Genshin Impact

A most spectacular journey

Initial thoughts

There’s a type of system in video games known as Gacha that involves a player spending in-game currency to receive a random virtual item. Players can collect said currency through gameplay, but it is usually far easier to simply purchase it from the game publisher using real-world funds.

I’m not particularly fond of Gacha games, because they tend to boil down to "pay-to-fully-enjoy". Genshin however, has such a high amount of content that the enjoyment factor isn't found through the Gacha and there are simple but clear rules on how to use it.

Genshin Impact is primarily an Open-World Action RPG where the primary incentives for progressing through the game are exploring that world and increasing the power of certain playable characters you've collected.

In some other Gacha games I've played in the past, you can only experience the story of the characters if you've unlocked them, Genshin is a notable exception where you DO NOT have the unlock them before playing through their story.

Important Note: Please be aware that this review is outdated, only covering the game up to Version 2.8.

Setting and Story

Genshin Impact takes place in a world called Teyvat, which is primarily made up of seven nations; Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, Natlan and Snezhnaya. Each of these nations is ruled by a god referred to as an Archon (collectively called "The Seven" or the "Seven Archons"). Teyvat also features seven elements; Anemo (wind), Geo (earth), Electro (lightning), Dendro (grass), Hydro (water), Pyro (fire) and Cryo (ice); and each Archon is tied to one element (for example, "Anemo Archon" or "God of Anemo").

The player character is a Traveler that travels across various worlds along with their twin sibling. But while trying to leave Teyvat, they were stopped by a mysterious god that trapped both of them. The Traveler then awakens in Teyvat and goes on a search throughout the seven nations to find their twin and learn the secrets of the world and the Archons. Except for the Traveler, each playable character is an individual that has gained a Vision, a jewel that allows them to control one of the seven elements, by demonstrating their resolve to overcome an insurmountable obstacle.

As we travel through the nations we become involved in various problems that the countries are facing, which are being intensified by the machinations of the Abyss Order, a group of non-humans that oppose the Archons and their countries, and the Fatui, a force of diplomatic agents serving the Cryo Archon that are working the gain control of the other nations.

Gameplay Summary

The gameplay of Genshin Impact starts with choosing four characters to use in a team. Each character has one of five weapon types; Sword, Bow, Polearm, Claymore and Catalyst; which have unique play styles (though certain characters may have an attribute to their attacks that are unique to them) and one of seven elements that they can use. All characters have a unique Elemental Skill that usually allows them to deal damage of their Element and apply it to an enemy as a status condition. Using Elemental Skills creates Elemental Particles, which characters can collect to gain Energy, when they have enough Energy, they can use their Elemental Burst, which is a more powerful elemental attack. When an Elemental Skill generates a Particle, it will give increased Energy to characters of the same element as the one that generated it.

The Elements of Teyvat play a critical role in gameplay. When an Element is applied to an enemy and a second Element is applied, a new effect will occur depending on the Elements involved, this is called an Elemental Reaction. For example, when Hydro meets Cryo, the enemy becomes Frozen and is unable to move, or when Pyro meets Electro, the enemy becomes Overloaded, which triggers a Pyro explosion. Some teams are focused on specific Elemental Reactions. Another factor involving the character's Elements is Elemental Resonance, a passive effect that applies to the whole team and changes depending on whether or not there are two characters of the same Element. For example, if there are two characters of the Cryo Element, the team will have an increased Critical Hit Rate against enemies that are Frozen or affected by Cryo, or if there are two characters of the Pyro Element, the team will have an increased Attack status.

After Elements, Weapons and Artifacts impact a character's play style. While the type of Weapon (Sword, Bow, Polearm, Claymore and Catalyst) is decided by the character, different weapons within those categories have different abilities. Artifacts refer to five items that can be equipped to increase the character's status. Artifacts also come in various sets, and if a character has equipped multiple artefacts of certain sets, they gain new passive effects from the set. For example, there's a set called Blizzard Strayer that gives a character an increase to their Cryo Damage when they have two Artefacts from the set equipped, but when they have four Artefacts from the set equipped, they gain the previous bonus and a new ability where attacks dealt to enemies affected by Cryo will increase Critical Hit Rate.

Gacha Summary

Genshin Impact's Gacha system (referred to in-game as the Wish system) is how players gain new characters and weapons. Within the game, you can collect various currencies, Primogems in particular, to buy Intertwined Fates and Acquaint Fates, you can then use these to buy a roll on the gacha where you can get a randomised Weapon or character at a set percentage. There are at least three banners where you can roll on the gacha at a time, the Standard Banner (referred to in-game as Wanderlust Invocation) that uses Acquaint Fates, the Weapon Banner that allows you to pull for specific 5★ weapons and uses Intertwined Fates, and the Character Event Banner which allows you to pull for a featured 5★ character for a limited time and also uses Intertwined Fates.

The Gacha isn't entirely random and has specific rules, I'll go over the most important. If a player does not obtain any 4★ (or above) item within 9 wishes in a row, the 10th wish is guaranteed to be a 4★ (or higher) item, this can be a character or a weapon. If a player does not obtain any 5★ item after 89 wishes, the 90th wish is guaranteed to be a 5★ item. (On average, a greater proportion of 5★ items are dropped between 74 and 90 wishes.) When wishing on the Character Event Banner, every time a player obtains a 5★ item, there is a 50% chance it will be the promotional 5★ character. If the obtained 5★ was NOT the promotional 5★ character, then the next 5★ item WILL be the promotional 5★ character (the Weapon Banner follows similar rules but has an in-game tutorial for it). And lastly, any wishes made on the Character Event and Weapon Banners will carry over onto to next banner, so if you made 89 wishes on the Character Event Banner that features one character without getting a 5★, then wishing on the next Banner for a different character will count as the 90th and be a 5★ guarantee.

The Standard Banner has five featured 5★ Characters whose effectiveness is somewhat average compared to others. Obtaining a 5★ item on this banner will guarantee that it will be one of these characters or a weapon from an average set of weapons. And when one gets a 5★ item on the Character Event Banner and it is not the promotional character, it will be one of the 5★ Characters from the Standard Banner.

Open World

Genshin Impact's Open World is one of the most varied, detailed and thought out video game worlds I've seen ever. The breathtaking visuals combined with a soundtrack unique to every area and various treasure chests and other open-world exploration rewards convincingly sell the idea that you the player are truly travelling an extremely full world.

The various nations are based on a particular real-life culture, which you can see in the architecture and the societies. As I write this, there are three nations that you can explore but the developers are constantly adding to the game with not just new nations, but also new subareas to each nation.

Each nation has different unique resources, such as plants and ores, and various open-world bosses that you have to battle to obtain drops from them and level up your characters

Mondstadt

Mondstadt is the first nation we visit in the story. Each Archon has a personal ideal that serves as the basis for their country's government. Mondstadt was founded by the Anemo Archon whose divine ideal is "Freedom", so he lets the people manage themselves instead of taking the management of his nation into his own hands. The closest thing Mondstadt has to a government is the Knights of Favonius, who act as the main peacekeeping force in the city.

The civilisation of Mondstadt exists mostly within one city and a few villages outside while the majority of Mondstadt's land is a mostly natural landscape. It's fitting for a nation of wind and freedom to have wide-open spaces to explore.

The people of Mondstadt are a very whimsical community, having a great love for music and wine and never worrying about expressing themselves. You'll find a great number of fun and unique personalities in the inhabitants of the city. And I'm not just referring to the playable characters, you can talk to and have a conversation with literally every NPC in Mondstadt.

The nation of Mondstadt is inspired mainly by German culture as well as various other Northern European cultures. In particular, the culture and landscape closely resemble Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state.

Liyue

After players complete the tutorial, they unlock all of Mondstadt to explore and can also visit the following country over, Liyue. Liyue is the second nation that we see in the story and was founded by the Geo Archon, whose divine ideal is "Contracts". The most populated area in the nation, Liyue Harbor, is a bustling mercantile city that deals with trading goods throughout all the nations in Teyvat and has great respect for tradition.

The head of Liyue Harbor's government is the Liyue Qixing, a committee of seven merchants and business leaders who implement the policies laid out by the Geo Archon and manage the day-to-day governance of the region. But Liyue is also protected by the Adepti who live in the mountains of Jueyun Karst, magical creatures who have formed a contract with the Geo Archon to protect the land from the threat of demons and evil gods.

Liyue is inspired by China and considering that Genshin Impact's developers; miHoYo, is a China-based company, various characters that reference Chinese culture portray them accurately and go over and above to give us an amazing experience.

Inazuma

When players start Chapter II of the story, they can visit Inazuma, an archipelago of islands ruled by the Electro Archon, whose divine ideal is "Eternity". Each of Inazuma's six islands has their unique geographies, making exploration between islands drastically different.

Narukami Island (pictured, top) is the first island we visit and the least threatening. Inazuma's capital, Inazuma City, and its most famous temple, the Grand Narukami Shrine, are located there and features Electrograna which you can use to teleport around in mid-air.

Kannazuka is a rocky outcrop and the location of the Mikage Furnace, Inazuma's largest smelting facility. The furnace is closed off by a barrier that players will need to complete a quest to remove, and even after that, players will need to be extra careful of the intense Electro energy that will damage them if not careful.

Yashiori Island was once the stage for a battle between the Electro Archon and an enemy god and is now that god's final resting place. The fallen god's lingering malice is now causing a perpetual downpour, players will have to be careful of lightning and other elements because they'll combine with the rain and trigger Elemental Reactions.

Watatsumi Island (pictured, middle) is an island made partly from giant corals whose people worship a different god than the Electro Archon. The island has the most calming visuals and soundtrack for Inazuma, and strolling all over the islands makes it feel like you're visiting a palace under the sea.

After completing a series of quests on Watatsumi Island, players can enter the depths of the island and pass through a gateway to Enkanomiya, a mysterious region underneath Inazuma, which players can explore and uncover eerie mysteries.

Seirai Island (pictured, bottom) is the most troubling in my opinion. The whole island is plagued by enemies of all kinds and the center of the island is enveloped in a perpetual thunderstorm which will damage players who enter haphazardly. By completing a series of quests, players can dispel the thunderstorm and progress further to the center and find a new boss.

Tsurumi Island is an island perpetually cloaked in a fog that requires the use of Electro attacks and completing quests to fully dispel. Tsurumi Island is home to some particularly dangerous enemies called Riftwolves that can damage every member of a player's party at once.

Future of Teyvat

New regions are constantly being worked on by miHoYo and every addition is a breath of fresh air. At least four new nations have been confirmed and we might get more subregions that reveal long-lost secrets of Teyvat.

As I write this, the release of the next nation, Sumeru, is right around the corner. This will not only bring a new nation and story, but also a brand new Element.

Characters and Stories

Genshin Impact's playable characters are the main attraction of the game. While players are playing through the main story, everyone's interactions with the Traveller provide a high amount of development for both the characters themselves and the Traveller's view of Teyvat.

As players unlock new characters through the gacha, level them up, and use them in battle, you unlock stories that show those characters' endearing backstories and voicelines that display their personalities, such as by expressing their opinions on other characters, the change in the story, and their interactions with the Traveller.

Almost every character has a devoted Story Quest that lets players explore their interactions with the Traveller. There are two kinds of these quests; proper Story Quests, missions that are centred around a 5★ Character and let players give that character a brief trial run. There are also Hangout Events that are centred around a 4★ Character and act like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story that have different outcomes depending on the dialogue you choose and are replayable.

In most of the Gacha games I've played (that being said, I haven't played that many), you can only play missions that go into a character's backstory after you've unlocked them. Genshin Impact is different in the sense that you can play any Story Quest by collecting Story Keys that you can learn by completing Daily Missions.

Lots of characters feature heavily in Special Event Quests that are only available for a limited time but provide big chunks of Teyvat's lore while giving us all sorts of rewards and new game challenges to play. One of the very few issues I have with the Special Event Quests is that sometimes the lore they give us is very important in the history of Teyvat but once the event ends, those who missed out will never get to experience it for themselves.

Final Impressions and advice for beginners

Genshin Impact can sometimes seem a bit intimidating to new players (for good reason), but I still think it's a game that you should give it a try if you like JRPGs or games with anime-style art. After all, it's FREE! Even if you ultimately decide it's not your kind of game, you don't have to spend a single dime to fully enjoy it.

Here are some personal tips that I hope would be helpful to beginners:

• As you travel through the open world, diamond-shaped icons may appear on your minimap. These are Oculi which you can collect by running into them. If you see one, collect it immediately, or mark it on your World Map, they can increase your running and climbing stamina.

• When you open chests and collect treasure, you gain Sigils. Sigils can be exchanged for materials to unlock level caps on Weapons and Characters, but be careful when spending those resources, there's a limited supply.

• By completing missions and Quests, you gain Experience for your Adventure Rank. As your Adventure Rank increases, the strength of enemies and difficulty of quests increases. Occasionally, you must clear a challenge to further increase your Adventure Rank. While there is a limit to how high you can level your characters at lower Adventure Ranks, I recommend you only clear the Adventure Rank challenges when you have at least one team of characters that can handle the enemies in the world.

• When you're deciding to level up and collect Materials and Artifacts for a character, focus on only one character at a time. Don't try to level up every character you get, only level the ones you want to use in a team.

• Players naturally replenish a resource called Resin, which they can use to obtain Mora (in-game currency) and Levelling Materials from open-world battle challenges called Ley Line Outcrops, Materials from Bosses and Artifacts. You should always use Resin if you have some to spare.

• When equipping Artifacts, don't worry too much about stats when you're just starting, just choose Artifacts based on their set bonus and when you reach Adventure Rank 45, you can farm in the challenges that give the highest rarity Artifacts, those are the Artifacts that you want to farm and get specific stats for.

• All nations have a Reputation system where you can do requests for citizens and hunt bounties to gain Reputation Experience to increase your Reputation Level. Some items you can unlock through increasing this are extremely useful, such as devices to find Oculi and treasure.

  • One of the items you can earn from Liyue Reputation is a recipe for Condensed Resin, which you can use instead of Original Resin to double the number of rewards you would get from using Resin.

• As you complete Quests, Daily Missions and collect treasure, you get a currency called Primogems. Primogems can be converted into Acquaint Fates and Intertwined Fates which can be spent in the Gacha. Apart from using the Beginner Wish (which allows you to wish for 10 items with only 8 Acquaint Fates for 20 wishes), I recommend only buying Intertwined Fates or using Primogems on the Character Event Banner. You will naturally collect Acquaint Fates as you play, which I recommend you use immediately.

• When you decide to use the Gacha to get a specific Character, you should first understand that to unlock the level caps, you must collect materials that usually can only be collected within that character's home country. So I recommend you first focus on collecting Characters from the nations of Mondstadt and Liyue (which are unlocked immediately) to help you progress through the story and unlock more nations.

• By completing challenges in Limited-Time Events, you can gain Materials called Crowns of Insights. These can be used to increase the power of your Characters' Skills to their highest level. But they are in EXTREMELY limited supply, so be extra careful when deciding to use one.