Genshin Impact is a mainly single-player, open-world, free-to-play, action-RPG for PS4, PC, and mobile, with a Switch version in development, from Chinese ACG outfit, miHoYo. 

And just to get this outta the way - yeah some of its mechanics do draw obvious inspiration from BotW (and NieR: Automata for that matter), but care to take the briefest of glances inside and you'll see that any accusations of it being a BotW clone are lazy at best. These are two very different games at heart, with Genshin putting its fun combat front and centre while positively dripping with RPG systems and numberwang.

So with that outta the way; in Genshin you play as a mysterious planet-hopping traveller searching for their lost twin, and soon after starting you begin to recruit a motley collection of heroes to help in your quest. There's a substantial main campaign to play through, a large chunk of the world of Teyvat to explore complete with all the usual open-world activities, shit-loads of collectables, side quests, dungeons, all the levelling/upgrading systems you could ever want (and a load you don't), and then there's that really quite wonderful combat system - fast and fluid with smooth and slick animations, a stamina based dash that makes use of iFrames and can trigger animation cancelling, and a whole load of hot-swapping between characters with the press of a button to trigger some crazy elemental powers and reactions. 

The current story campaign comprises a Prologue and Chapter 1 of the overriding Archon Quest, some 30 or so hours of main story content stretching into hundreds of hours with all the side quests, character-specific story quests, and open-world shenanigans. The game also has numerous limited-time events that reward both premium currency and new characters, alongside added story content. To say there's a lot of game here is an understatement, and the devs have 6 further chapters of the main story planned, each focusing on a new region of Teyvat to be added in future updates. The third region of the world, Dragonspine, and its accompanying storyline is due at the end of December. 





And yeah it is absolutely gorgeous. From the world design to the enemies and creatures to the characters themselves, the flawless and charming animations, the UI and general presentation, this game looks a million bucks. Sounds a million bucks too. Composed by Yu-Peng Chen, the score features distinct soundtracks for each of the regions in the game, and some of these themes have taken up permanent residence in my brain. Overall, the combined music and visual presentation adds a huge amount of character and charm to the world beyond the basic story. 



Now the bad news: Monetization does take the form of a gacha (lootbox) system to get the chance to add statistically better characters and weapons to your loadout, and once you hit Adventure Rank 20 there's a battle pass. There is absolutely no need to get involved in any of that, what the game gives you is stupidly generous and will see you through the content available at the moment without a worry, as well as handing you many a free roll at the gacha system from currency earned a multitude of ways in-game. 

In the early hours of the game (when this OP was penned) the gacha system is almost completely absent. You don't even get access to the store until you reach a certain level. When you do, the wish/gacha system isn't pushed hard in-game - but it most certainly is via the game's social media and by the hordes of content creators making a living from hyping-up the super-rare 5* characters. And make no mistake, it's a shit system. No matter how generous they are with the free rolls you can't get away from the fact that this is gambling, in a game that's hugely appealing to kids, and I've no doubt many, many people will sink a lot of money into this game.

This isn't something that affects me, however, I'm guilty of sometimes thinking others will be able to resist the lure of gacha in same way. So, if you're the kind of person who thinks they might get sucked into this system - PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS GAME. Gacha is predatory, unrewarding, and downright scummy.  

If you're deeply fortunate enough to be immune from this kind of shit, then go for it and let yourself get swept away in the story, the music, the exploration, the beautiful art direction, and fun, elementally charged combat. 






There is limited multiplayer available once you get to a certain point, but it isn't implemented amazingly at the moment. Expect this to get better over time, but it's a single-player game at heart. Actually, expect everything to get better over time. This is an ambitious live service title with a $100 million budget that's designed to keep you (and your debit card) engaged for years, and new map regions, quests, dungeons, characters, weapons, and equipment are all on the way.

I mean, the game's free and crazy generous in the amount of content it does offer you. If anything you've seen about the world, combat, and general gameplay tempts you, then give it a go. If the gacha elements also tempt you, avoid it. I'm serious.  



Useful links: 

Official website: For the PC download, news, world info, official forums, and even their own manga.

Interactive map: Wanna find all the anemoculus or geoculus? How about chests, shrines, or mining locations? It's all here.

The Wiki: 'Cause you're probably gonna need it at some point.