It seems that one of the biggest topics of conversation in the gaming community is miHoYo's new game, Genshin Impact. It might be easy to see why when one considers its colorful cast of characters, its free-to-play nature, and its availability on mobile. In addition, Genshin Impact features a vast world full of secrets and content that players can explore to their heart's content.
However, it seems this open world and the mechanics that come along with it have caused several players to talk for other reasons. Many players have taken to social media to compare the game to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, calling it various nicknames like "Anime of the Wild" or "Breath of the Waifu" for its anime-like style of art. And while some players seem to feel that this comparison to the beloved Nintendo Switch title might be a compliment, it might actually be doing Genshin Impact a disservice.
While developer and publisher miHoYo has said in the past that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a major influence on its development of Genshin Impact, there are some clear differences between the two that it could be seen like comparing apples and oranges. That is to say that while they're both fruit, they're selling different experiences, especially when it comes to the characters, the world building, and the multiplayer.
Characters
In Breath of the Wild, players take on the role of Link, the tried and true protagonist of the Zelda franchise. Players have grown to know Link and his trials and tribulations over the past 34 years. As such, everyone knows Link is a mute, blank slate of a protagonist that must save the land of Hyrule through the power of courage.
Genshin Impact, on the other hand, features 24 playable characters that seem completely fleshed-out, each with their own motivations and goals in Teyvat. Not only that, but these characters each have a unique feel to them with their own abilities that reflect their personalities, even within the same Element and Weapon type. Kaeya and Qiqi may both be long sword users that specialize in Cryo, but their skill sets are completely different from each other. Add in the fact that players can switch between multiple characters during combat on the fly, and it seems clear that Genshin Impact is striving for a different character experience than Breath of the Wild.
World Building
Genshin Impact's world seems both foreign and familiar in the same breath. The world of Teyvat hasn't been explored in other games like Hyrule has over the past 34 years, but seems like it's existed for a millennia. This might have to do with Genshin Impact using real world nations as inspiration for the regions found within the game, such as Liyue being based on China or Snezhnaya with Russia. Each region has its own Archon with godlike power and overarching political structure, and is accompanied by a seemingly endless amount of lore.
While Teyvat may have, in many ways, been inspired by real life cultures and governments, plenty of work was put into developing the world. Every time the creators of that world make a decision on a piece of lore, no matter the size, they have to ask themselves the question that players might ask: "But why?" They must come up with an answer to this question for every storytelling device they conceive. And miHoYo has done this on a massive scale in one game versus the many entries it took Nintendo to establish Hyrule in Zelda. So by saying that Genshin Impact is just a Breath of the Wild knockoff or clone, it could diminish the work the developer put into crafting this unique land.
Multiplayer
Finally, there's multiplayer. Genshin Impact features a cooperative multiplayer experience that simply doesn't exist in Breath of the Wild. While Genshin players can play the game in its entirety in either solo or co-op, multiplayer gives players the opportunity to adventure with friends across the vast land of Teyvat and take on bosses in an MMO-like experience. And while many players wish they could play as the four Champions in Breath of the Wild and explore Hyrule together, the opportunity doesn't exist.
Although Genshin Impact is similar to Breath of the Wild, it seems clear that these games accomplish very different goals. It's the same reason why someone wouldn't say Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is like Doom Eternal. Yes, they're both first-person shooter games, but that's about where the similarities end. And by saying Genshin Impact is like Breath of the Wild, it obfuscates the hard work that was put into the game.
Genshin Impact is available now on PC, PS4, and mobile devices.