Genshin Impact

My only piece of advice would be to avoid installing this game as a final year student, or as a university student at all, because the idea of switching off from the alluring aesthetic of Genshin Impact to enter the assignment-filled nightmare will quickly begin to revolt you as the time goes on.

All in all, Genshin Impact is one of the best RPG titles to release this year. Unfortunately, a stingy gachapon system and nonsensical gameplay restrictions hold it back just a bit. If you can look past that, then you’ll likely have endless hours of fun to experience.

Genshin Impact is a remarkable game in many respects, boasting vibrant visuals, a rich, sprawling world, deep systems, and finely-tuned action. Unfortunately, the game’s free-to-play gacha business model often undermines its own sense of adventure and excitement. Genshin Impact is a good -- potentially great -- game locked in a loot box it can’t quite escape.

In places, Its interpretation even succeeds in doing so, because the world and the battles form two strong, well-made game pillars. However, the completely unfair progress system in combination with the dangerous monetisation traps creates an unreal, dystopian reality. One can only be grateful that this kind of game isn't (yet) good enough so that even more people to fall victim to it.

With a dense open world inspired by Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact provides hours of free entertainment with its rich combat and deep RPG systems.

The gameplay is smooth and simplistic, and it works great on all platforms - though I’m still not sure why the PlayStation version can’t be linked to a Mihoyo account so I could play on my phone when I’m not at home (PS Vita version please??) but it’s a small gripe to an otherwise terrific game. If the loading times were a bit better, I’d recommend the PlayStation version a little more, but for now, mobile/PC are the optimal platforms.

Genshin Impact's open world and clever combat are fantastic, but its endgame tries way too hard to milk you for cash.

Genshin Impact may be one of the biggest surprises of the year: A free-to-play RPG that gives players an absurd amount of freedom and content to dip into. Some barriers can still be found in the absurdly rare drop rates for premium characters and the world shows some growing pains, but you’re still receiving a gorgeous fantasy world that doesn’t press-gang you into spending money on it.