Chinese developer, miHoYo, will be having one final closed beta test for its upcoming free-to-play game, Genshin Impact. This final closed beta seems to focus largely on the crossplay functionality of the game between different platforms. The list of platforms applicable for the final closed beta are mobile (Android and iOS) and PC with appropriate specs as well as the PlayStation 4.
There is no mention of a closed beta for the Switch version, which likely indicates that that version, which was only just announced in January, will not be released alongside the aforementioned platforms and will instead come later this year. It should be noted, however, that no concrete release date has been given for any platform thus far short of simply “2020.”
Last year, Genshin Impact’s announcement largely went under most western gamers’ radars up until the point where it was announced for PlayStation 4. It was then that a lot of people took notice of the game and its somewhat blatant visual similarity to Nintendo’s own Breath of the Wild. This inspired takes as cool as a finger wag and vague accusations of plagiarism to takes as hot as the one fan who smashed his PlayStation 4 as a sign of protest (despite the fact that it was not PlayStation exclusive).
In the year since its announcement and these incidents of protest, there have been beta testing events and other hand-on events with members of the press as well. Having gotten their hands on the game itself, it has become clear that while the visual inspiration may be obvious, Genshin Impact is truly its own game. While the worlds appear similar, it is also not an entirely unique style and even Breath of the Wild drew comparisons to Studio Ghibli upon its release.
The gameplay between Breath of the Wild and Genshin Impact is very distinct in terms of combat, however. While Breath of the Wild is narratively and functionally a game about one man’s survival in the wilds of Hyrule, Genshin Impact is a more traditional, party-based RPG narrative. There are up to 30 playable characters in the game, but while the narrative structure may follow the traditional RPG more closely, the gameplay falls more in line with an action-adventure game with solo combat (though you can swap in characters on the fly). This opens the ability for multi-character combos where you can play on the elemental effects inflicted on enemies (for example, you can get an enemy wet with one character, and then switch to another to perform an electric attack to give it a boost in damage).
The world is fully open to explore, including the ocean. It includes a number of towns and cities and these will take a prominent place within the game compared to Breath of the Wild’s sparse and generally unimportant settlements. While Genshin Impact is ostensibly a single-player game and is certainly not an MMO, it does have a co-op mode that opens up several levels in, allowing up to four players to join in and take on harder quests that one person alone might not be able to handle.
Being a free-to-play game, there is of course a gacha element as well, however. While any sort of gacha in a game can be a turn-off for many players, player impressions from previous beta test sessions at least reflect that the system is not rigged in favor of the gacha characters.
If you are interested in signing up for a chance to join the closed beta, you can head over to Genshin Impact‘s website and fill out the form. Be aware, it will require you to create an account with a linked email account to be eligible. Also, the form will open as a pop-up rather than a new page, so you may need to disable pop-up blockers for the page if you have those activated as well.
