By Brian Pham
“Genshin Impact” is a game developed by the Chinese developer miHoYo and was released on Sept. 28 of this year. It is available on mobile devices, PS4 and Windows and has received positive reviews across the board from multiple critics and players and over 23 million downloads from its first mobile release.
“Genshin Impact” is an open-world role-playing game. The game allows the player to run around freely on a world map, where they have the opportunity to fight enemies and carry out actions such as walking, running and gliding whenever necessary.
Each game character has an element associated with them and their individual powers. There are seven elements in total: Cryo, Dendro, Pyro, Hydro, Anemo, Electro and Geo, each with their own features. The characters use their powers in combination with their weapons of choice for battling enemies.
The game’s protagonist is referred to as a “traveler,” but the player has the freedom to rename them what they’d like as well as choosing between a male or female main character.
Besides the protagonist, the game features a variety of other potential characters to play as, featuring a “gacha” system that allows players chances to summon characters in exchange for gems that can be earned in the game.
Hilichurls, the humanoid monsters that rest at camps, and elemental slimes are examples of the various monsters and enemies found in the game.
The game first opens with a battle between a god and twin travelers, a male and female. The god separates the character the player chooses from their counterpart and sends them away.
After the protagonists wake up from being sent away, they wake up and wonder alone trying to find their twin until they find a companion named Paimon
The two eventually end up in the city of Monstadt. After saving the city from a dragon the player becomes an honorary knight of the city and helps the townsfolk on various missions.
The game’s world is called Teyvat and currently features two different regions, Monstatd and Liyue, with more locations currently in development.
Monstadt takes European influences in its design. Monstatdt’s name means moon city in German and many of its characters feature names of European origins such as Jean, Mona and Fischl. The city itself has taverns and bards which were seen in medieval Europe many of the buildings look generically European.
Liyue, meaning “glass moon” in Chinese, takes more of that country’s influences on it’s design. Characters from Liyue have names with Chinese origins such as Xiangling, Chongyun and Beidou. Much of the scenery and architecture in the game is based off of East Asian influences, especially from China. The city has a church and an order of knights similar to medieval Europe called the Knights of Favonius, who also serve the church.
“Genshin Impact” is currently free-to-play with new features and patches still in the planning phase, but remains an enjoyable, downloadable experience for anyone who wants to play!
