idea of powered individuals persecuted by their non-powered counterparts isn’t new. What gives it some extra punch here is the fact that the game has never shown any inkling of it prior. With the issue never coming up in either Huanglong or Rinascita, it just felt like a given that they were viewed as equals to everyone else, if not frequently held in high regard for fighting off Tacet Discords and holding back the threats of the Lament. This shift promises a striking new experience if players get to see it firsthand.

Wuthering Waves 2.8 further drives home the pain of this new element through Chisa’s personal recounting of her old life. Done largely through gorgeous still art and a paper-craft style presentation, the character’s pain feels powerful. The nuances of her struggles, especially her strained relationship with her parents, bring a lot of weight to the character’s past, and help inform her present-day willingness to aid others in a way she wanted to be helped herself. 

Honami is the most beautiful cityscape.

Amplifying the emotional elements of the story is the city of Honami itself. Possibly the most beautiful cityscape I’ve ever explored in a video game, the gorgeously rendered cherry blossom trees and shimmering steel and glass towers come to emphasise the pain that lives within it. 

As players walk the streets of the dead city, they come into contact with the Left Behind. These are echoes of the city’s inhabitants that are trapped in the endless cycle. At times, the story allows Rover to approach them and speak about what’s happening. When one of these echoes realizes things are not right, agonizing revelations lead to their person breaking down, only to be remade once the cycle begins again. 

A special kind of sorrow is created by filling what should be a tranquil slice of heaven on Solaris with these shades of life. It amplifies the tragedy of all that has been lost by seeing the city at its best, even as it endures the worst. 

Chisa and Namipon’s thank you party is everything a fan could ask for in an epilogue.

How the mystery of Honami is solved is a solidly delivered plot. The beats are well-paced, and the inclusion of a former ally of Chisa’s who was lost in the city, leaving breadcrumbs for them to follow, provides ample opportunities to build more emotion into the tale. However, there are no major plot beats that shine from a narrative side. Honami is a problem that gets solved. 

Once the problem is solved, Wuthering Waves 2.8 delivers an epilogue story that features Chisa and Namipon hosting a party for Rover, Abby, The Shorekeeper, Buling, and Camellya (Mariya Ise, 365 Days to the Wedding) as a thank you to the Black Shores for helping save the day and helping her recover after the battle is won. 

This gathering is everything a fan could ask for. Shorekeeper is just the right amount of awkward, Abby is at their funniest, and Camellya brings a “crazy ex-girlfriend” vibe with her that makes it feel like everything could go wrong at a moment’s notice.

But despite, or perhaps because, of the eclectic mix of wild personalities, the party manages to reward players with a charming and heartwarming sequence that sees the characters celebrate their latest victory and the new allies they found along the way. 

Wuthering Waves 2.8’s side mode is a lot of fun exploring the city.

Just as it feels like the story is ready to wrap up, we get one final surprise that sets up where Rover’s globe-hopping journey will go next. And thanks to hints dropped both in Chisa’s backstory and elements in the previous update, this reveal doesn’t feel completely out of left field. Rather, like a well-laid plot surprise that is perfectly sprung.

The only major complaint that can be levied against the narrative side of Wuthering Waves 2.8 is how little combat there is. Despite frequently talking up how dangerous the streets of Honami are, you rarely run into any enemies as you travel from cutscene to cutscene.

This is made worse by the early introduction of a game mechanic for searching the city that goes unused except for a side mode that only unlocks after the story is completed. Why not introduce it there? It feels like it should come up every time I leave my base of operations during the story, only to go unused. 

The side mode is a lot of fun. Tasked with exploring the city, discovering power-ups, and variant versions of Namipon, each with its own adorable outfit, the mode provides tons of action and variety. When the player is out in the city, thoroughness must be weighed against the growing threat level.

The sticker system allows characters traditionally linked to a specific supporting ally to function independently.

If the player is defeated before they escape, they lose most of their loot, creating a risk/reward proposition. Alhough, the escalation isn’t steep, so not too much concern needs to be made over it. The best part of this mode’s mechanics, though, is how it alters the way certain resonators play. 

Allowing for a party of three to be made from a curated list of characters, players are likely to notice some odd omissions. Like the fact that Cartethyia is present, but her empowering sub-DPS Cioccona is not. Thanks to the sticker system, which allows customization within the mode, characters traditionally linked to a particular supporting ally can function independently here.

Having a team of Chisa, Cartethyia, and Zani actually makes sense, and we see all three delivering shots with peak power. Chisa is a broad blade using Havok Support character that inflicts Havok Bane on enemies. Havok Bane lowers the target’s defence, making them easier to bring down. Her Bane stacks carry over when she’s swapped out, so the bonus can be enjoyed by her allies as well. When full, her Forte Gauge sees her already cool giant scissors weapon transform into an even cooler circular saw.

Chisa is a good all-around support character with a particularly useful signature weapon.

As she unleashes a special combo that drains her gauge, she heals and shields her party, allowing for enhanced damage and support to be gained simultaneously. Her Resonance Liberation does damage and buffs her attacks while in her empowered state, so make sure to use it before activating her forte ability. As she is, Chisa is a good all-around support. However, if you have the pulls for her signature weapon, she becomes particularly useful for a growing group of Resonators: those who inflict status effects. 

Her signature weapon grants the wielder 8% liberation damage when the wilder’s intro skill is cast, or when applying negative status effects, up to three stacks. When max stacks are reached, all resonators in the party who inflict negative statuses gain a 24%  damage buff to all attribute types. 

This creates a more focused role for Chisa, as characters like Cioccona and Phoebe become obvious pairings for her. Couple this focused power with a 36% crit rate boost, and the weapon is a great choice for those who want to play Chisa to her fullest. 

Wuthering Waves 2.8 delivers a great one-shot story that brings strong gameplay elements and engaging new characters. While the game’s exploration of Honami stumbles in small ways, the vast majority of it is an artful exploration of pain and loss, played out on one of the most beautiful backdrops in gaming. 

Wuthering Waves is available now for mobile, PC, and PlayStation 5