Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact is an amazing open-world adventure that draws heavily on both its Breath of the Wild and anime inspirations to create something truly special. Even if the gacha model introduces some undesirable level grinding deeper in, the excellent combat, addictive exploration, and beautiful world make this one of the most exciting games I've played all year.

Genshin Impact is a game that sort of crept up out of nowhere. The 'Breath of the Wild' inspired game from Chinese studio miHoYo has captured the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere. But is it a solid free-to-play RPG, or does it devolve into predatory microtransaction practices? Here is our full review.

For all its gorgeous regions, hard-hitting quests, and inventive combat tricks, Genshin Impact's greatest achievement is preparing an open-world RPG experience so sumptuous that it overcomes the towering wall imposed by inalienably predatory free-to-play gacha mechanics.

Worst-case scenario, Genshin Impact will cost you a few hours of your life. Best-case scenario, it will be your surprise hit of the year. There are zero reasons not to at least try this title if you are a fan of action RPGs.

Despite lacklustre multiplayer and a frustrating paywall to unlock characters and items, Genshin Impact is a brilliant experience with hours of fun-filled exploration. It also has Paimon and she is perfect.

Its microtransactions are annoying, but Genshin Impact's inviting open world is easy to love.

Though the story elements won't be to everyone's taste -- and as such, the efforts the game makes to inject a sense of drama and interpretation stakes can fall flat and veer into being completely off-putting -- the sheer breadth and scale that Genshin Impact offers means that the brief lows in no way impact on the many lofty highs offered up. A free-to-play game whose content rivals the more highe...

Despite its often less-than-subtle nods to Nintendo's Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact does enough differently to stand apart. Throw in punchier combat, a more traditional story packed with interesting characters, and an outstanding score and Genshin Impact easily sits among the upper echelon of games released this year. Hopefully miHoYo relaxes the stamina system and gacha rates soon, because T...

The depth of content and the high standard to which Genshin Impact been developed is shockingly impressive, and not just by free-to-play gacha game standards. This is an RPG that boasts a quality that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with many premium games, and there are aspects of its design that are actually far more engaging.

Genshin Impact has been nicknamed "Breath of the Waifu" due to its obvious influences and cute characters. But surprisingly, the game is much more than that.

The similarities in style and mechanics to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are readily apparent. MiHoYo used that incredible game as a base upon which to build its own, and it absolutely works. It’s created both a fantastic single-player RPG and live-service co-op game that just happens to have the most unobtrusive gacha mechanics in recent memory, but after 25 hours of playtime I feel lik...

That being said, Genshin Impact is a surprisingly good value for those looking for an open-world adventure that doesn't break the bank or waste players' time. There's a huge and plentiful open world ready for all players to explore, regardless of whether players invest in microtransactions or not. The combat and RPG mechanics may be surprisingly deep to some, but in practice, they are generally si...