This game has taken the world by storm. It has won multiple awards throughout its 2 years since launching in 2020. What exactly has Hoyoverse done with this gacha game that has fans all over the world rooting for it?
We’ll be analyzing the key points at which the game has succeeded in becoming the gaming giant that it is today. See if you can spot your favorite thing about Genshin Impact, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
10. It's A Free to Play Game
Did anyone say free?
Genshin Impact provides players with a lot of value for a really good price— that price being totally FREE! Anyone around the world can instantly download the game through their website or partner distributor stores, depending on what device is used.
Once it’s up and running, you now have complete access to the entire game. Most players on a tight budget just choose to be free-to-play, or F2P for short. This involves a lot of patience and grinding in order to save up on primogems (the tokens used for the gacha).
On the other hand, more fortunate players can opt to buy their way into getting more primogems, or purchase booster packs containing mora, hero books, and weapon leveling materials.
Interesting Facts
- You can beat the game and even complete Spiral Abyss as an F2P player.
- You can get 60 primogems daily just by doing your commissions.
- The game provides all players with a generous amount of primogems every patch, not to mention the rewards during every event.
9. Balanced Game Difficulty Fit For All Types Of Players
Ah, it's that time of the month again.
Games often provide a difficulty option for the player from the very start of their journey. We all know of games that don’t offer this option, such as all souls games that are mind blowingly difficult even for seasoned players.
Genshin Impact also works in a similar way, but in the other direction. The game provides a light level of difficulty that even younger audiences can appreciate. If ever you’re really in a tight pinch, you can choose to lower the world level you’re at to make things a bit lighter, but how low you can get is limited.
For the more hardcore gamers, domains around the map are available to test your clear time. Then there’s the infamous Spiral Abyss, a series of combat challenges that get refreshed every now and then that bring your team compositions to the limit.
The in-game events are also generally not that difficult. To get primogems, one must only accomplish the given challenge. Bonus rewards such as mora or exp books are awarded to those who really want to get the best scores possible.
Interesting Facts
- You can only join other players’ worlds that are lower or equal to yours.
- The higher world level you’re at, the better the rewards for ley lines and domains are.
- The maximum adventure rank is 60, any further experience received is converted to mora.
8. Global Community is Very Active
Everybody knows the true archon of the game is the almighty primogem.
The fan community of this game is just impressive. It brings together anime lovers, artists, cosplayers, hardcore gamers, and content creators into one big fandom.
Go into any social media site, and you’ll see a hyperactive community that never seems to run out of content. Flooded with artwork, guides, and fan theories, the game only grows in content as time progresses with every patch.
Suffice to say, the game developers certainly acknowledge the vastness of their fan base, which they capitalize on by holding lots of art contests and real life events around the world.
Interesting Facts
- The game is known for its leakers ,which the developers are trying to combat to this day.
- The game is known to reward its partner content creators.
- During the release of Zhongli, the community was so outraged that the developers actually had to rework the character and buff the geo element.
7. Gacha Game Aspect Is Addicting
This roll is too good to be true.
It takes a lot of self-control and discipline to not get hooked by the temptations of any gacha game. It’s a psychological need to get the reward or character that we want, even if it is by a slim chance that gets us going.
Luckily, the game provides a pity system that carries over to every banner update, but this still doesn’t take away from the fact that saving primogems takes a lot of time and not everyone has the same level of patience.
Even if you do get the character you want, you can still upgrade them further by getting constellations. One more wish after losing a few dozen wouldn’t hurt, right?
Interesting Facts
- Hoyoverse has other gacha games in its catalog, such as Tears of Themis and Honkai Impact.
- There is no guarantee in getting the 4-star character you want.
- The weapon banner has a slightly more generous pity system compared to the character banners.
6. Beautiful Soundtracks That Adapt Per Region
This concert dropped absolutely hard way back then.
This is something that the developers have over any other gacha or open-world game. It’s one thing to do a soundtrack for a game, but having separate albums for every region, and hitting the nail on the head with each one is a feat only Hoyoverse has accomplished.
All pieces are beautiful and fit well into the visuals of the game. The developers even try their best to appropriate every detail. One example of this is the use of an actual Chinese opera singer for the release of Yun Jin and the accompanying quest.
Interesting Facts
- The developers actually hold concerts to commemorate the music of the game.
- There are gadgets in the game that allow the player to make music.
- You can purchase albums of the games’ music.
5. Cross Platform Compatibility
The ultimate co-op RPG experience for most platforms.
A major advantage that the game has over its competitors is that it’s available on most gaming platforms today. It can be played on mobile, PC, PlayStation. There are reports and teasers of it also being on the Nintendo Switch, but we have yet to see this development progress. The possibility of having an Xbox is also currently out of the question, but we do hope to see it in the future.
The fact that players on different platforms can come together in a single co-op mode breaks a lot of barriers and encourages more players to tag along. Speaking of breaking barriers, the partnership with Playstation has opened up the world to some new wacky details. Back in 2021, Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn was released as a playable unit. Fans had mixed reactions, with the negative side being that it ruins the story and immersion in the world, but those on the positive side claim that this only opens more doors to opportunities.
To be fair, the main character that we play as really is a traveler from another world, so it’s not completely off brand to have other characters outside of Teyvat to come along. Here's hoping that Kratos gets in on some juicy Genshin Impact action.
Interesting Facts
- Players on PlayStation are treated to bonus rewards such as a free glider and weapon that only work when you’re on that platform.
- You can’t use the same unit as your friend when inside domains.
- Daily commissions can be done in other players’ worlds.
4. Consistent Patches Since Launch
You have to respect the effort they put into even the little things.
If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that Genshin Impact will have an update every 6 weeks or so. These updates generally contain new events, new or rerun characters and weapons, bug fixes, map updates, and quality-of-life changes. Developers have been very consistent with their timeline, only going off a bit because of the pandemic concerns in China (which is understandable).
This consistency keeps the game exciting, and as we’ve mentioned before, the global community almost never runs out of things to talk about. Another thing about these patches is that the developers take the time to creatively present their live streams to inform the audience of what comes next. It’s also commendable that they take the effort to speak directly to the audience during these streams, which only further shows their dedication to the project.
Interesting Facts
- Every patch that introduces a new region increases the patch version count by 1. Smaller updates increase it by .1.
- During server maintenance, players automatically receive a small sum of primogems which can increase if the maintenance exceeds the given time.
- Developers began the practice of drip marketing new upcoming characters following a new patch. It is assumed that this started due to the leakers showing the information anyway.
3. Rich Lore In A Connected World
If evil could be captured in a single frame, this is it.
It would take months for a new player to even comprehend the real depth of the game. In plain sight, one may just see characters fighting it out in the world, but progressing through the story shows the backstories, motivations, and ambitions of each individual.
No one character is the same, we have a sleepy ninja, a chaotic puppet warrior, a drunken god, and a broke astrologist, to name a few wacky individuals. You’ll be surprised to see that the entire lore of the game dates back to more than 500 years ago.
One way the game takes advantage of its rich history is by having notes, story lines, and voice lines that reveal the story piece by piece. True adventurers make it a goal to max out all characters' companionship level to unlock all these goodies.
Interesting Facts
- Aside from the 7 elements introduced in the game, there are other beings that utilize a different type of unknown power.
- Nearly every major event in the game has the Fatui involved, in one way or another.
- We have yet to actually see Alice or Grand Master Varka in person. Both characters were introduced to be very prominent at the start of the game.
2. Diverse Maps Inspired by Real Life Places
Just taking a stroll around any region is a surreal experience.
At the beginning of the game, we wake up at a beach along Mondstadt. Early players were treated to a warm welcome to the Land of Freedom, followed by the bustling city of Liyue. Newer players today are lucky as they can progress quickly to reach the newer added regions, which are Inazuma and Sumeru. We also won’t forget about the special areas such as Enkanomiya and The Chasm.
The world establishes itself bit by bit with every patch, and it’s a treat to see the areas teased earlier to finally be explorable with even newer easter eggs. Currently, there are a total of 7 official regions/nations in Teyvat. We can only wait and see how the upcoming areas will look like.
Interesting Facts
- Mondstadt is inspired by Germany, Liyue is China, Inazuma is Japan, and Sumeru is Southern Asia.
- Each nation represents a certain ideal of which the people and the Archon live by.
- Some landforms and islands didn’t initially exist, but came to be due to the impact of the Archon War.
1. Characters Have Their Own Unique Personalities and Intricate Designs
Calm and collected, even in the heat of battle.
Here we have the main reason that people go crazy about Genshin Impact. Fans can’t resist the charms of well-designed characters, add the fact that they have their own stories, which is only amplified by talented voice artists.
Combat plays an important factor in whether players will pull for the character or not. Yet in some cases, such as with Klee, fans would spend their precious primogems because of their love for the character, despite them being lacking compared to others in combat.
Just like a globally enjoyed anime, Genshin Impact characters have inspired waves of different products, art pieces, and even cosplay outfits from the mere designs of the characters alone. Hoyoverse has found the perfect formula to get people spending, and hey, I’m not complaining one bit!
Interesting Facts
- Despite being the main character, the Traveler has minimal voice lines and is often supplemented by Paimon.
- Each playable character is given their own teaser and talent reveal before their release.
- Eula has the highest viewed character teaser out of all the characters. This is despite the initial backlash she received due to being a physical damage focused character.
