Genshin Impact

The real main reason I haven't been doing much else or trying out many other games lately is because I've been on the Genshin Impact treadmill. While part of me feels disappointed in playing so much of a new and popular game yet again while my backlog just sits there and grows ever larger, I've been having fun, and how can I possibly regret that.

First concerns first. "Torn! This is a mobile game, what are you doing? Worse still, it is a gacha game. And their bloody adverts won't leave me alone. What in the world are you spending your time on and calling fun!?!" I know, I know. I had this exact problem as well. A game from a franchise that has been mobile exclusive is a red flag, and widespread advertisement seems to have some sort of correlation with low quality games, which is another red flag. It actually took me almost a month from release, trying to ignore all the people talking about it, before I noticed a suspicious amount of people saying somewhat or very positive things about it, that were not paid advertisements. I still didn't believe it, but as it was free, I downloaded the game and gave it a try, expecting to quit in like 10 hours tops. But... I didn't. And the more I played, the better it got, until the point where I now feel confident giving my thoughts about it, knowing that whatever comes next, this game has given me plenty of hours of quality entertainment.

It is actually somewhat difficult to describe what makes Genshin different. If you've played (action) JRPGs, it will feel immediately familiar. You have your squad of characters who you can equip with weapons and artifacts to boost their stats. Each character has one of five weapon classes, which each play differently, as well as their own unique abilities, which further make playing each of them a distinct experience. Combined with that, every character has one of six elements, which they can inflict onto enemies, potentially combining with other elements or the enemies' innate features to provide a reaction for an extra effect. All of this is enhanced by being able to rapidly switch between characters to get their abilities and elements in for devastating combinations. Topping it all off, there's the nice detail of cancelling your own attacks into invulnerability frame dodges, for very precisely avoiding enemy attacks. Aside from combat, there's also a big open world with enough little collectables and puzzles that you will find a new one every 5 minutes of exploring, yet probably literally never find them all.
It also falls into many of the same pitfalls that I hate about JRPGs, such as starting off with (and seemingly providing with each new event) a load of story you probably don't care about and too many (more than 0) "fetch" quests, where you just run from point A to point B to deliver something or talk to someone. It also frontloads you with a ton of information about everything you can do, from game mechanics to character and equipment upgrades, and more. However, there is a silver lining. Genshin still cleverly spaces these things out, allowing for plenty of time to explore the world on your own between story quests, as well as giving time to try out the existing mechanics you've learned before even allowing you to try new ones. Still, if you want to speedrun through all the story, and unlock all content, you may do so at your own capability.

There are two very common and incredibly large problems, that I was really surprised to not find in Genshin.
One, that none of the game systems are redundant - you should and almost must use each aspect of the game, and it all ties very well into the overall gameplay. I'm not personally fond of the food system, but I can't say it's useless. I've just never personally liked consumables, but I admit that to be my own problem. There is also a small "but" regarding characters and weapons. From an individual perspective, you will stick to your party of 4 characters and 4 weapons for long periods of time, only changing when you find someone or something better. It feels a shame to waste all the other characters, but there really is no use in playing everyone. From a grander perspective though, I'm sure everyone will find their own favorites. Some characters might be more popular, but none are downright useless, so I can't hold it against the game too much.
Two, that it actually manages to keep its difficulty. Games without difficulty settings rarely offer a challenge to me, and even with difficulty settings, it often just feels like the enemies' numbers have been turned too high. Genshin, however, feels genuinely challenging, but I think this is unique to how I play it. It is at this point I must admit that either the developers got really lucky, or they know precisely what they are doing. See, I am a solo F2P player. If you play with friends, it's easier, as there are now more of you to gang up on the enemies. Likewise, if you pay money, you get better characters and weapons, making the game easier. And it is my guess that it is precisely the people who have come to fool around with friends, or who are used to tossing money at games to solve their problems, that are less experienced in games, and thus need an easier experience. I want to, at this point, also alleviate your concerns for this being a gacha game. You do not have to pay for anything. You will not get all the best characters and weapons if you don't (not impossible, just takes impossibly long), but you don't need to. In fact, I wouldn't even want them. If this game was easier, I wouldn't like it as much.

"All that rambling, but I still don't see what's so special about this game, Torn?" Well... there isn't. I don't like it because it has some really cool or interesting new idea that sets it apart. I like it because everything it does, it does so well. It is the most polished and perfect JRPG experience I've had, and that's what keeps me hooked. So, to wrap this long review up, Genshin definitely makes it into my list of favorite RPGs, and I would invite you to look past the mobile franchise and gacha game stigma, and play it as just a game. I would definitely recommend it. If you like action RPGs or JRPGs, you'll probably like this, and even if you don't think so highly of them, maybe Genshin Impact will be a bit better.