Chinese developer and publisher MiHoYo has released Genshin Impact today, a free-to-play RPG, on PC, PlayStation 4, and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
Players take on the role of heroic Travelers, who explore the land of Teyvat, which is ruled by seven elemental gods called Archons. The open world and real-time action combat is similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, though Genshin Impact features over 20 playable characters.
Up to four characters can be swapped in and out in the middle of combat to take full advantage of their diverse abilities. Every character has an elemental focus, and different elements can be combined to produce new effects. Did someone say water + electricity?
“For the past three and a half years, our team has been working towards creating a sprawling, beautiful open-world game in which players have the freedom to explore alone or bring friends along for the journey,” said Forrest Liu, General President, miHoYo. “We’re very grateful to have over 10 million players pre-registered for Genshin Impact across PS4, PC, and mobile around the world. We can’t wait to see you all in the world of Teyvat.”
At launch, the world features two of seven planned major cities, Mondstadt and Liyue Harbor. Both zones feature their own creatures, treasures, and stories. More cities, areas, characters, and events are planned through future live-service updates.
The RPG supports up to four player co-op, but each player has to reach Adventure Rank 16 before you’re able to play online with others.
Genshin Impact is completely free-to-play, with optional microtransactions to speed up unlocking new items and characters.
Genshin Impact is available now on PC (official website only), PlayStation 4, Android, and iOS. It’s rated T for Teen.
