I decided to give Genshin Impact (the cross platform action role playing open world map game developed and published by Shanghai based miHoYo) a try mainly out of curiosity. I seriously had low expectations for it given the fact that it is a gacha based game that is cross platform on mobile (Android and iOS), Playstation 4, and PC (Windows). So I expected the in-your-face appeal to purchase the in-game currency or other progression mechanics from the cash shop to be occasionally thrown up alongside the liberally provided freebie rewards (so I was surprised this promotional inundation did not occur).
I had tried V4 which is Nexon’s cross platform mobile and PC MMORPG and it felt exactly like playing a mobile game on a PC emulator except with better keyboard and mouse control. So I expected something similar with Genshin Impact. Surprisingly, they did a decent job with making it feel like a PC game. And for a Unity based title, everything felt crisp (I’ve gotten used to the pathing issues that have been associated with a lot of Unity based games). What I was really impressed with were the graphics, the vocal work (in English and a multitude of Asian languages), and the music.
The game play is also interesting (elements play a role in combat; you swap between different characters which you collect and create a party with) and there is a fair amount of verticality where you can climb and glide (both subject to a stamina bar). There is also fall damage which can result in death so you need to remain cognizant of height and stamina. The gliding is similar to Guild Wars 2 (space bar toggles gliding).
The gacha mechanic is with the Wishes system where you can get things like weapons (with higher ranked ones at every 10 pulls) or characters. PCGamer has a decent overview of the cash shop where they also recognized the lack of the obnoxious cash shop promos that are a norm in gacha style games. And the key takeaway is that the mechanic does not lock stuff away that prevents going through the games content. You don’t need to spend money but you end up spending some money to show support for the game. That’s a very rare thing to see where the emphasis is normally to front load revenue generation versus developing player loyalty where you want to spend a few bucks (it’s a formula that worked well for Grinding Gear Games for Path of Exile).
The cel-shaded graphics for each character model is well done; much better than say Soulworker. I’ve never really been a big fan of anime (despite my being Japanese) but the art style aesthetic does grab me especially when it is well done.
The game had that familiar hook where I could keep on playing to progress. Part of the hook was the exploration aspect (there’s a lot of stuff to collect that is useful as part of the game play; like you need to collect ore for crafting or ingredients used in cooking). But I had other things to do so I had to stop after 30 minutes of play before resuming the next day to play more.
The developers also made note of their development cadence with the first content update coming in mid-November followed by another in December. Considering how there hasn’t been a new release in awhile that has piqued my interest (where I’ve been playing older stuff like TERA, Guild Wars 2, and ArcheAge [Unchained]), Genshin Impact comes as a pleasant surprise.
October 12th UPDATE: for a single player, multiplayer co-op (which unlocks after reaching a certain world adventurer level) title, this is turning out to be a lot more fun and interesting that I expected. There are some designs in the game that borrows from Guild Wars 2 (just not as an MMO) where there is a strong exploration component. After seeing a revealed version of the current world map, it’s huge (and it’s not only horizontal; the game is stacked vertically). Gliding and wind current (updrafts) come to mind as does the collecting of Anemoculus throughout the world which increases character traits like stamina (which increases your dash/glide/swim/climb length) and exploration XP.
I actually wish that design was more natural though (some players take their low level character and hit up all the locations to collect them since they are such a fundamental aspect of your character). Guild Wars 2’s level system (where your character is scaled to the mob level) works well when exploring for vistas and points of interest. But here (without similar level scaling), you have to head into areas with higher level mobs (which have similar aggro like GW2). Another similar aspect is Geoculus which can be collected and are used to improve the 7 statues (unlocking those statues reveals larger sections of the open world map). I’m still beginner stage learning the game though (and trying not to use guides since a core part of the RPG experience for me is discovery).
It’s been a fairly long dry spell since a game (of any genre) last had this type of hook for me (where I’m immersed for hours on end).
