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Genshin Impact is a free-to-play game, produced and developed by miHoYo, that has accumulated over 23 million mobile downloads in its first week of launch and gained approximately $60 million from mobile platforms and purchases. It also became the top-grossing game in both Asia and the United States, setting a record for the biggest worldwide launch of a Chinese game.
Genshin Impact lets you play an unknown and mysterious “traveler” from another world. The game begins with the player choosing one of two twins. The other twin is immediately captured by some sort of god, and the player is dropped into the fantasy world of Teyvat.
The player’s twin of choice has no idea what the deal is with this mysterious land but soon embarks on an adventure.
Genshin Impact had an early reputation of being obscenely similar to the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, released in 2017. A huge, vibrant open-world that you can visit free of charge? Check. The power to climb on nearly any surface, and a navigational wind-glider? Check. How about a stamina bar that ranges from climbing, jumping, gliding, sprinting, and even fighting for everything? You get the general point: Genshin Impact proudly presents where its inspiration came from without an inch of shame.
At the same time, Genshin Impact has managed to distinguish itself from Breath of the Wild with its Gacha transactions, and combat system. Genshin’s fast-switching between characters, and their specific skill sets and weapon types, makes combat feel much more alive and frenetic. The entire elemental system is fantastic, layering combos of elements that produce blockbuster effects as you cycle through your team. This is just more interesting and engaging than anything Zelda came up with, where the biggest thing you could do in that game to improve combat was to eventually find the Master Sword that didn’t break (as often) as your normal weapons.
Gacha derives from the word Gachapon is a technique of monetization used in many popular free-to-play games. Originally, it is a term used for Japanese toy machines, that would randomly draw a toy from a variety of toys. To gain characters and weapons, players must use in-game-currency to “pull characters”. It typically takes the form of a machine, a roulette wheel, in Genshin’s case it takes the form of a “wish”. Gacha games heavily rely on luck, as a result, players are tempted to spend real money to “pull characters” they want.
Swordplay, archery, and magic are brought to the party by the initial group of four, but every character in Genshin Impact plays completely differently. You’ll soon learn to use the best character for each situation, as you discover the weaknesses of each enemy. Setting an enemy’s wooden shield on fire will ensure you can dispatch them with ease, whereas freezing a liquid-based foe makes them easier to ignore while you combat other enemies. The game’s magic system is surprisingly intricate for a free game. Although the game does offer microtransactions, they’re never actually forced on the player, meaning gamers who enjoy working for their characters are free to do so.
While Breath of the Wild utilizes cell-shaded graphics that lend it a more cartoonish yet stylized appearance, Genshin Impact looks like an actual anime. I’m talking, “blink, and you may think you’re watching an” anime.
Genshin Impact’s brilliantly rendered environment itself provides plenty of room for experimentation. The massive world is filled to the brim with chests, tools, and even puzzles to solve.
The initial town of Mondstadt is impressive. Its rolling hills, sharp cliffs, and pockets of tall grass look great, but Mondstadt can’t help but feel a little generic. Then you cross the border into Liyue and find yourself surrounded by tall mountains and vast planes bordered by a massive bay. The colors take on more autumnal hues, and the ancient-Chinese atmosphere that dominates the zone highlights miHoYo’s creative talents.
Genshin Impact is on PC, mobile, and PS4 for now. Since it is free to play the game, you might as well try it!
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