Genshin Impact

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–PUBLISHER: miHoYo | DEVELOPER: miHoYo –GENRE: Action Online RPG | THEME: Anime, Fantasy –PLATFORM: Download | STATUS: Final (September 28, 2020 PC, iOS, Android / PS4 | Switch Upcoming

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Genshin Impact is a game by Chinese developer miHoYo, creators of the acclaimed mobile action RPG Honkai Impact 3rd. The studio's obvious expertise in all things anime is being used in this follow-up, a game that captured the hearts and minds of many players when it was announced in 2019.

Genshin Impact instantly drew comparisons to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, being sarcastically called Breath of the Waifu by some players, due to the cute female characters that you can control. Don't worry though, there are many male characters, or husbandos, for you to recruit as well. The sprawling open world and, above all, the accomplished art style were praised, and rightfully so. Genshin Impact looks like a playable anime, with charming characters and a colorful world that isn't just for show.

Players get to pick from eight characters at the time of closed beta, with more to come. You can choose female characters but also male ones, unlike Honkai Impact 3rd where all the playable characters were girls. Each character comes with a specific weapon or attack, including swords, bow and arrow, halberd or magic tomes.

As you unlock characters, you can switch between them at any time. This is a similar feature to the one in Honkai Impact 3rd, developed to use each one's abilities to the fullest and eventually create some unique combos during combat.

Combat in Genshin Impact is remarkably fast and smooth, comparable to KurtzPel, but KOG's game is deliberately an action game. As an open world RPG, Genshin Impact offers a lot to do and includes a combat system where your skill makes all the difference. Shooting an arrow is a matter of aiming at the enemy, but a lock-on option may be planned as well.

Genshin Impact's world is a joy to explore, with places where you can swim, climb or glide. There are life skills and huge cities with NPCs to talk to. While not an MMORPG, Genshin Impact allows you to invite other players to your game world, roaming the land with friends by your side. However, when they return to their own worlds, it will be exactly the same as when they left it.

PvP in Genshin Impact isn't a priority but it may eventually be developed further down the line.

While Genshin Impact is in development for PC and mobile devices, the former will feature high quality graphics to take full advantage of the more powerful specs.

Genshin Impact is more than a simple Breath of the Wild knockoff, as some outlets have unjustly called it. It is shaping up to be a fantastic action RPG created with great care, amazing visuals and based on a manga that was released on Crunchyroll.