Genshin Impact became the most successful international launch in the history of the Chinese industry; over 20 million pre-registrations worldwide; over $60 million earned by mobile versions in the first week alone; over 110 thousand people watched it on Twitch a few hours after the launch. So what are the reasons Genshin Impact is so extremely popular?
This is NOT a Chinese Clone of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild but a Self-Contained Game.
I will say this – yes, the authors of Genshin Impact clearly played in Breath of the Wild and were inspired by it, like some other games. Therefore, there are unconditional similarities – a stunningly beautiful open world where you can climb almost any mountain, tree, building and then jump and fly on your own wings. Or swim to the island, where you can see another box. Plus the interaction of the elements in battles and puzzles, cooking and crafting.
And, of course, such similarity for many, especially those who did not play Zelda, was another reason to join GI. But at the same time, this is a completely different game, with original mechanics, its own atmosphere, an exciting setting, anime girls and boys – in general, it cannot be called a clone. It is exactly this combination of similarities and differences with one of the best adventures of our time, plays into the hands of Genshin.
This Is, Indeed, the First High-Budget AAA-Quality Gacha Game.
Gacha system is actually an analog of loot boxes, called so in honor of those Japanese slot machines where you can pull something cool with the help of a mechanical hand.
There are a lot of gacha games, as it is a trendy direction. But it was the creation of miHoYo that received the largest budget – it took $100 million to develop and promote GI. And, perhaps, only this Shanghai studio could afford it – their previous projects, including the very famous Honkai Impact 3rd, had a total of over 40 million installations and earned more than $760 million. And this is another reason for the success – very experienced developers made Gensin Impact.
The Game Looks, Sounds, and Feels Great.
The fact that you got into an AAA-quality project becomes clear immediately after the first launch. An emphatically charming picture immediately captivates and attracts the eye; starting videos and pleasant music creates the right atmosphere. And you immediately understand that it is beautiful, serious, and will be played for a long time.
Plus, everything is implemented very conveniently, according to the principle “Everything for the player”: control in battles, movements, interface. Voice acting? Gorgeous, especially pleased with how Paimon babbles and squeaks – our first and main companion, a small winged (and extremely funny) creature.
There are Many Cute Waifus Here.
This is a very significant point for many. In Genshin Impact, all the characters look like characters from a very high-quality anime. And even if you hate anime, you still can’t help but notice how cool and detailed are the drawing, especially the local costumes and hairstyles.
As a result, even some of the boys here look almost like girls. The artists just got carried away. Therefore, looking at the local waifus and listening to their funny voices is a genuine pleasure.
This Is a Free MMO (well, almost free), Distinct from Other Typical Free MMOs.
Yes, Genshin Impact has a lot of features of a typical, seemingly free-play Asian MMORPG. But at the same time, Genshin Impact and the very concept of “typical Asian MMORPG” are extremely far from each other. The miHoYo employees went along the western path, close to Neverwinter and Star Wars: The Old Republic, and not to some regular Korean “lineup.”
And in general, this is no MMORPG. Genshin Impact can be played as a full-fledged single-player RPG, which is what I did. There are no crowds of players hanging out in the square or riding by on a bear. No PvP. There is only a cooperative, and even that opens only after reaching the 16th adventure rank. But even afterward, it is needed more at will than by necessity. In addition, the cooperative mode has not yet been fully worked out and optimized – this is just a rare claim to the game. But for me personally, it is not very important.
Secondly, Genshin Impact has a much more lively and interesting world than typical Asian MMOs. And much more attention is paid to the plot, quests, characters, and world exploration.
Genshin Impact has many fun adventures.
Climbing higher, you look around a large beautiful world, you see the glow of teleports that you have not yet activated (open fast travel), the ruins of temples that you have not yet visited (there are usually dungeons there), statues of local archons who have not yet made special offerings items (bonuses to characteristics plus free treatment).
It is clear that all these will be repeated in other locations and new regions. But the world is arranged and worked out so that you don’t feel the feeling of hard déjà vu for a long time. And some may not experience it at all.
In Genshin Impact, there are no NPCs repeating the same dull phrase. Instead, almost everyone around has names, discusses something among themselves, argues, etc.
Yes, there are daily quests and solo missions, but they are non-trivial and even non-linear, like a date with a funny librarian or the need to do something with ducks stealing food from pigeons.
In addition, while running on such tasks, you may stumble upon a white ball of energy, which will lead to a new box if you manage to follow it and not lose sight of it.
GIHas an Interesting and Well-Thought Plot.
Having chosen a brother or sister at the start (the second relative will be captured by some strict goddess), you are transported to the new wondrous world of the Teyvat continent. As your sibling is in danger – you must help. Within 10 minutes, you learn to fly and fight the dragon.
Then you join the local knights and wait for typical errands to go now – run there, take the letter, help those, and come back. But instead, already in the third quest, you are masterfully used as bait to catch criminals. Moreover, in the process, you solve riddles, conduct investigations, search for the location of the treasures and the entrance to the ruins using the found notes and maps.
Further, you will take a flight exam, during which you will have to distract from the program and look for a dangerous criminal who stole the artifact. Then you will try to steal an important relic from the local temple, after which you need to hide in a tavern and then also burglarize the diplomatic mission of another state. It can be seen that the writers tried to diversify the tasks as much as possible.
The Game Has an Excellent Combat System.
Naturally, all available characters belong to different classes – archers, swordsmen, magicians, bards, and so on. They all differ in skills and talents, weapons, and bonuses the set of artifacts put on the hero gives.
But most importantly, they, like enemies, differ in belonging to different elemental elements. Water, air, fire, lightning, ice, earth, grass – all interact with each other in different ways. This must be taken into account and combined, passing lightning through water or freezing wet opponents – unless they are immune to such actions.
You can break special objects to make it rain in this area; set fire to wooden shields with fiery arrows; knock down the water auras of enemies again with fire, causing the effect of melting; or interact with the earth skill with other elements to receive crystals and various elemental protection. You can lift enemies with wind energy into the air, making them vulnerable to the rest of the squad. And so on – there are many nuances.
Genshin Impact Is Really Free to Play Without Investing.
The gacha system in the GI is implemented in the form of prayers, which are better done in 10 at once – the more often and more, the higher the chance of getting good loot.
But this is absolutely not the notorious “pay-to-win”. You don’t have to pray – you will still receive powerful new weapons, new characters, resources, and a lot of experience for completing quests, trials, and achievements. Or you can pray to get a chance to knock out the necessary things immediately.
To conclude, the creation of miHoYo demonstrates a new, in many ways revolutionary approach – an optional donation for a game of such quality that it becomes somehow inconvenient not to pay even a little for such beauty. And judging by the numbers claimed at the beginning, this approach works great. But we in no way urge to play, just try and decide whether it is worth it or not.
