One has to admire a developer who gives their game a title that lets you know exactly what to expect from the experience. Waifu Uncovered, a new release from the delightfully named developer One-Hand-Free Studio and indie/niche publisher eastasiasoft, does indeed boast a fine selection of attractive female characters and the gradual disrobing thereof, but it might also surprise you to learn that there’s some satisfying, enjoyable, arcadey blasting action to go along with all the lewdness.
In Waifu Uncovered, you take on the role of a horse-headed ninja named K. Vaio who has been tasked with saving a series of pretty young ladies from a deadly virus that will turn them into “hot but ugly” aliens. As these things tend to go, the virus is, at present, entirely contained within their clothing, so K. Vaio naturally has no option but to make use of his mad ninja skills and his unsubtly phallic-shaped spacecraft to defeat the aliens and shred the affected clothing before anything terrible happens.
The core gameplay loop is pretty simple. Each stage begins with several waves of enemies that fly in from the sides of the screen in set formations — think the “Challenging Stages” from Namco’s classic Galaga — with a bigger score bonus being hurled your way if you manage to defeat most or all of your foes. After this, you enter what the game dubs “ClearView” mode, where you must destroy enemies that spawn all over the screen, avoid their bullets and collect the ninja stars that they drop. Collect enough ninja stars to reduce a counter at the top of the screen to zero and you destroy an item of clothing as well as restoring your spaceship’s health slightly. Obliterate the last piece of undies on a girl and a boss battle ensues in the vicinity of her nether regions, with new playable ships and game features unlocking the first time you successfully beat these powerful foes.
The enemies you’ll face are varied and interesting to battle against. Some fill the screen with bullets; some fire more focused salvos of shots; others attempt to overwhelm with sheer numbers. The designs are entirely in keeping with the overall tone of the game in that they are both puerile and amusing, including evil takes on Sanrio’s classic Hello Kitty property, homages to 1996 Tim Burton cult hit Mars Attacks! and what appear to be pairs of sentient testicles with winking anal sphincters. There are a few classic Internet memes in there too — most notably asteroid storms that are clearly inspired by “rage face” comics — but this side of things, mercifully, isn’t overdone.
Each of the unlockable playable ships handles very differently from the others, and the differences become more apparent as you engage with the game’s creative take on a weapon upgrade system. Each ship begins with a base maximum level for various stats such as rapid fire, spread shot and speed, but it’s also possible to “level up” the whole ship, which increases these possible maximums. Some ships are clearly designed to be slow, hulking powerhouses that can take a few hits from enemy swarms, while others are nimble little beasts that can zip and dodge between barrages of bullets while focusing their fire tightly on a particular target. There’s also a “one finger mode” for playing with the Switch’s touchscreen; here, you control a sausage-shaped vessel that fires automatically while your finger is on the screen. In this mode, as the name suggests, you can leave your other hand free for complementary activities such as drinking a nice cup of coffee or catching up on your correspondence with elderly relatives.
Presentation-wise, the game is solid. The background art for the girls is well drawn and features a pleasantly stylised coloured pencil and pastel look about it, often complemented by heavy posterisation for particularly vibrant colours. While the game lacks the genitalia-revealing “full uncensor” mode from the PC original, it does feature the “uncensor” mode that reveals bare breasts — though this remains optional if you prefer to preserve a little mystery. The atmosphere created by the images is one of cheeky pinup-style exuberance and flirty exhibitionism rather than voyeurism or exploitation. Everyone is full of smiles and laughter, demonstrating a clear understanding of the fact that being sexy is sometimes just a bit of fun for everyone involved — it doesn’t have to have any deeper (or more sinister) meaning than that.
The game does feature a touch of slowdown when things get a bit busy on the screen in both docked and handheld mode, but there’s the distinct sense that this is intentional. Many classic “bullet hell” shooters deliberately embrace slowdown in order to make particularly chaotic, screen-filling bullet patterns more manageable, and indeed in the case of this game, the controls remain nicely responsive even if the frame rate drops a bit, suggesting that the same is true here.
The soundtrack is a particular highlight, featuring some tuneful, hypnotic synthwave that acts as a good complement to the vibrant colours and chaotic action. It further adds to the feel that this is a game intended to be pure hedonistic pleasure rather than an experience with anything particularly deep or meaningful to say. And that’s fine — good, even. Sometimes we all need a break from the seriousness of the world around us, and this game certainly delivers on that front.
Conclusion
Waifu Uncovered has a laser-focused target audience and it caters perfectly to that audience. If you fall outside of that demographic, how much you’ll enjoy this game will depend entirely on your receptiveness to hand-drawn, mildly lewd pinup-style art and puerile humour coupled with solid shoot ‘em up action. It perhaps lacks a little longevity besides chasing high scores on the online leaderboards — but if you’re looking for a quick fling with an affordable game you don’t have to think too hard about, this is a great palate-cleanser for when you’re between more substantial experiences.
Comments 55
7? Wasn't expecting that. Great, I can pretend I'm buying this for the 'gameplay' then.
This is the greatest game that has ever existed. Go kick rocks BotW and Ocarina.
Big, saggy storylines!
That's a higher score than I expected. I'm all for these types of games but the visuals put me off. Everything on the screen just looks like a bit of a mess and I'm not a big fan of the art style for the backgrounds. Looks a little too cheap (but at least it's priced accordingly).
I don't have much to say. I'm shocked it got anything about a 5.
This review score may be the biggest surprise of 2020...and that's really saying something.
The visuals look really cheap and the first image looks like a reskin of an Overwatch character.
@BenAV Yeah, I have no problem with the "sexy" content, but I can't see what the hell is going on in the actual game, and that's the main reason I'd never buy this game. Visual design, being able to read the action on-screen clearly, is something I actually care about. But, if they have both semi-naked girls and great action that's easy to read, I'm all for that.
I don't get review scores on this site, was this one based on hornyness?
I’ve been having a blast with this game! If only Deep Space Waifu and it’s expansion would be ported to switch but this is an excellent substitute.
@boredlizard traced Tracer
@Bl4ckb100d would you find any score below 9 on a gaming website? .
I mean, look at the reactions when Zelda started picking flowers.
Mmm, I love my ladies drenched in poo.
And what the hell is with those heavily compressed JPEG-looking stills?!
Valfaris - 6/10
Waifu Uncovered - 7/10
I know, I know, different reviewers and all that but still...
Lockdown is taking a toll...
SwitchWatch trashed it. I'd be more inclined to go with Jordan's review there.
I heard it was OK to be honest. I doubt that but still.
Excuse me, but I’m VERY much interested into naked ladies and poo jokes.
It’s got a niche and pretending that humans don’t enjoy sex and toilet humor is an exercise in denial. I like this because it’s honest and isn’t trying to be an award winning bestseller.
Interested in naked ladies but not poo jokes. 5/10 for me I guess.
It's interesting that something with this theme is actually quite a solid shooter. Definitely not for me though!
@Friendly That's why I read Kotaku for reviews, no scores, only opinion.
Breaking news: Nintendo Life has given hedonistic shoot em up "Waifu Uncovered" a 7/10.
In other news... pigs are flying, the Underworld has frozen over, Trump is finally resigning and the Queen of England really is an alien lizard from the Andromeda quadrant. These stories, and more, and ten.
Colour co-ordinating enemies and the background is a horrible decision and poor game design. Looks cluttered and messy (and not in a good bullet hell type way.) Looks like ass to me (oh...that is an ass!)
tbh... I might get this. Seems a bit of cheeky silly fun. That's all you want sometimes
I nabbed it for free as I have a lot of gold coins doing nothing, and it's worth it for the lulz at that price (not sure it's something I'd have actually paid for otherwise).
It can get so visually chaotic it's hard to tell what's going on at times, and I swear the asteroid swarms are so thick in some levels that it's impossible not to take damage as even with a fully powered up ship you just can't break up the larger ones in enough time. While I cleared the "Normal Mode", I haven't beat "Arcade Mode" (which features an extra level) as in addition to the previous issues, you recover less health in this mode, and the later stages feature 2 bosses instead of just one like they do in "Normal Mode", making things even more chaotic.
But hey, it's the first fanservice game I've played that features some actual nudity somehow, which makes it surreal seeing it's icon next to Animal Crossing on my home screen, lol.
a certain censorship loving troll that was dealt with recently would lose his dam mind over this review.
Call me when a HUSBANDFU UNCOVERED is going to be released and I am in.
@RiasGremory ‘Dealt with’ makes it sound as if they ate poisoned cannoli. I have to say, I’m down for an NLife murder-mystery.
Surprised it got reviewed at all, and a 7 too? Interesting. I enjoyed it myself, even though the longevity isn't there. You'll see it all in an hour or two, but it's a pretty decent shooter.
i remember the old days you know when something was on tv you didnt like. you just picked up remote changed channel. If there was a book you thought offensive you didnt buy it. and short ass people with an interest in photography where discriminated by the photo magazines being on the top shelf.
They need a version of these games with husbandos instead of waifus
@AxeltheBuizel they need a physical special edition with 100% more on the front but when you play it the actual game features pics of cats
Bummer, I love poo but naked ladies are gross!
I will buy this tonight
@Savino Yep, it sure is.Dom awarding it a 6/10 is absolute nonsense. I really like Slain but I can understand some of the criticisms. Valfaris though, I just don't get it. As run n gun games it doesn't get much better. It's a 9/10 all the way for me.
Can't wait to see what they come up with next.
Meh. I'll stick with R-Type and PornHub thanks 😆👍
Will check it out, but not a fan poo jokes.
How is it a waifu game without Mikasa, Rem, Rei and Speedwagon?
'Not everyone’s into naked ladies and poo jokes'
Many are - and nowt wrong with that - but fortunately most draw the line at naked ladies that look like kids with adult parts.
Plus if we are being perfectly honest - this isn't even a very good art-style.
It'd being an old-school simple shooter might be enough for me to throw down a couple bucks to a laugh at the other stupidity on display.
...If I had choice I'd rather just play Deep Space Waifu instead...and I don't really wanna play either of them.
Looks ok, shooting is not my type of game so I wish it had a pinball version.
I'm here just to say that, in fact, there's a full uncensored unlockable for the switch. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B. In the main menu. No need to thank me.
@Oppyz666 You’re the true MVP
I believe the review was written with one hand...
Not a drop of soy to be seen in this review.
Just raging, hard, stiff testosterone!
One-Hand-Free Studios? What would that free hand be doing?
The enemy design looks pretty bad and the "waifus" looks bland. Do they have a hint of personality, like the ones in Helltaker or are they just pictures?
“ In this mode, as the name suggests, you can leave your other hand free for complementary activities such as drinking a nice cup of coffee or catching up on your correspondence with elderly relatives.”
LOL
Where did yesterday's crotch shot go? Now there's heads and non-close up boobs...aren't gonna reach the one- handed player demographic that way.
I mainly bought it because of the great story
Enjoyable game, but there is no level save function. If you die, you start right from the beginning again.
@DockEllisD I know dude like what the hell, its made for the ppl who do and the naked lades is why they play it this comment is the best.
I really enjoyed this game. I think a 7 is the perfect score for it. It's short, but fun. I like that the power ups are random each play through. I've had games where I just thought it was brutal, and other's where I become so powered up that it is a breeze.
I like games like this because if I have an hour to play something and just want to zone out, this does that. Huzzah!
Tap here to load 55 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...