Genshin Impact is not the first fantasy action role-playing game to find a large audience, but HoYoverse (formerly miHoYo) was hugely successful following the game's 2020 release due to an eye-catching art style, well-written storylines, and consistent updates. As such, Genshin Impact is critically acclaimed with several award nominations, such as Google Play's "Best Game of 2020" and TapTap Game Awards "Game of the Year". Recently, Chinese developer Perfect World's Tower of Fantasy entered the free-to-play MMORPG scene.
The game has been turning heads due to elements comparable with both Genshin Impact and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, though this is not necessarily a negative. Tower of Fantasy is best differentiated from Genshin Impact through its rapid combat, focus on weaponry upgrades, and emphasis on the multiplayer aspect. Tower of Fantasy could rival Genshin Impact if it learns to embrace these differences.
Tower of Fantasy is Best When it's Not Competing With Other Games
Tower of Fantasy should not be seen as a replacement for Genshin Impact, rather an entirely different game with a similar audience. While the two games both feature anime-inspired aesthetics and an introduction that lets players choose between a male and female traveler accompanied by a fairy-like companion, most major similarities end there. The alien planet of Aida does not look like the fantasy world of Teyvat, which is much larger and features seven regions. However, this change is exactly what Perfect World needs to lean upon to make its own identity.
Since Aida is smaller, the developer needs to give players a reason to log back in, aside from Tower of Fantasy's free in-game rewards. Perfect World should firmly establish that distinction between Genshin Impact's fantasy setting versus its own, a post-apocalyptic world with sci-fi elements. At the moment, Tower of Fantasy's writing is rather simplistic, as players find their character struck with amnesia on a dystopian planet and simply obey what other characters tell them to do. If there are unforeseen plot twists in store, the writers could really use that difference in genre to their advantage and weave the story around futuristic set pieces.
Tower of Fantasy's best assets are those that set it apart from others, such as deep character customization, a flashy battle system with interesting mechanics, and rolling for Simulacra weapons rather than characters. It's beginner-friendly, especially with the gacha system which has been called more generous with a 0.75 percent chance for banner characters on a single pull compared to Genshin Impact's typically 0.6 percent rate for 5-star characters.
Of course, Tower of Fantasy taking inspiration from games like Lost Ark and Genshin Impact is a smart move because it can study what worked best and implement it. For most, new content is what draws people in just by virtue of how it offers a different experience from what people are used to with Genshin Impact. If Tower of Fantasy wants to avoid users feeling burnout or repetition, it needs to be pushing out more areas to explore, compelling characters, and updates just as HoYoverse has done for the past two years.
Only time will tell if Tower of Fantasy becomes a staple of modern open-world RPGs, or if it will be forgotten within a few months. If Perfect World can begin to market itself in ways that don't allow its game to be compared directly with Genshin Impact, the competition between both games will likely simmer down and leave audiences free to enjoy either at their leisure.
Tower of Fantasy is now available on Mobile and PC.