I applaud this gacha game for ditching anime characters for puppets, but it still can't escape the pitfalls of a post-Genshin Impact world

I applaud this gacha game for ditching anime characters for puppets, but it still can’t escape the pitfalls of a post-Genshin Impact world | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these RPG ‘We lost things such as physics in games:’ The dev behind my most anticipated RPG thinks players are craving more interactive games, not just ‘moving around in a static 3D environment’ RPG The dev behind my top upcoming RPG is a Hungarian chef who thought ‘if not now, then when?’ and learned coding from scratch to make his dream ‘eurojank’ masterpiece FPS High on Life 2 review FPS Laid-off Highguard developer cuts loose on the reaction to the infamous Game Awards reveal trailer: ‘We were turned into a joke from minute one’ Horror Reanimal review: Astonishingly bleak and oblique survival horror Third Person Shooter Let’s settle this: Should Arc Raiders add a PvE mode? 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Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The fight against the gorilla inexplicably piloting a boat was the moment Sea of Remnants got me. I’ve never played a gacha game so bizarre and committed to creating a world so much different than most of the other popular games in the genre. But for as much as it ditches the anime conventions and aesthetic of games like Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves, it’s still hard for me not to imagine what it might be like if it wasn’t a gacha game at all.Everyone is a puppet made out of wood in Sea of Remnants, an artistic choice that is so distinct I almost didn’t believe it was a game where you grind for currency to gamble for new characters. It sure doesn’t look like a gacha game and doesn’t do anything to make that clear in its opening hours. I just wish it could’ve stayed that way.The game opens on a vast sea at twilight with luminescent creatures and coral just below the surface. A great wall of water rises up and touches the sky, giving you no choice but to face it head on in your rickety little boat. There’s no dialogue or exposition in this dreamy intro sequence, but it’s mighty effective at giving an otherwise zany adventure an undercurrent of melancholy without hitting you over the head with it. Related articles A Pokémon-like gacha game should be such an obvious win that I’m shocked I can’t find much to like about Aniimo Maybe I should just buy Factorio? I’d like Arknights: Endfield a lot more if it would stop trying to be Genshin Impact and just let me build It’s a shame HoYoverse’s new game is sporting offensively cheap-looking character models because everything else has me sold on its paranormal cop mystery That Sea of Remnants can pull that off and then basically smash cut to a scene where a quirky inventor with his sculpted messy hair and broken glasses asks you Fallout 3-style personality questions is impressive. I kind of love not knowing a lick of what’s going on and being thrust right into a community of weirdo pirates eager to teach you how to sail and scavenge eff