The Zelda series is extremely popular, so it makes sense that many developers take a ton of inspiration from the franchise. One game that has caught the attention of many Zelda fans is Genshin Impact, an upcoming open-world RPG from Chinese developer miHoYo.
Genshin Impact draws a lot of inspiration from one game in particular, and that game, of course, is Breath of the Wild. Just from a glance, it is evident that the game shares quite a few similarities to Nintendo’s open-world Zelda adventure. There’s cooking, a stamina wheel, similar combat, and of course, a vast world to explore.
Last week, Sony held its State of Play event, which explored a ton of upcoming third-party PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games. In the livestream, Genshin Impact received a brand new trailer showcasing more gameplay. how players will traverse the world, while also exhibiting the game’s anime aesthetic.
Genshin Impact has received quite a bit of controversy for its resemblance to Breath of the Wild. During last year’s Chinese gaming expo ChinaJoy, Genshin Impact was among many playable titles at the PlayStation booth. Attendees were unimpressed with some of the blatant similarities between the two games.
This caused a few Nintendo Switch owners to demonstrate their annoyances with rounds of images surfacing online depicting their hatred for the game. This also resulted in an angry Zelda fan destroying his PS4 at the convention. However, although it has caused some fans to resent it, many others are looking forward to the title.
The smashing success of Breath of the Wild resulted in the game shipping 18 million units. Other developers started taking notice and begun implementing similar ideas in their own games. Personally, I see this sort of thing as an expression of admiration towards a particular company. Nintendo is known for its strict copyright policies, but Genshin Impact is shaping up to be a fun adventure regardless.
Genshin Impact is slated for release sometime this year on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC.
