Six Years On, Genshin Impact’s World Still Shines While Its Combat Feels Empty

Genshin Impact asks players to do a lot of walking. That is not a complaint. The open-world action RPG from miHoYo fills its maps with enough detail that each step feels worthwhile, even when the game’s systems start to show their seams.

Teyvat’s Scale

The game takes place across several regions, each with its own visual identity. The mountains of Mondstadt, the floating islands of Liyue, and the verdant fields of Inazuma all feel distinct enough that moving between them feels like visiting somewhere new, not just a palette swap.

Combat leans on elemental combos. Players can pair characters with different elements — pyro, cryo, geo, hydro — and chaining attacks together triggers chain reactions that clear groups of enemies fast. It rewards attention, since timing a combo correctly often produces a bigger effect than landing a hit randomly.

Character Gacha

Progress in Genshin Impact largely depends on the gacha system, where players pull for new characters. The game offers a free-to-play loop alongside a premium currency, Primogems, that speeds up pulls and purchases. That structure has drawn criticism from some players who feel the game leans too heavily on microtransactions.

But the character pool is large, and each new addition changes how combat plays out. Some characters specialize in crowd control, others in single-target damage, and the best builds come from mixing roles across teams.

Daily Grind

The daily routine in Genshin Impact is where the game shows its rough edges. Quests repeat similar structures, and the rewards for completing them rarely feel substantial enough to justify the time spent. Grinding for materials and experience levels can become a chore, especially for players chasing the best builds.

The story, meanwhile, is thin. Character arcs exist, but the plot itself moves through events rather than dialogue or personal stakes. It is serviceable, not memorable.

What Works Best

1. Elemental combos that reward planning.
2. A vast world with real variety between regions.
3. A free-to-play entry point that keeps the door open for anyone.
4. A character roster that grows steadily over time.

Final Word

Genshin Impact is a polished package with a rough core underneath. Its systems — the gacha economy, the daily grind, the repeated quest design — are real problems, even if they are not unique to this genre. The world itself remains the strongest draw, and the combat holds up as one of the better action systems in the field.

action RPG · gacha · Genshin Impact · miHoYo · open world