#just... ugh

Just to clarify: I don't say this lightly.

I don't mean this as a throwaway comment or jestingly, I mean this legitimately. I've actually been in abusive relationships before - friendships and romance - so I know the severity and gravity of a statement like that, but I think what people fail to realize at times is that "relationship" is broader than those two types.

You, as a consumer, can have relationships with companies. You can formulate the equivalent of a fleeting tryst by only playing one game out of a series and loving it while hating all the others (me with Far Cry: Primal, lol). Or, you can create bonds of trust with a company by loving all their titles and then have that trust broken as you get older and deeper into something that no longer gives you the warm and fuzzy feelings it did in your youth (like me with Kingdom Hearts). Or, you can get married to a game series and still twirl your hair and giggle when you talk about them (like me with Horizon: Zero Dawn, etc.)...

These types of relationships between consumer and supplier are common and should be discussed more often when it comes to video games. Everyone has their favorite clothing brand, favorite restaurants, favorite type of phone, etc. But what about games?

What about Gacha Games, specifically?

For ages now, players are just accepting of the predatory nature of Gacha. They're not made to be kind. They're a gambling addiction in disguise, and we all know it. There's literally science behind it and statements from Gacha developers saying how they researched casinos in order to capitalize on the attractiveness and effectiveness of their games. This isn't an opinion at this point: it's a fact.

I actually knew this going into Genshin Impact almost 2 years ago. In fact, I'd avoided the title for a really long time because I didn't want to risk getting sucked into the 8th Ring of Hell... Gacha. But then, through multitudes of fanworks I couldn't seemingly escape from, I was drawn in by Kaveh and Alhaitham (whom i still love, by the way! No slander to them). I wanted to know them, know their world, their relationship, and WHY THEY WERE SO GODDAMN HOMOSEXUAL??? OMG?

LIke, guys— There's the LGBT+ Flag, and then there's them. They're gayer than the flag. They ARE the flag.

Anyways.

So, I got sucked in, and I actually had a lot of fun! I liked the mechanics of Elemental mixing, and I'm a sucker for the open world, and the team thing was new to me... But, just because your "first date" is perfect, it doesn't mean the relationship will be golden.

Still, I stuck it out. I went through everything, and I've basically 100% the entire map at this point, except Mond & Liyue because... why bother? At this point, I'd be sniffing for scraps, and I'm not interested in doing that. But that's just it... I hadn't realized yet that scraps were what I'd be surviving on once my new boyfriend - Genshin - and I had moved in together.

I'd committed. There's money spent here and there, a give-and-take where Genshin took, and I gave, and I ignored it because it's fun! They're fun. The horrible sentence of "they make me laugh" comes to mind. It's that thing of you ignoring the way they belittle you because they're the only good thing you have at the time, and then you've sunk so much attachment and energy into the mix that you can't break away.

You're stuck.

I was stuck.

I felt like it was all I had: The constant attention hoarding Genshin demanded of me, checking in every single day, making sure I did what he told me to do down to the letter, running every commission and clearing every Spiral, just to get those little scraps I mentioned before. A shred of affection, gifts, things I didn't really need nor wanted, but I took anything I could because "it's the thought that counts."

I asked for Resin increases like you beg a shitty boyfriend to buy you the type of cake you love for your birthday, brainwashed into thinking it's okay he didn't get chocolate, and instead got you Liyue talents you don't need, don't want, but you thank him for the coconut cake, even though it's your least favorite. You just cope and hope and think, "it's fine! It's still fun when we finally go out! He takes me on fun dates once a month and buys me something pretty!" Like event weapons and free 4☆s and you smile and pretend you're in love with what you've got when really it's just hurting you and they never listen and tell you you don't matter and no other game will give you what THEY do, and then—!!

And then... there's Wuthering Waves.

Now, I can recognize that this analogy could be taken too seriously by some readers. I'm not ACTUALLY romantically in love with a video game, but it gets the point across.

Wuthering came into my life, and it feels... warm.

Where Genshin used to feel exciting with Elemental Reactions, it had started to feel restrictive and limiting. A slave to "the Meta". You have to have Vaporize to capitalize on your damage and you have to have Faruzan on your Anemo DPS and you have to do this and you have to do that— NO.

No more.

Wuthering Waves removes the stress of "Meta" and makes it feel like you really COULD build a Healer as a DPS for fun, and have them be viable, instead of just building a Healer in Genshin because you're bored out of your goard and thristy for attention.

Wuthering Waves takes away the tediousness of a stamina bar, allowing you to run and fly freely - quite LITERALLY now, with 2.0 - and not have your excitement towards exploring hampered by having to huff up a hill barely slanted. Y'know... your back-flipping, ass-kicking, anime demi-God that can't handle a hike outside of pre-rendered cutscenes. Panting. (Ridiculous!)

KuroGames listens. They mess up sometimes, yes — the email thing was YEESH. 😬 — but they quickly apologize, scramble to make up for it, and then make everything better. They fumbled through the "first date," but now it's a cute memory more than a bad first impression. They strive to make good on their promises, and then they succeed.

When Wuthering holds your hand and says, "Don't worry, I've got you," it feels legitimate. Unlike... Genshin.

Genshin puts the bill for dinner on your side of the table after ordering steak and lobster and says they'll get it next time, while Wuthering splits the bill and then buys you ice cream afterward, and I genuinely feel pity for anyone still dating that scummy sonuva bitch - Mr. Impact - because, honestly? I still haven't gone "no contact" with Genshin yet, myself, even though I know in my heart I should.

I still linger on because of that spent cash and time, but now there's a difference. I don't let them manipulate me anymore. I don't tolerate their mind games and I hold them accountable for their actions, or - more so - lack thereof!

I'm onto their shit and have someone better, and Mr. Waves is treating me right! While Genshin...?