You’ve probably heard of a little game called Genshin Impact by now. If not, check out the article we recently posted on the ridiculous stats it’s built up over the last couple of weeks. This game is taking the charts by storm, with hundreds of millions of downloads, and quite a lot of money being invested by the player base as well. At its heart, it’s an MMO, but there’s not much in the way of multiplayer. Instead it’s a PvE game that makes the most of that MMO formula, and players seem to be really enjoying it. But what exactly is is that they love so much that keeps them playing for hundreds and hundreds of hours?
I myself have been pouring the hours into this game, and I can tell you right now that I love it for the MMO style grind. The game is generous with progression upfront, but makes you work for it towards the endgame. This is classic of the type of game that Genshin Impact is. It’s not something that a lot of people enjoy because it feels cheap, with microtransactions offering faster progress if you just spend some money. Here’s the thing though, if you just enjoy putting a couple of hours in a day, it shouldn’t bother you. That’s why I like it at least.
For the rest of the world, I think it’s a combination of two things that people love. The first is the world. This is a game that the developers have hand-crafted to be enjoyed by everyone. You can walk up to a surface and climb it, adding a layer of freedom never seen in JRPGs before. With that in mid, it’s possible to just log in and try something completely different. That diversity in gameplay in an MMO is very appealing.
The second thing that I reckon people are hooked on is the relationship system with in-game characters. Gamers love a good relationship simulator inside a JRPG, and this has a huge portion dedicated to just that. If you’re looking to pursue love with a warrior or wine tycoon, you can do it. This isn’t just a game about gods and fantasy battles, it’s relatable. That, I think is the crux of why the game has taken off so well. Whether it continues to do well over time, we’ll just have to wait and see.