Genshin Impact is a free to play action RPG that I have put a ton of time into on the PlayStation 4. Even though it is a free-to-play game and pretty much has a loot box system, this is still well worth your time. I have put a ton of hours into this game and have not spent a single penny.
How to Download Genshin Impact
You can download the game for your device by clicking the Download button at the end of this review.
The Game Review
Let us get the most obvious thing out of the way now and with that I am talking about the graphics. Genshin Impact could not look any more like The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild if Nintendo themselves made it! I am not saying this is a bad thing as that game and this one are beautiful to look at. This game has a kind of cell-shaded vibe going on and it makes everything spring to life.
While this is an action RPG, I have to admit the weakest part of the game for me was the story. You play as The Traveller, who along with their twin is traveling the lands until they come across a god who takes your twin. The idea is that you are on a quest to find them, but the story becomes very convoluted quite quickly.
I would not say that the story is bad or anything like that. I was quite invested in finding my sibling, but for large chunks of the story it is kind of blown off for other things. Thankfully, the gameplay that is on offer in Genshin Impact more than makes up for the story. The game is set in a fantasy world called Teyvat which has many distinct areas.
You will be going around the land taking on quests, solving puzzles, fighting enemies, fighting bosses, and getting some cool loot. It gives you what you want in an action RPG and it does it with some style. You are always encouraged to go off the beaten path and if something catches your eye it will often lead to a new side quest, dungeon, or even a large boss to fight.
There are many different characters in the game that you can unlock as you play. Characters are separated into elemental types and they play to their elemental ability. One character can freeze water so they can walk over a lake, another can use the wind to get up an area that was previously inaccessible, and so on.
You can have a party of four characters and using them all during combat is key and a lot of fun. You can blast an enemy with water as one character, change to one who wields electric powers, and zap them for even more damage. Combat is a lot of fun and even though this is a free-to-play game, I never once felt that it was pay to win.
This is a massive game; you are easily looking at over 100 hours if you want to see it all. I will say that as you get towards the end game, the grind does start to get very, very slow. Still, it is possible to get through it all with skill, patience, and a bit of grinding so I cannot hate on the game for that.
I think that Genshin Impact is a prime example of how you do a free-to-play game. I have had a great time with this and plan on continuing my journey on the PlayStation 5 as it was recently made available on there! It is worth noting that the game is also supposed to be coming out for the Nintendo Switch, but no date has been given just yet.
