Genshin Impact (Chinese: 原神 Yuánshén) is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo Co., Ltd. Outside of China, the publisher is miHoYo's subsidiary Cognosphere Pte., Ltd. d/b/a HoYoverse.
The game features a fantasy open-world environment and action based combat system using elemental magic, character switching, and a gacha monetization system for players to obtain new characters, weapons, and other resources. The game can only be played with an internet connection and features a limited multiplayer mode allowing up to four players in a world.
Gameplay
Players explore the game's large fantasy world, called Teyvat, with over 80 characters and various points of interest spread across the map. The game features an action combat playstyle that allows the player to swap between 4 individual characters in a party to quickly combo attacks. Single-player gameplay is the focus of the game, with Co-Op Mode available for certain activities.
Each character has two unique combat skills: an Elemental Skill and an Elemental Burst. The Elemental Skill can be used at any time except for the cooldown period immediately after use, while the Elemental Burst has an Energy Cost, requiring the user to amass sufficient Energy first.
Characters have control over one of seven natural elements: Anemo, Cryo, Dendro, Electro, Geo, Hydro, and Pyro. Combining these elements using Elemental Reactions is encouraged to quickly defeat enemies.
Players can venture inside Domains, temple-like instances scattered across the map, to complete the challenges within and obtain either one-time rewards or certain materials required for character development. Once characters are properly geared, players can choose to enter the Spiral Abyss, a special type of Domain consisting of different floors of combat challenges.
Cooking and crafting are other significant aspects of Genshin Impact's gameplay. Players gather many resources in the course of their adventure, some of which can be turned into dishes via cooking, and potions and Character Development Items via crafting. Dishes can regenerate characters' health, boost attack or defensive abilities, and decrease stamina consumption, while potions can increase a character's resistance against or damage for an element.
Further progression in the game unlocks the Housing system, known as the Serenitea Pot, in which players can create furnishings and place them in a realm layout, gaining access to rewards and level-up materials.
The Fishing system allows players to catch fish, which can be displayed in the Serenitea Pot, exchanged at each nation's Fishing Association for rewards, or processed into fish as a cooking ingredient.
Story
Setting
The story of Genshin Impact takes place in the world of Teyvat which is home to seven major nations: Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, Natlan, and Snezhnaya. These nations are ruled over by deities known as Archons, part of a group of gods called "The Seven." Each Archon is associated with one of the seven elements of Teyvat, which are also reflected in their nation's landscape and culture. For example, the nation of Mondstadt is ruled over by Barbatos the Anemo Archon, and so the element of wind is an important symbol known by its people. Apart from the seven nations, there was the nation of Khaenri'ah that lived independently from the authority of gods.
Celestia is the main heavenly body that presides over Teyvat and is in direct connection with The Seven. A floating island seen in the sky is believed to be it, allegedly the home to gods and also mortals who have ascended to godhood. Humans that are granted Visions, magical gems that grant bearers the ability to command elemental power, are called "allogenes" — ones with the potential to reach godhood.
While gods rule, the nations also have their own human governing bodies: the Knights of Favonius to Mondstadt, the Qixing to Liyue, the Shogunate to Inazuma, the Akademiya to Sumeru, and the Palais Mermonia to Fontaine.
Plot
A pair of "star traveler" twins who visit different worlds arrive in the world of Teyvat and witness the destruction of the nation of Khaenri'ah. While attempting to flee the chaos, an unnamed god blocks their path and separates them: she captures one and seals away the power of the other. The sealed twin (known as the "Traveler") awakens five hundred years later and meets Paimon, who becomes their companion. For months, they travel together and then make their way to Mondstadt. There, they begin the search for the Traveler's missing sibling.
Characters
As Paimon and the Traveler are on their way to Mondstadt, they meet Amber of the Knights of Favonius — she had been scouting monster camps nearby. After brief questioning, she offers to escort the duo to the city after completing her tasks. Later, a dragon dubbed "Stormterror" attacks Mondstadt, and the Traveler gets caught by one of his whirlwinds. The Traveler manages to fend off the dragon and catches the attention of the Knights of Favonius. They become acquainted with other members: Acting Grand Master Jean, Cavalry Captain Kaeya, and resident librarian Lisa. (Amber, Kaeya, and Lisa are the three free playable characters the player would obtain in the game.) The Traveler agrees to help the Knights resolve the ongoing crisis and gains more allies: Venti, a local bard who wants to help the dragon, and wine tycoon Diluc.
Development and Release
Genshin Impact began its development in January 2017 with the working title "崩坏4."[1][2] At that time, producer Haoyu Cai (蔡浩宇) considered creating a new project to enhance miHoYo's core research and development capabilities and present products with significant quality improvement to players in the future. The idea of creating an open-world game came out of that. During the next seven months, the team tried several prototypes. After Cai played Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the team took inspiration from the game's world exploration experience. Other inspirations came from the random events of Grand Theft Auto, the strategy of Divinity: Original Sin, and game developer Naughty Dog.[3]
The production team initially had 150 people. They faced the difficulty of creating an open world, so it grew to 300 people by mid-2019,[3] then 500 by April 2020,[4] and then 700 by February 2021.[5] Originally, two years were given for production but got extended by year. The research and development cost of the project began with $25 million and then exceeded $100 million, which was recouped two weeks after the game's release.[6][7] Much of the game's budget got invested in music production. Yu-Peng Chen (陈宇鹏), also known as Zhiyi Chen (陈致逸), joined the HOYO-MiX team as a music producer and composed the scores for the Mondstadt and Liyue regions.[8]
Genshin Impact had its first beta testing in June 2019, focused on core gameplay mechanisms and the Mondstadt region.[9] In early 2020, the overseas promotion of the game got affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Development also got delayed by a month as working from home was almost impossible, and employees could not access office equipment.[10] The second beta testing came in March and featured Liyue, and then the third beta testing came in July. The game got released on September 28, 2020,[11] for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Android, and iOS platforms.
The game was made available for PlayStation 5 on April 28, 2021 with enhanced textures and faster loading times compared to PlayStation 4.[12] Later, it got released on the Epic Games Store for Windows users on June 9.[13] It was announced on August 20, 2024 that the game will be released on Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Game Pass on November 20, 2024.[14]
System Requirements
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- Links
- Genshin Impact Official Launch Time and Recommended Device Specs
- Version 5.0 Update Maintenance Preview
Videos
Trailers
Promotional
Celebration
External Links
| Language | Links |
|---|---|
| Global | Official Website |
| English | Discord, Discord (Tavern), Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, YouTube |
| Chinese (Simplified) | Bilibili, YouTube, Douyin, DouYu, Miyoushe, Sina Weibo, TapTap, Aplaybox |
| Chinese (Traditional) | Discord, Facebook, Twitter |
| Japanese | Twitter, YouTube |
| Korean | Facebook, Naver Cafe, Twitter, YouTube |
| Spanish | Facebook, Twitter |
| French | Facebook, Twitter |
| Russian | Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, VK |
| Thai | |
| Vietnamese | |
| German | |
| Indonesian | Facebook, TikTok, Twitter |
| Portuguese | Facebook, TikTok |
| Turkish | |
| Italian |
Trivia
- The term "Genshin" has not been used in the English localization apart from the game's name. In East Asian languages, the word was used for the term "allogenes," which refers to Vision wielders.
Other Languages
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Genshin Impact | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 原神 Yuánshén | Original God |
| Japanese | 原神 Genshin | Original God |
| Korean | 원신원신 Wonsin | Original God |
| Spanish | Genshin Impact | — |
| French | Genshin Impact | — |
| Russian | Genshin Impact | — |
| Thai | Genshin Impact | — |
| Vietnamese | Genshin Impact | — |
| German | Genshin Impact | — |
| Indonesian | Genshin Impact | — |
| Portuguese | Genshin Impact | — |
| Turkish | Genshin Impact | — |
| Italian | Genshin Impact | — |
References
- ↑ Sina Weibo: 米哈游接受东方卫视采访，或透露崩坏四制作花絮！
- ↑ Bilibili: 【崩坏3】大伟哥接受电视采访miHoYo创业历程
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chinese HoYoverse News: 原神制作组致玩家的一封信
- ↑ HoYoverse News: To the Travelers of Genshin Impact
- ↑ GameLook: 米哈游去年创收50亿，CEO蔡浩宇：想做10亿人生活的虚拟世界
- ↑ Sina Weibo: 刘伟做客谷歌，讲述米哈游和《原神》的故事.
- ↑ PC Gamer: Grossing over $100m, Genshin Impact recoups development costs in two weeks
- ↑ HoYoverse News: Developer Insight #3 - Behind the Music of Genshin Impact (1)
- ↑ HoYoverse News: A Thank You to Our Travelers, and What is Yet to Come
- ↑ Zhoudaosh: 米哈游总裁：疫情对游戏行业的利好只在一时
- ↑ HoYoverse News: On September 28, let's go on an adventure!
- ↑ PlayStation Blog: Genshin Impact launches on PS5 April 28, brings 4K support, enhanced textures, and more
- ↑ Facebook: Genshin Impact Is Officially Coming to the Epic Games Store
- ↑ HoYoverse News: Genshin Impact - Natlan Gameplay Trailer｜Gamescom 2024
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