Ever since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, people around the world have been turning to video games to keep themselves occupied. As more people were forced to stay at home, games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Among Us, and Hades grew increasingly popular. However, there is a new online game that has also exploded in popularity: Genshin Impact.

Genshin Impact is a free-to-play adventure game that was released in September 2020 by miHoYo, a Chinese video game developer. Similar to games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact has an open-world concept where players can navigate the fictional world known as Teyvat. Along the way, they can also interact with new characters, complete quests, defeat monsters and villains, and more. 

Despite its simple premise, the game contains a variety of features. There are currently twenty-nine playable characters, each with unique designs and abilities. Each character in the game also possesses one of seven possible elemental powers (pyro, hydro, dendro, electro, anemo, cryo, or geo). There is also a gacha (gambling) aspect involved in the game, where players can gamble in-game currency for a chance at obtaining a high-ranking character or weapon. Players can also play alongside friends with the game’s multiplayer option. 

“I like Genshin Impact because the characters are really neat, and the graphics are really good for a free-to-play game.” Madelyn Mamo, a sophomore at Apex High, responded when asked why she enjoyed the game. 

Another sophomore, Layaa Sivakumar, had a similar answer: “The graphics in Genshin Impact are really cool, and I love open-world, role-playing games, and collecting characters.”

Combined with its free cost, Genshin Impact’s diverse characters, eye-catching graphics, and realistic worldbuilding have made it a hit on a global scale. As of 2020, the game has an estimated 39.3 million players. 

Although Genshin Impact already offers players much to explore, more content is on its way. The developers of the game are slowly adding in new characters, stories, and features through frequent updates. If you are interested in playing Genshin Impact for yourself, the game is available to play on iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 4.