Genshin Impact
2020 video game
| Genshin Impact | |
|---|---|
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| Developer | miHoYo |
| Publishers |
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| Producer | Cai Haoyu |
| Designer | Dai Wei (a.k.a. Aquaria) |
| Writer | Luo Bai (a.k.a. Xiao Luohao) |
| Composers | HOYO-MiX
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Genshin Impact (/ˈɡɛnʃɪn/ GHEN-shin; Chinese: 原神; pinyin: Yuánshén; lit. 'Primordial God') is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed and published by miHoYo. It is distributed outside China by miHoYo's international subsidiary Cognosphere, also known as HoYoverse. At its core, the game features an anime style, open-world environment, an action-focused battle system consisting of elemental magic with character-switching, and a mythical main story. Genshin Impact is a free-to-play game monetized through gacha mechanics, which is updated regularly using the games as a service model. It was originally released for Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows, followed by the PlayStation 5 in 2021, and Xbox Series X/S in 2024. In China, a native port for HarmonyOS NEXT was released in September 2025. Support for PlayStation 4 was removed in April 2026.
Genshin Impact takes inspiration from a variety of sources, including the game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, anime, Gnosticism, and an array of real-world cultures and mythologies. The game takes place in the fantasy world of Teyvat, home to seven nations each tied to a different element and ruled by individual gods called "Archons". The story follows the Traveler, an interstellar adventurer who is separated from their twin sibling after the two land in Teyvat. Together with their guide Paimon, the Traveler journeys across the nations of Teyvat in search of their lost sibling. Along the way, the two make friends with Teyvat's people, become involved in the affairs of its nations, and unravel the mysteries of the land.
Genshin Impact has received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its combat mechanics and open-world system, but some criticism has been directed at its endgame and its monetization model. The game has also been involved in controversies over censorship of content related to Chinese politics, as well as privacy and security concerns. The game performed very well commercially; by its fourth anniversary in 2024, the game had reached US$6.3 billion in total revenue. It has received several awards, including Best Mobile Game at the Game Awards 2021 and Still Playing Award at the 2023 Golden Joystick Awards.
Gameplay
Genshin Impact is an open-world video game that allows players to control one of four characters in a party. Players can quickly switch between the four characters during combat. Characters can have their abilities enhanced in various ways, mainly through gaining experience points and improving their artifacts and weapons.
In Genshin Impact, players can explore the open-world map freely. In addition to exploration, players can attempt various challenges for rewards. Bosses and challenges that reward highly valuable resources are scattered across Teyvat, but claiming them consumes a currency called Original Resin, which slowly regenerates over time up to a limit. Completing these challenges grants players progress towards increasing their Adventure Rank, which unlocks new quests and challenges. The World Level increases at Adventure Ranks 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 58, which raises the strength of the world's enemies and the rarity of rewards given by defeating them.
Players can perform actions such as running, climbing, swimming, and gliding. Some characters possess abilities that can alter the environment, such as freezing water to create an ice path that helps traverse terrain. Many teleportation points exist to which players can warp in a form of fast travel; among these are landmarks known as Statues of The Seven that can heal and revive characters and provide benefits such as increased player stamina. Items such as food and other materials can be procured from the open world. Furthermore, special battle instances called "Domains" reward materials that increase character and weapon strength. Meals cooked from ingredients gathered from collectable or purchasable materials can provide desirable effects, such as increased damage, health regeneration, damage reduction, or boosting other various stats. Players can also procure ores that can be refined and then used to create weapons or enhance their strength.
A multiplayer mode is available in the form of co-op, where up to four players can play together. Player matching can be done by requesting to connect with another player or through an automatic search. The game features cross-platform play, so players on any platform can play with each other. This mode unlocks when players reach Adventure Rank 16.
Gacha system
By completing certain quests or participating in select limited-time events, players can unlock additional playable characters. However, most characters are obtained through the character banners of the game's gacha system, called "Wishes", and the same applies for weapons. An in-game currency called "Primogems", obtainable through in-app purchases or gameplay rewards, is required to "pull" on the game's banners. A pity system guarantees that players will receive rare items after a set number of pulls.
Elemental combat
Playable characters have control over one of seven elements: Anemo (air), Geo (earth), Pyro (fire), Hydro (water), Cryo (ice), Electro (electricity), and Dendro (plants). When these elements react with one another, they produce various effects. For instance, if a Hydro attack hits a target, the enemy will be inflicted with the "Wet" status effect, and if they are hit with a subsequent Cryo attack, these two status effects combine to freeze the opponent, temporarily preventing them from performing any actions.
Each character also has two unique combat abilities: an "Elemental Skill" and an "Elemental Burst". Elemental Skills are attacks with a set cooldown, while Elemental Bursts are ultimate attacks usually with an energy cost. These require players to amass sufficient elemental energy to use them. Players can increase the party's combat capabilities by manipulating the Skills and Bursts of a given party's characters as well as the surroundings to target enemies' type weaknesses. Certain elemental abilities are also required to solve puzzles within Teyvat.
Genius Invokation TCG
A tabletop-based collectible card game called Genius Invokation TCG was released in the game's Version 3.3 update in December 2022 as an additional gamemode involving turn-based battles. Equipped with a deck of three characters and thirty supporting cards, players win by knocking down all of their opponent's character cards. Each round requires a dice roll that forces players to use their cards within the limitations of their roll. Similar to the main game, elemental reactions are included as a mechanic of the gamemode. Players are able to challenge NPCs, playable characters, and other real players in co-op mode.
Miliastra Wonderland
A sandbox and game creation gameplay system called Miliastra Wonderland was released in the game's "Luna II" update in October 2025. The system lets players create and share their work using an array of assets, terrain, and enemies already within Genshin Impact from the perspective of the Wonderland Manekin, a new customizable character obtained by unlocking Miliastra Wonderland.
Story
Setting and characters
Genshin Impact takes place in the world of Teyvat, composed of seven major nations, each ruled by a god called an "Archon" and tied to a different element and ideal. The floating island of Celestia hangs above Teyvat, described as home to the gods as well as mortals who have ascended to godhood. Underground lies the ruins of Khaenri'ah, a mysterious nation destroyed by Celestia 500 years ago.
Regardless of which nation they hail from, individuals who have great ambitions may be granted a Vision, a magical gemstone that allows them to control a specific element and gives them the potential to ascend to godhood and reside in Celestia. Archons, on the other hand, possess a Gnosis, a device similar to a Vision that affirms their authority as an Archon and allows them to "resonate" with Celestia.
The protagonists are the Traveler and Paimon, the Traveler's guide and companion. The Traveler and their twin sibling traveled across planets before being separated in Teyvat, forcing the Traveler to go on a journey to find them. Players may choose to play as either Aether (the brother) or Lumine (the sister), though their username is used throughout most of the game. The primary antagonists are the Abyss Order, a legion of monsters made up of corrupted Khaenri'ahns who seek to overthrow the existing world order, and the Fatui, a delegation of diplomats from Snezhnaya who pursue an aggressive foreign policy throughout Teyvat. The Traveler's twin is the leader of the Abyss Order, while the Fatui are led by the Eleven Harbingers, powerful lieutenants of the Tsaritsa Anastasya (the Cryo Archon) who have been given special authority to carry out her will.
Plot
A pair of interworld-traveling twins, Aether and Lumine, arrive in Teyvat just as Khaenri'ah collapses. A mysterious god calling herself the "Sustainer of Heavenly Principles" attacks, separates them, and seals the playable twin for five centuries. When the Traveler awakens, they rescue Paimon, who becomes their guide as they search for their lost sibling.
Their journey begins in the city of Mondstadt, where the corrupted dragon Dvalin, known as Stormterror to Mondstadter, threatens the city. Aided by the Knights of Favonius, the order of knights that protects Mondstadt, and the bard Venti who is secretly the Anemo Archon Barbatos, the Traveler discovers Abyss Order attempted to manipulate Dvalin to attack the city and purifies the dragon, only for La Signora, a Fatui Harbinger, to steal Venti's Gnosis. Following Venti's advice, they travel to Liyue to witness Geo Archon Rex Lapis's annual rite where he gives the people of Liyue guidance for the coming year, but instead he appears to have been assassinated. They work with Zhongli, the local funeral parlor's consultant, and the Fatui Harbinger Tartaglia to uncover the motive. However, the Traveler discovers that Tartaglia has been orchestrating events to obtain the Geo Gnosis, even summoning an ancient god Osial in an attempt to force Rex Lapis's hand. After the crisis, Zhongli reveals he was Rex Lapis all along and, satisfied humans do not need his guidance after fending off Osial, has retired after exchanging his Gnosis with the Tsaritsa Anastasya.
Back in Mondstadt, the Traveler meets a man named Dainsleif and discovers that their twin now leads the Abyss Order. Refusing to reunite, their twin disappears. The Traveler then sails to Inazuma, an island nation confined under the Raiden Shogun's Sakoku Decree. The Traveler faces the Shogun, joins the resistance, and eventually confronts Signora and the Raiden Shogun herself, ultimately resulting in the death of Signora, exchanging the Electro Gnosis for the Traveler's safety, the end of the oppressive decree, and the realization of deeper Fatui involvement.
The Traveler then journeys to Sumeru where the governing Akademiya seeks to turn Scaramouche, a Fatui Harbinger and puppet created by the Raiden Shogun, into a god with the help of Harbinger Il Dottore to overthrow the Dendro Archon Nahida. With her aid, the Traveler foils their plot, recovering the Electro Gnosis in the process, enters the world tree Irminsul, and witnesses the erasure of the previous Dendro Archon's existence from Teyvat to prevent the Abyss corroding Irminsul. Dottore later bargains away the Dendro and Electro Gnoses from Nahida. The Traveler learns that they are one of the Descenders, a group of four people who have come from outside Teyvat, but that their sibling is not a Descender. They also learn that their sibling is Khaenri'ahn royalty.
In Fontaine, the Traveler and their companions unravel a prophecy foretelling the nation's demise via a flood and reveal that Furina had been lying to the people of Fontaine about being the Hydro Archon when she is in fact a human. After preventing the flood from destroying Fontaine, chief justice Neuvillette directs them toward Natlan, a nation of warriors that is facing a threat from the Abyss, while the Hydro Gnosis was given to the Fatui Harbinger Arlecchino in exchange for their cooperation. Upon arriving in Natlan, the Traveler assists the Pyro Archon Mavuika and the Natlanese in defeating the Abyssal threat endangering the nation. While investigating an attack against Natlan by the Abyss Order, the Traveler reunites with Dainsleif and discovers that the latter invasion was orchestrated by their sibling to weave new Ley Lines for Khaenri'ah's restoration via a device called the Loom of Fate.
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