This is always the way it goes for me, you know. I find something trendy that I can't put down and then I ride it until I physically can't stand to look at it anymore. I will play until I hit the utmost grindwall and even then I will push forward, to the point where I'm not even sure I like the game itself anymore. Thus was the case for 'RAID: Shadow Legends', the only thing which stopped me was literally the game itself screwing up a pack I purchased (which was entirely in-game currency, of course) making me realise that I had so many better things that I could be doing with my time. Genshin has a slight foot over those other games, however, due to the plain fact that it is actually fun to play (Unlike RAID, which was sometimes fun to watch) and it appeals to my sensibilities every now and then. Therefore I'm going to dedicate at least a single more blog talking about the things I like about it.
I think what has resonated with me mostly throughout my time is the way that the game itself is, largely, a single-player experience. I've shared this before but I am the sort of person who very much prefers to play the sorts of games where their progression is limited only by the extent of their own dedication to it. Which is why I tend to play every game on the hardest difficulty. Yes, that means every single time I hit a hard section of the game I need to grind my fingers raw buffing my characters, or memorising attack patterns or simply learning how good Crystal Magic is against the Lord of Storms in Dark Souls 3, (I swear I read somewhere about how that damn dragon was resistant; someone lied bigtime) but the reward is that I feel accomplished on the other side. Genshin Impact operates it's difficulty by pure character and equipment level, different enemy archetypes are existent, but not exactly rich and complex enough to spell the difference between a low-level grunt and elite units. (That's mostly decided by back-end stats) Yet even then I still feel that rewarding atmosphere from slaying a troublesome group, thus my box gets ticked in this category.
Too many times I've had my potential for fun in these sorts of games crushed by the plain fact that I can't keep up with the PVP scene, which is almost always tied into the core progression arc. Maybe I'm just not lucky enough in the roles, am not willing to whale or plain just can't be asked to min-max; whatever the ultimate issue is, it puts me off the game and leans me more towards titles where my own fate is more in the control of my hands. The same goes for non-gacha multiplayer games as well; the second things turn too competitive I just get turned off. Now I'm sure someone out there could take that and turn it into some revelation about me but I'll just save you the hassle and do it for you: I don't like confrontation. There I said it. I'm a coward who prefers not to have to go through the stress of facing up against others and butting heads, that's just who I am. (Can't shame a man with absolutely no shame)
All in all, this is why I like the ways in which Genshin tries to keep it's world engaging with scaling difficulties, a modest smattering of activities and even a little bit of endgame thrown in there. I hear that the co-op play is notably lackluster, which is something that the team should probably work on in the near future for those that want to partake, but as long as I can have fun entirely by myself without having to shell out, I'm happy. For the time being that is exactly what Genshin proposes, although I do find myself wondering about the longevity of that. I've noticed the amount of resources it takes, for instance, in order to level a character up from 1-20. The sort of XP that you get from killing monsters is infinitesimal in comparison, pretty much forcing you to rely on these 'booster' items that can only be find in drops for wild chests. (Or as rewards from missions, Domains and the like) So there's potential to hit a pretty solid resources wall if things don't respawn at a decent rate. (Which is something else I think about.)
If there is one aspect that I think sets Genshin head and shoulders above it's competition, in a sort of "Won't be beaten for a good while" sort of way, it is the combat. I've touched on it before, but this is one of the few ways in which I think this game slightly surpasses the Zelda game it was 'heavily inspired' by. Functionally, you have slightly fewer actions at your disposal, it's true, such as literally having no block to speak of. (I'm not sure why not) But the versatility offered by elemental bonuses and character switching more than makes up for that fact. In some of the more chaotic fights, I'm always impressed by the amount of ways in which elements can play off each other in order do heavy amounts of damage, more so than you see in typical RPGs. Freezing an enemy and then setting them on fire, rather than doing nothing, hits them with a 'melt' bonus, wetting them and electrocuting them activates overcharge, ice and water will freeze them solid; there's so much interplay between elements that you rarely feel cornered into a certain methodology to win; as long as you have different elements to work with, you're set!
I especially like the ways in which these elements come into play for some of the tankier enemies in the world. (Although, disappointingly, not for the two bosses we've seen so far) Seeing the bigger Hillchurls with their shields that can be burnt away in order to make them more vulnerable feels a lot more dynamic and natural than the simple elemental slimes which every RPG and their mother has. I wish there was a bit more of that sort of clever weakness-play in the game right now, but I suppose given that not even half the map has been revealed yet there is more than enough time to implement more of that with future foes. If we could have flaming weapons which can be doused or electric-powered robots which could get grounded it could make for some really unique fighting strategies in my opinion.
As of right now my latest challenge, the thing that's bugging me so much that literally the second I finish this blog I'm going to attack it again, is the Spiral Abyss. That's essentially a battle arena full of enemies and various buffs which can be swapped out regularly by the developers in order to keep a rotating challenge going. Admittedly, what drew me first to the place was the potential to unlock Xiangling, but then I realised that this is actually a brutally tough challenge due to the way that most of the floors don't care if you can beat the enemy, but rather how fast in which you can do it. (I was told this wasn't going to be on the test) As someone who typically puts stock into survivability, (And has a buffed health Barbara on the team for that very purpose) this is pretty much out my wheelhouse and presents a hefty challenge to me. (And my track record of picking game difficulties should let you know what I make of a challenge.) Admittedly, it's not the most inspired end-game activity of all time, but it's the bare minimum which so many other titles don't even bother with, so I'm contented thusfar.
So at the end of the day: Yes, I spend wholly too much time playing this game and: No, I don't regret any of it just yet. I've even reached the point where the Stockholm syndrome is starting to set in and I'm actually engaging with the story and characters just that little bit. (Although that's only really because this game is actually living up to the twist that I always wanted 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' to play to.) So far the only thing that's given me substantial pause is the battlepass which unlocks around level 20 and has literally no way of accessing it's big tiers without a real-money subscription fund that's honestly pretty hefty. But again, seeing as how the game is free and the content in the pass doesn't appear to withhold any of the most coveted rewards, (characters) I can't really complain all that much. (At least now I don't need to worry about miHoYo making money off of this game.) Just give me one more week of excess and I'm sure I'll have successfully burnt this game entirely out of my- what do you mean they've just added two more characters? Oh no, I'm going to get addicted, aren't I?
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