Genshin Impact – The Introduction
Genshin Impact, from miHoYo Co., Ltd., is an open-world action role-playing game, playable on PC, mobile, and PS4. It launched with a bang on September 28, 2020 and it is taking way too much of my time since last November. Before I discuss the merits and problems with the game however, I suppose it’s best if I introduce the game itself first to serve as a foundation for future articles.
Story
You and your twin (one male, one female, you get to chose which one you want to be) are cross-dimensional travelers. While you were about to leave Teyvat, a goddess stopped you in your tracks, and took your sibling from you. You were sealed, and woke up in Teyvat much later, your original powers locked away from you. To find your sister, you travel across the seven nations to find their respective gods, in the hopes that they can give you an answer as to your sister’s whereabouts.
Currently, the main story quests for the first two nations are released, and the rest are to be released on a later date. It is, after all, a GaaS that is still in its early stages. Speaking of which…
Revenue Model
The game is a free-to-play gacha game, and I have stated my absolute distaste towards that particular revenue model before. As with most gacha games, it is a GaaS with ongoing events and continuations to the main plotline. Aside for purchasing premium currency (Primogems) for gacha pulls, you can also buy in-game resources via the store using a separate currency that is earned through gacha pulls.
Aside for that, the game has a Battle Pass system where you earn extra in-game resources by completing daily, weekly, and Battle Pass Period missions for more in-game resources. If you purchase an add-on, you get even more in-game resources from completing the tasks, which includes Primogems and tokens for gacha pulls.
The game has a stamina mechanic, Original Resin (Resin for short), which serves as a time gate for progression materials from bosses and domains (a battle arena with environmental buffs and debuffs). To refill materials, you can either use Fragile Resin, a rather scarce resource, or Primogems, which is also what you use for gacha pulls.
The repeated emphasis on gacha pulls is because it largely determines how much you get to enjoy the game. Gacha pulls grants you units and weapons which enables a greater variety of team compositions and playstyles.
Gameplay
Genshin is an open-world action RPG, where you have a party of four (or less if you feel like crippling yourself) at all times. There are, at the time of writing, 31 characters to choose from. Each character can be equipped with one weapon and five artifacts (equipment that determines the main stats and grant bonuses), which determine how the characters perform and play.
In Genshin Impact, there are a few main things to do:
- Complete quests
- Explore and scour the land for resources
- Grind for progression materials to raise your characters
The end-game content as of now is the Spiral Abyss, a special challenge domain which demands good character and team builds, as well as a degree of gameplay skill, to pass through. Twice every month, the last four floors reset, giving players a constant source of free Primogems.
This should serve as an adequate introduction to Genshin Impact. Next article, we’ll look at what got me playing this game so much for so long.