Genshin Impact Taking Over The Mobile Gaming World

             Over the last few years, as the hardware capabilities of mobile phones become exponentially more powerful, the software has been steadily growing in complexity. Now we have reached a new tier of cross-platforming. Genshin Impact, one of the highest-grossing games for mobile platforms of all time on top of having an incredibly successful first day of launch, has now become available for PC as well as major consoles.  The GenshinImpact accounts for sale on our website are playable on every platform. They may not be the first time this has happened, but it is certainly worthy of note since Genshin Impact doesn’t feel like a mobile port. Genshin Impact feels like a major release title, with expansive gameplay and high budget audio and sound. It might not be the best looking game by comparison, but for a game that is completely free to play (as well as free-to-play) you’d be missing out to pass it up.

            When Genshin Impact’s first gameplay footage premiered there was a lot of talk about how it bore a striking resemblance to Breath of the Wild. And the comparison isn’t unfair, there is a striking resemblance with the broader construction as well as the way you move about the open world of the game with gliding and climbing and whatnot. But that is, for good and ill, where the similarity ends. Yes, you may fight random troops of goblin-like creatures inhabiting the diverse landscape and cook food from vegetation and animals you harvest in your travels, but Genshin Impact changes that mechanic to more closely work with a gacha system than with the more generalized and engrossing gameplay of the latest from the Zelda franchise.

            Now, many western gamers might be encountering gacha mechanics for the first time when they try out Genshin Impact. Gacha gets its name from the gachapon machines, those machines that distributed random prizes from those little plastic balls for a quarter, similar to a gumball machine. In these types of games, you are rewarded with an opportunity to “draw” in exchange for an in-game currency. The reward is usually characters or equipment, with a smaller chance of drawing a rarer and more powerful prize. This system is similar to loot box mechanics found in other games, with two big differences. Firstly, gacha games, unlike loot box games, are more likely to have gameplay/stat altering items rather than aesthetic items. Secondly, gacha games are a lot more likely to be free-to-play, like Genshin Impact.

            It has been really interesting to watch Genshin Impact get popular in the west since gacha games aren’t as big here and players are more used to having the characters and equipment behind a direct paywall rather than up to chance. Some streamers who have done live draws have become quite irate when the odds are stacked against them. While we agree that gacha mechanics aren’t exactly fair, we can help but be amused at the anger that comes from only slightly altering the loot box mechanics that have become acceptable to put into major titles.

            Now, many gacha games will (and do) use their mechanics to encourage players to spend money to earn additional draws so they can collect rarer loot and progress in the game. Is Genshin Impact guilty of this? Yes, definitely. But they aren’t as big of offenders as we have come across in our experience with gacha games. Genshin Impact is generous, to a point, with its freebies and you can get a decent amount of draws just from the daily grind and frequent special rewards.

            Genshin Impact also has fun, original gameplay, which is not something you see very often in free-to-play games unless you are willing to shell out for a little something extra. But no, this is stuff at the core of Genshin Impacts gameplay and it makes the game stand out on its own. The elements system in Genshin Impact shapes the whole of the gameplay and not only stops it from being labeled as a Breath of the Wild clone but makes it a lot of fun to play.

            Instead of having one character to play as there is a team of 4 you can quickly switch between. These characters can all have different powers and play styles, but the primary thing that will define their place on your team is their affinity element. There are 7 elements in total, and each either inflicts or alters a status condition onto enemies. Hydro can make an enemy wet but combine hydro and electro and your enemies will take the electro-charged status and take damage over time. The elements have a lot of combinations and will have a huge impact on the strategies you use to take on powerful enemies. This makes the combat in Genshin Impact surprisingly immersive.

            The elements aren’t just for fighting, though. Genshin Impact has a huge world for players to explore with tons of puzzles and hidden treasure (with map expansions promised in the future). Some of this treasure can be found through exploration, but much of it requires creative use of elements. Use pyro to burn through a thicket to gain access to a chest or cryo to free the water so you can walk across a lake to a faraway island. And you don’t even need to wait to draw these heroes. In the early plot, Genshin Impact gives players characters with all the elements necessary for world exploration, so the game world is yours to discover without any lucky draws needed.

            Does making a gacha style game that is fun and inventive mean the system that it is utilizing to make money is above criticism? By no means. Gacha systems’ bottom-line operation means the more money you have the better you will be at the game. No matter how it is implemented, this cannot be considered fair or ethical. Still, Genshin Impact does offer an interesting glimpse into what the future of gacha gaming could look like on the console and PC, and while this might not be a wholly good gain, there is something to be said to having free access to a gaming title of this high of quality. Maybe it’s a trend that has the potential to be nicer than others in the realm of microtransactions.  Regardless, the number of people buying and selling Genshin Impact accounts offer indisputable proof that this game is popular and will remain popular for a long period of time.