Genshin Impact is a brand new free-to-play action adventure role-playing game developed by MiHoyo. The game is available now on PC, PS4, IOS devices, and Android Devices. The game offers cross progression and cross play across devices. This game was released on September 28, 2020, and has become one of the most popular new games of 2020. After playing the first hour of this game, I can tell the developers grew inspiration from other great action adventure games such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, this game is not a breath of the wild clone. I have seen that term tossed around over the internet in the past few weeks, and that term does not give these developers the credit they deserve. This game has so many unique features and mechanics that make it standout in the RPG genre. These features and mechanics include stamina, elemental damage, elemental reactions, character swapping, co-op, team synergies, and so much more.
This game has a similar stamina system as breath of the wild. Every movement and action of your character drains a certain amount of stamina, and players will have to plan accordingly so they do not drown or fall down a cliff. One of my favorite mechanics of this game, is the squad/team mechanic. In Genshin Impact, you unlock different characters throughout the game and you can have a team of up to 4 characters. The 4 characters are not on screen at the same time, rather you can switch rapidly between characters at any time. This allows you to switch mid combat, and allows you to get creative with different elemental combinations and create many different elemental reactions. Each character has their unique attributes and elemental traits, and gamers can optimize their teams to create different team synergies which can provide unique benefits and buffs.
The game includes 7 different elements which all have strengths and weaknesses, and when some are combined unique elemental reactions occur. The seven different elements are Anemo (Wind), Cryo, (Ice), Dendro (Nature), Electro (Lightning), Geo (Earth), Hydro (Water), and Pyro (Fire). Different elements can also add status affects, such as cryo attacks leading to decreased opponent movement speed. Not only does each character have a unique elemental trait, but the different enemies encountered have unique elemental traits as well. Therefore, gamers will need to learn which specific element attacks are needed for each specific opponent element type. For example, if Amber, a pyro element character, fights a pyro opponent her pyro attacks will not cause any damage. In this case, you would need to swap to another character such as hydro to maximize damage. I will be providing an in-depth overview of each element, and other aspects of this game in the coming weeks.
I only played this game for an hour, and am already sucked into this wonderful world. There are so many different areas to explore and new areas and content will be coming in the future. The visual style and map are so beautiful, and the graphic design, map design, character design, and voice overs are excellent. My reaction after playing this game was: how is this a free-to-play game? With how much this game offers to players, I am amazed and thankful that it is free. This game truly is a full-fledged open world action adventure RPG that is free-to-play for all players. Now there is a monetization aspect in this game, in which players can pay to have a chance to unlock better gear and characters. However, gamers do not have to pay to enjoy what this game has to offer.
The game also offers co-op, but this is not unlocked till later in the game when you reach level 16. This can take as quick as 2-3 hours, but can take longer for some players as well. I plan to play the coop at a later date and provide an overview. With the research I have completed so far, the coop features seem to be limited at this time. I am sure with time this will be improved. One limitation I have gathered is that only the host can open chest and discover world locations. There are also other aspects that are limited to only the host of the session as well. So, the benefit for the visiting players seems limited, and coop may be only used for dungeons and raids. There are other limitations as well, but it is still great to be able to have the option to play this wonderful game with your friends no matter the device they are on.
In my first hour of gameplay on PC, I did not encounter any dropped frames, bugs, or glitches. All the gameplay and combat mechanics were both smooth and enjoyable. The game offers many tips and tutorials throughout the first hour which helped me learn the different aspects of the game. All the menus are snappy and easy to navigate with a mouse. I know I have just scratched the surface in this game, and I have so much more to learn. I cannot wait to jump back into this game and enjoy everything it has to offer.
I will be writing more articles and making more videos for this game including, tips, tutorials, overviews, reviews and more. Check out this game if you enjoy open world action adventure RPGs.
