Recent reviews by Bear

Waven is a charming little turn-based RPG, though it lacks a satisfying end-goal.

Those that watched the French anime will enjoy the references, but those that played Dofus or the pre-rework Wakfu might be left feeling unfulfilled.

The main focus of gameplay revolves around doing "quests" which are effectively just instanced fights that may or may not have a tactical challenge based around them. By completing or repeating these, you'll be rewarded with experience points, random rewards/upgrades, kama (money), and gacha boxes.

The level cap is 50 which your character can obtain relatively quickly, where upon achieving this level, the previously stated reward system doesn't really change. Your endgame basically consists of self-measuring what kinds of fights you can strategically beat, but for relatively no rewards outside of what you may or may not have fully upgraded already.

There is a PvP instance which I can't comment on too well, but it does seem as though it's currently meta-gamed pretty well. Ramp builds seem to be the most effective at this time, which doesn't give too much versatility in what you can play in PvP. It's pretty cookie-cutter "kill them before they can kill you".

Another aspect is your Haven Island, which by completing various challenges on islands, you'll obtain more points for that island. Each island has unique rewards which you can choose to use your kama to purchase those unlocked rewards and modify your personal Haven Island. Given the kama prices, this is where your endgame kama is expected to be used.

However, despite this being an online game with multiplayer, it effectively acts like a single-player game outside of PvP. This makes the end-game reward of customizing your Haven Island, which I think is already relatively a lackluster endgoal, even less impressive of one as you're not really using it to show off, just for your own personal viewing pleasure despite the fact that you have no reason to be on that island aside from should you choose to go there.

There is a partying system so that you can take on challenges together with others, but it's unnecessary and thus, doesn't go utilized very often. The limited chat (pre-written phrases) also removes any semblance of chat in the game as no one uses it given that you can't have a meaningful conversation with it. Further because of this, the partying aspect isn't even really humored; since no one communicates, no one wants to even party with others since they have no indication of wanting to party or comradery.

Finally, the Cash Shop. This is largely unintrusive. There is a button in the top right to access the shop and a couple more via the 'Customization' option in the bottom left, and the various 'Skins' button you will see in your equipment window on or on the Companion Upgrade screen. None of the purchases are necessary in the slightest and are simply cosmetic. They're even less enticing to purchase given that there's effectively no social aspect to the game.

Overall, I'd say this is a fun short-term game. It's fun and addictive as I found myself coming back to it more often than I anticipated. However, "short-term" is very apt, as a lack of endgame or even a social aspect to flex on what little endgame goals there are makes it not worth staying.

Give it a try and you'll enjoy yourself. Once you get bored and don't feel like loading the game again, don't as you've probably already gotten everything out of the game that it has to offer and you won't really be missing out on anything of importance.

The game is simple in terms of play. You pick a character, then you go into a match with one to two other teammates, be they friends or random players.

Each character has specific strengths and playstyles, and how you utilize these abilities with your teammates is vital as to whether or not you win or lose the match.

The matches are relatively short, working on a best of five win condition with each battle lasting roughly 5 minutes at the most. Each battle, everyone is also given one additional perk to their abilities. The perks can be that of more utility in a spell, more damage, or more support for your teammates.

The only downside I feel to this game is that some partner pairings aren't really ideal when you have randoms in your group, as you may have two characters who don't necessarily synergize. The team can still work, but when matched up against opponents who have a better composition, it can be a bit difficult to outplay them based on the composition alone.

This game is very reminiscent of Diablo 2's PvP, and does a good job to mimic it. If you want to re-live that kind of combat without having to worry about making a build and actually grinding, this is an exceptional game for it. It's quick, easy to learn, and has a lot of room for simply out-doing your opponent on skill alone.

The Culling is a game which does well to invoke a sense of intensity among the player. It feels as though every second matters in a match and that wasting time will inevitably be your downfall. Every fight against another player feels fair in the sense that while an enemy might have an item advantage over you, it's still entirely possible to beat someone on skill alone.

Pros:
Good sense of atmosphere
Balanced fighting
Variety in build and playstyles
Great humor
Winning a fight feels satisfying

Cons:
Each patch drastically changes meta
No incentive to actually win a match versus simply competeing
Airdrops have to be discovered, making certain builds an "unlockable".

Keep in mind that it is Early Access so each patch may simply be trying to see what works and what doesn't, and the content isn't fully complete, but so far it's a very promising game.
My personal review of it in it's current state would be a solid 7.5/10, with what appears to become an even better game in the near future.