Genshin Impact has no right to be as beautiful as it is AND free at the same time. Not only is this masterpiece of a game fun to play, it’s a work of art too. 

Intro

Genshin Impact was first released in September 2020. When it came out, it kind of exploded. Sure, the developers pumped millions into the development, but even they could not have been prepared for the overnight success it achieved. The developers, MiHoYo, boasted an absolutely incredible closing revenue of $800 million for 2020. That’s a whopping $200 million per month! One would think this success would slow down as time went on, but recent data has shown a total revenue of $3 billion USD up till 2022. 

The reason we’re focusing on the money numbers as much as we are is because we firmly believe that Genshin Impact is a perfect example of video game monetization done right. Unlike some other recent other titles we’ll not mention.  

Simple description

So what’s the big deal? What is Genshin Impact really? Well, it’s an open-world action RPG. The art style is undeniably anime-esque and if you’re a fan of that kind of thing, you’ll often find yourself getting lost in the ambiance of the world while playing. We don’t want to ruin a second of the story but suffice to say that as you play you’ll find out that the game is not only visually stunning but has a deep and rich story that will keep you coming back 

The gameplay is great for this genre of game, and where the game truly shines is in its combat. It’s easy to understand but can be put toe to toe with any of the best combo-based fighting games. Sure, there will always be best in slot strategies, but the great thing is that you’ll be able to play to your style and still rock the game while doing so. 

It’s also a Gacha game. A term that you either know or don’t. Gacha games allow you to purchase something by using in-game currency. You usually can’t simply buy the thing you want though, and instead get random rewards as outcomes of the purchase. The term originated in Japan where vending machines would dispense capsules containing random toys. 

The good

There’s so much to say here but we’ll start with the most obvious thing first. Genshin Impact is Free to Play. You get to enjoy a massive amount of free content before even thinking about needing to spend a cent. Even so, the game does not feel like it forces you at any point to need to spend money to enjoy it, which is great. 

Being free, you would think that there has to be some kind of catch. This is not the case, as the game boasts some of the most beautiful visuals we’ve ever seen. Sure, the anime-esque style might not be everyone's cup of tea, but there can be no denying the fact that when you load up the game it is strikingly beautiful. 

So they didn’t cut corners on visuals, how does gameplay measure up then, right? This is yet another home-run for Genshin Impact. There is a deep world with a great RPG system built into it. You get to follow a rich storyline and while questing through the world you’ll seldom find yourself getting bored. As previously mentioned the combat is also satisfying and simple to master. Overall it’s quite hard to understand just how they’ve managed to pack as much of a punch with a free game as they have with Genshin Impact. 

The bad

Nothing can be perfect, though. And while Genshin Impact sure is pretty damn close there are, of course, issues we’d like to bring to the light. The game is Free to Play as mentioned before, but what we’ve seen a lot of complaints about is that when you do start spending money in pursuit of something specific, the drop rates can be quite stingy. 

This low drop rate, coupled with some of the game features and progress being gated behind payment walls does get a little annoying from time to time. It’s interesting to note that any game where you are chasing a specific item or drop which makes this drop super rare or close to unobtainable can be both amazing and frustrating at the same time. You work towards the goal, and the longer it goes on, the less likely you feel that you’ll ever be able to achieve it. 

Besides the payment walls and money-related frustrations there are some technical issues as well, namely controller-related problems on PC AND a limitation to what you can do with friends while playing. 

The ugly

The worst thing about the game is that, as of writing this article, the story is not yet complete. Imagine spending hours of your life immersed in this rich world only to discover that you’re left with a cliffhanger. I am sure the developers are trying their best to figure out a way to wrap up the main story while still allowing for new content. It’s a hard problem to solve, sure, but for those of us with completionist brains, we need to know what happens! 

Closing

If you’re looking for a new action RPG to sink your teeth into, we highly suggest giving Genshin Impact a try. Even if you think the art style might not suit you, we’d still suggest trying to bear with it, who knows it might grow on you and even if it doesn’t, the story and combat is amazing enough to keep you playing for hours. 

Outro (Getting people to talk in comments)

As always, if you think we’ve done a good job talking about one of our favourite games, please do let us know. If you think we’ve done a terrible job, we’d also love to hear about it. Share all of your thoughts in the comments section below, and share this with anyone you think should know about it. .