PC Gamer Annual - UK (2022)

liberally swipes ideas from a variety
of beloved genres and games. Honkai
Impact 3rd, which released on PC in
2019, is literally the kitchen sink of
games: a hack-’n’-slash RPG that also
somehow manages to incorporate
everything from bullet hell shoot-’em-
ups and MMOs to dating sims.
Genshin Impact is a more focused
experience, but a big part of its initial
appeal was its similarity to other
games. Not everyone found its
imitation flattering, though. When
Genshin Impact was first announced,
players were incensed by its obvious
similarities to Breath of the Wild. In
addition to a ton of online backlash,
one player went so far as to smash his
PlayStation 4 in public at the
ChinaJoy gaming convention in
protest. Cai says the team never saw
the outrage coming.
“Honestly, we were quite
surprised,” he says. “Although we had
various betas before the game’s
official global release in September
2020, only a small number of players
were actually invited. So, given that
most people hadn’t personally
experienced our game yet, it’s only
natural that there were some
misconceptions and misjudgments.”
Genshin Impact was never meant
to be a malicious clone, riding on the
coattails of more popular games. It
was a love letter to them. “I
remember that the Breath of the
Wild developers gave a presentation
at the 2017 Game Developers
Conference where they shared their
thoughts behind the design of the
world, gameplay, and art style of the
game,” Cai remembers.
“For instance, they talked about
turning a passive game into an active
game. An example of this was
removing the barriers created by
walls so that players could go
anywhere they saw on the map.
Another example was how the ability
to glide from high places using the
paraglider greatly increased the
freedom of movement for players.
Such designs implemented alongside

a multitude of actions and areas gave

birth to limitless possibilities for

gameplay and exploration. This

approach had a big influence on us

when we set out to create the open

world of Genshin Impact.”

BREATH OF THE WAIFU

Those misconceptions were

short-lived once Genshin Impact

actually came out. While some might

scoff at a game willing to shamelessly

borrow Breath of the Wild’s most

innovative features, many more

players were just excited to be able to

play a game that had that Nintendo

level of quality without needing a

Switch. And Genshin Impact is also so

much more than a mere Breath of the

Wild clone.

Cai says the team also took notes

from Grand Theft Auto V – if you can

believe it – in how to deliver story

exposition without forcing the player

into a long cutscenes traditional to

MAY 2021 53 53

Genshin Impact

COVER FEATURE

“IT

’S^ O

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NAT

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THAT

THERE

WERE

SO

ME

MISC

ONC

EPTIO

NS

AND

MISJU

DGME

NTS”

PICKING UP STEAM

Steam has become a haven for Chinese

games. Here’s three you should check out

GUJIAN 3

A sprawling and

epic action RPG

that has a lot in

common with The

Witcher 3, Gujian 3

is a ‘xianxia’ RPG

about divine beings,

martial arts, and

cosmic wars

between spirits.

AMAZING

CULTIVATION

SIMULATOR

It’s like Rimworld

except instead of

building a colony on

an alien planet you

start a martial arts

school and ascend

your character to

godhood.

CHINESE

PARENTS

One of the first

notable breakouts

on Steam, Chinese

Parents is a clever

and charming life

sim about the

modern pressures

of growing up

in China.