Genshin Impact is a visual treat, the gameplay, well, that’s another story.

Genshin Impact took the world by storm since its release back in late September of 2020. The game has since then become the talk of the town from social media communities to other forums. Created by miHoYo, Genshin Impact was released on multiple platforms: PC, Console, and Mobile becoming an instant hit with over 17 million downloads in its first month alone.

Being a free game, there was no excuse for us to not try the most visible MMORPG of months pass. The game is relatively enjoyable, however, one could not help but wonder as to how to properly categorize the game, if it counts as a PC/Console MMO or a Mobile Online title. This is mainly due to various key mechanics

It’s not a complete 1:1 copy but it sure does enough to make the game look like a Zelda copycat.

In contrast to PC MMORPGs, Genshin Impact follows the Mobile way of implementing certain gameplay mechanics. One example of which is the Experience gain for characters. Instead of the usual grind, Genshin Impact will have your farming for EXP materials to level up your character. The good thing though is that EXP materials are easy to obtain and quite abundant in-game. You can find EXP materials in every chest you open and as well as rewards for completing various tasks. In addition, there is also Character Ascension to unlock more character levels.

And then this is where it starts to get, well, mundane.

And the grind begins

To further Ascend your characters, you need to hit certain Adventurer Ranks, which then requires you to complete certain tasks. These specialized tasks include Daily Quests, instances, and dungeons that also reset on a daily basis. At a glance it seems easy, all you have to do is to run instances over an over and that should be it, right? Well, wrong. Mobile games usually have a Stamina Mechanic which limits gameplay by allowing players to only do certain actions within a day such as quests and dungeon runs. In Genshin Impact an equivalent to that would be Resin which is used to earn rewards from running dungeons or completing other tasks. Players can still take on bosses and run instances on their own, but without Resin, players won’t be able to obtain important rewards.

Resin is the key

Resin is a core material for farming enhancement materials and equipment. A player can have a maximum of 120 Resin in a day, enough to run 6 dungeons (or domains) or take on 3 to 4 in-game bosses. Those tasks can be completed well within 10-15 minutes before you sit around waiting for a refill. Now imagine waiting for nearly one whole day before the game becomes sensible enough to play again. Unless you have many in-game friends of course.

Social connectivity can be very important in Genshin Impact. Helping friends complete quests, domains, and boss fights also allows you to earn Adventurer EXP. Just keep in mind that, just like playing solo, domains and bosses still require Resin to earn their loot.

It’s still a pretty damn good game

Still, despite the complaints, Genshin Impact is an enjoyable solo-play experience. Although it lacks a lot in terms of the end-game a huge update is aimed to extend the current in-game content providing more domain to grind and bosses to face. Still, we are waiting for that big, proper end-game add-on that would make sense of all the grinding that we’ve been doing.