TLDR; A Survivors-like made by a passionate dev, but this still isn't it. Repetitive, characters don't feel unique in their playstyles, and a lot of bugs.
It pains me to write this, but Waifu Survivors is not good. I saw the name and thought this might be a sexy or quirky title, I was intrigued. And for such a modest price, surely I'd get something out of it. Well... Not so much.
The good stuff revolves around the dev. He's passionate and working hard to upgrade the game as it is. He's improved assets, added a weapon or two, reworked an aspect of the core gameplay, and added pets. There is someone who clearly cares about this game working on it. He could have left and been done with it, but he's still here and working hard. If the dev reads this, you're a gem.
Now the part I didn't want to write, the bad stuff. It's repetitive, very repetitive. The characters have unique weapons and skills, but they don't define the gameplay in any significant way. I can do the exact same build over and over again and complete each level. That's when I get my build. See, in Waifu Survivors, you can take a limitless amount of weapons and skills. Good, right? Well, you seemingly get these choices at random. Other Survivors-like seem to offer your chosen weapons or skills slightly more than others until you hit the cap. Because you can't hit the cap, you can be offered the same bad options level after level without end. There is an argument where this forces the player into making desperate, strategic decisions, but in practice, it feels more like the game is slapping your build out of your hands. The currency progression is immediate and boring. You unlock all the characters and runes in the first hour of play. It's too easy and you just build up a worthless currency if you want to beat the game with all the other characters. There are a lot of bugs present and it can hinder your progress. I spent the last hour trying to finish the final four levels with my last character to complete the game. When I hit 'Next,' instead of going to the next level, it had me repeat the level I just finished. And because all the levels are similar and blend together, it's hard to tell if you actually progressed. So, you have to hit 'Next' then exit the level to the start screen, select your character and rune, then select the next level you want to play just to be sure you won't have to repeat the level you finished moments ago. The bugs extend to the achievements as well. You'll unlock achievements for things you didn't do, and won't unlock them for things you did do. I genuinely do not know how these work and achievements are a key part of a Survivors-like experience.
All in all, Waifu Survivors is a charming game with a driven dev, but the core gameplay isn't good. For this to be worth your money, the levels would need to be more distinct from each other, characters would need more distinct styles of play, and the weapon and skill system would need a rework for it not to feel so random. I will be watching this game and I will post an update after the dev is finished or if the game becomes worth a purchase. As it stands, it was a noble but failed attempted.
