In August of last year, publisher miHoYo revealed Genshin Impact, an open-world adventure which appears to take a healthy amount of inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. So much so, in fact, that one irate fan got so upset that Sony would choose to promote such a game that he actually smashed up his PS4 in protest.
He wasn't the only one who was displeased; other Zelda fans turned up at a show where Genshin Impact was being demonstrated and held aloft their copies of Breath of the Wild, as well as making (ahem) rude hand gestures. You could say they were less than impressed with miHoYo's efforts.
We dread to think what those same individuals will think now that it has been confirmed that Genshin Impact is also coming to the Switch. Previously planned for a 2020 release, the publisher is now saying a solid release date is "to be announced" – but to seemingly calm any negative reaction to a delay, it has also revealed a new area in the game, called "Of the Land Amidst Monoliths."
Like Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact is an open-world action-adventure which the player character can explore freely, using skills such as climbing or gliding. Another similarity with Nintendo's game is a focus on cooking meals which have both positive and negative effects on the player character. Speaking of which, Genshin Impact offers 30 playable characters, and it's possible to have command of up to 4 at any one time. A manga series has been running since before the game started development, which you can read here.
There's no word on a western release at the time of writing, but what do you make of this title coming to Nintendo's system? Let us know with a comment.
Comments 137
Wouldn't mind playing this game.
And fanboys are an ...strange lot to put it politely.
I'm pretty indifferent. As long as it runs well I'm happy.
Sooo....Breast of the Wild? ...I mean, erm...Breath of the Waifu? Waifu of the Wild?
Mic drop.
As long as it looks THIS good on Switch and runs well, that's something I'd put my money behind.
I wonder if we'll be able to play with Chinese audio.
My body tells me that I need this game. So I must obey.
The guy who broke his PS4 in protest must feel so dumb now.
I'll probabaly give this a whirl....if I don't smash my switch before then
@NintendoByNature
Too much smashiebrossie
Think it looks good, tbh
Yeah but what’s the gameplay? Looks pretty but will wait to see what it plays like.
@KitsuneNight 😂 there can never be enough
It's so strange to me, because it really does not look that much like BotW. Go check out the gameplay in the original story about the weirdo breaking his PS4--there's clearly some BotW influence here, but the gameplay looks much more focused on magical combos.
Excellent news! I'd jump at the opportunity to explore a vibrant, Botw-inspired world.
Looks good, might check it out if Breath of the Wild sequel had not been out yet.
? Aside from Green grass, it doesn't like like BOTW... But whatever, you do you
I'll have a look at it since it's coming to the switch. Definitely add it to my watchlist.
Has anyone actually played the game yet? Is it any good?
I hope it's good. The world is in desperate need of more BotW-likes.
Perhaps we can call them Breathvanias and give some undeserved credit to Castlevania again.
Looks more like an Atlelier game than botw
Shows how much of an "offence to BotW" it is in Nintendo's eyes. The only thing I worry about is the well-being those fanship-affected folks' Switches after the announcement.
And colour the game on my radar if it actually gets translated and released here.
i'll grab this on pc
i feel the game could be good but I don't feel it deserves 60$ and a few bytes in my switch storage
@alpha5099
That whole protest thing is kinda sad to be honest.
I doubt Sony cares much about one weirdo smashing his PS4. They already got his money.
And all those other protestors wouldn't be likely to buy the game anyway, it being such an affront to their gaming sensibilities.
As far as I am concerned choice is a good thing.
@nhSnork Drives me crazy that there are people out there who think Nintendo would be, even remotely, offended by someone cloning their game. Regardless of the fact that this game is clearly not a BotW clone if you watch the gameplay trailers.
Nintendo has actively encourage other developers to copy their style. They genuinely believe they make a better type of game. The developers of Little Dew, a Zelda clone in every possible way, actually pitched the game to Nintendo as a Zelda game. Nintendo told them they love the game and the developer should finish it and release it and that it didn't need to be Zelda.
Looking at this developer's past titles, they seem to have a habit of taking assets and models from other games and pasting it into their own games, even though the gameplay in their games are quite different than the games they are taking from.
So the game didn't kill a PS4. Someone smashed it.
I don't see why people get so upset about games copying ideas. It happens all the time.
@Palico_extremeru the wild waifu's breath?
Doesn't seems like a clone to me. Players my gosh... calm down.
To be fair, if there was another game that looked and played like BotW, I'd be keen.
From looking up a gameplay trailer for this, the only thing it seems to share with BotW is its colour palette.
So yeah, I don't think this is for me.
I'll wait for Switch reviews. Seems like it could be cool, considering BOTW's mechanics aren't fun for me. The aesthetic is nice, so hoping game performance is good and it has a good story or something
@Grandiajet
I agree the tagline is kind of sensationalistic; like, it kind of implies the game had some kind of bug that bricked the system.
So... are we going to get fanboys smashing their Switches now?
@ThatGiloFella The UI looks extremely similar to BotW as well. Especially the menus.
Imagine being that pathetic. The game looks good and I hope it does well!
Copycat games date back to some of the very first games. I’m pretty sure every genre first has a billion games like it. Let the knockoffs live! It’s why I like beatemups and scrolling shooters!
Looks tempting might grab it at some point once/if i ever clear my backlog
this game looks more empty than BOTW does and that was BOTW's biggest issue but okay
Then, a character from Genshin Impact coming to Smash?, 😜
Whats wrong with copying something that wasnt original to begin with?
Climbing, physics, open world, cel shading, shooting arrows, inventory that stores food and buffs, big lasers, dungeons, puzzles, etc. These arent original concepts but since Botw and Zelda are big things, doing anything like it is a sin and must burn.
Only copying you should be worrying about is them blatantly copying Platinum Games and Devil May Cry animations.
Anyway, so far this is the most effort a Chinese company put into copying, thats at least a step up from what they normally do so id support this game if its good.
I still don't get the BOTW comparisons.
If it were an indie developer who got copied by a large developer I would support the protests. However, Nintendo is a giant in the sector, and as such, it sets the trends of the market.
It is just Natural to be inspired and influenced hy Nintendo. Clones suck, yeah, I agree, but this game didnt seem to much of a clone (at least gamplay wise).
1. On "other" systems: "Copy trash!"
2. On "preferred" system: "Inspired by"
You will see. The blind duality of the fanboy is always something you can count on 😉
Obviously Nintendo cares more about collecting their licensing fee from each $60 sale.
...this doesn't look like BOTW to me
Wow, that is absolutely stupid. Hope the destroyed system was worth all that money.
Does no one else find it suspicious that a PS4 owner just happened to have his designed-for-home-use console on hand during the reveal of the game? For all we know he and the other "protestors" were planted to generate controversy and, consequently, interest in the game 😂
It's like me and my copy DonkeyKongMain
Looks good to me. I'll play it.
Lol no thanks, what a stupid trailer.
@First_Amendment explain please?
@T7Hokage017
Funny thing is : I am not bothered in the slightest.
I'll check it out. And talk about a waste of a PS4, no Last of Us 2 for them I guess.
They destroyed their PS4 over one game? Seriously?
To be honest, I don't think it's fair to call this game a BOTW clone. Sure, it's open world and it's colorful, but it seems to do it's own thing in terms of combat and world. Inspired would've been a much better word to describe it.
Not gonna lie, I’m intrigued by this games, especially it’s co-op. I like that’s it’s going to allow online co-op but not be an MMO. I think the idea of only inviting the people you want into your world is cool. I’d love to play threw a BotW style game in co-op with my two kids. Even if it’s just an imitation.
@BlackandWhiteCow plenty of gameplay videos on YouTube. You can see combat, cities, co-op, etc all running on the PC beta.
Is she afraid of getting her legs all scuffed up walking through the forest like that? Ticks could happen too if you're not covered up.
This game looks like it could grow on me but I hate the typical anime look on the characters. Also, their backs must be damaged from that weight their holding up. o.O
The characters look awful - no match for Link. Why did they choose to make the heroine a goofy, half-naked anime girl?
@thewingedavenger I don’t know, but you might be able to pick your character or change characters. I saw a video where there was 11 characters to pick from. 3 male, the rest scantily dressed females. Each seemed to have its own elemental affinity. The was a guy with a big FF style sword that had fire attacks and another guy with a regular knights style sword who was using ice attacks, etc
I didn't even know about this game until I read the article. Now I'm interested.
It looked a lot more like BotW in the other article.
As long as I can play the girl protagonist I am game. I saw it back some time and now my hopes are running high. As long as this gets a Physical all on cart then I am in. It's too bad ps lost out oh wait this is a Nintendo forum.
It's a good thing this game wasn't made specifically for a Nintendo system by one of Nintendo's 2nd-party developers. I can easily imagine Shigeru Miyamoto hijacking the project, turning the main character into Link, and turning all the playable female characters into all-but-helpless damsels in distress who need to be rescued, although you still might get to play as one of them at the beginning in a short level where you can't use a weapon and instead have to throw stuff at your enemies.
All I see is Ni No Kuni mixed in with some Dragalia Lost characters and music. Though maybe if I saw the gameplay trailer.
Day one purchase for me. When I read about this title before, I looked up gameplay, which resembled BOTW. This looks like a fun, albeit otaku-appealing, game to play.
has this ever gotten a physical release?
This is unprecedented. Nintendo is getting sooooooooo many amazing games on the Switch that I'm starting to feel like we're reliving the Super Nintendo Entertainment System generation all over again.
Eh, it looks like a fine game. More options is always good
@First_Amendment Learn how to write correctly you're just typing incoherent nonsense — rambling on like some mouth breathing child.
this games doesn't look interesting
I'm actually really interested in this one. Looks like the perfect blend of action/adventure and RPG for me!
@First_Amendment HAHAHAHA! 🤣🤣🤣
First: Please go on! Second: Please tag me when you do! Third: Don't let these crazy commenters tell you to calm down! They're not the boss of your life! 🤣
@Amin_Parker I was just saying the same thing to a buddy! These are the good old days for my kids, for sure. I mean, aside from the Switch's bare bones menu issue, can it get much better for Nintendo fans?
Down for this. Picked up BotW last night for the first in forever...and it's crazy how there is to do inside of HOW much there IS in the game. Cannot wait for this or a proper BotW 2 to add some plot stuff to a game of this sort.
This game was on my "to try" list so this is exciting news.
That PS4-smashing guy will smash his Switch too, after hearing that Genshin gets ported.
Bruh moment and a half
Im getting it
@NImH
You could almost say its whacky.
the title made me think it bricked a console. looking forward to it, i'm curious what they did change. the thing with these copy cats is that eventually they'll lead to either a great execution or a interesting twist.
Meh.
Let's get one thing clear: It's not Breath of Wild and will never be Breath of the Wild. To think otherwise is...laughable.
Certainly looks ambitious. But not Breath of the Wild. One is fooling oneself otherwise to think that this "clone" could equal Nintendo's sublime masterpiece. Like, ever. lol
That doesn't make me a Nintendo fanboy. I'm just stating something that's somewhat obvious.
@Iacobus I agree, I’m fine with other games mimicking the aesthetics of a game like BOTW as it’s been done for years where certain games create a style that is liked by other devs, but no way could they have got the mechanics and seamless gameplay and subtle nuances the BOTW created. That game is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion.
I dunno... it looks more World of Warcraft in its art style than Breath of the Wild, if speaking about the scenery. The blades of tall grass did seem a little BotW to me, but that’s about it.
@First_Amendment yo chill out
Another comment section derailed by a certain someone... seems to be a weekly thing these days.
After re-watching THIS trailer, there really isnt much of a comparison to botw.. but the original trailer we saw back in August, I'm sorry..but it looked a hell of alot like botw. I said looked though, gameplay seems quite different. Either way, im willing to try this out when it comes. Hopefully early 2020 too.
i'm more excited for Ubisoft's Gods & Monsters
Why would anyone care so much about this game existing? It doesn't even seem to be aimed at the same audience, this looks like an anime inspired waifu game.
@Palico_extremeru Breast of the waifu?
Ok let's drop the thing a certain user started.
No, don't pick it up. It's been on the ground already.
Sounds like people on the internet being idiots. Why is it being a BotW rip off even matter?
I remember seeing it a while ago and thinking it looked great, if a little cringey as anime stuff can sometimes be. Not a day one pick up but certainly interested at some point.
It looks lovely. Not sure what there is to get angry about.
they only thing that kid played was himself...
Yo @T7Hokage017 I'll join ya in playin' it.
Looks great to me..
It fits my criteria of a great game especially for switch.
1: It's ANIME!!😊
2: It's an OPEN WORLD EXPLORER GAME!!
You don't get much of that around. Sure it may be inspired from Breath of the Wild but so what? Breath of the Wild is an epic game!!! So if they use an EPIC game for inspiration.... The math logically says that it could potentially be AWESOME!!!!!
I don't know bout you guys but I'm saving 60 bucks in my wallet for this one so I can get my hands on it day one!.
Looks interesting to me
I can forgive a lot of cribbing as long as it still feels like drawing inspiration in how to tell their own story and not give us "legally distinct" not BOTW when we already have the original.
Boobs. Apparently there's a market ( gaming ).
There is currently no game like Breath of the Wild so what is the big deal that a game takes influence from it?
If you watch the announcement trailer you can see lots of BoTW style elements, the climbing, the grass on fire causing updrafts, the robotic monsters with laser beams... plus that cinematic moment of emerging from trees to a clifftop overlooking beautiful scenery is straight up ripped from BotW's opening moments. There's quite a bit for people to feel aggrieved by, if you're that way inclined.
HOWEVER there does seem to be plenty of differences between the two games, so it's not really worth destroying your console over. Anyone would think that was a publicity stunt 🤷🏼♂️
It's on my radar for sure.
Looking at the gameplay of this recently, I hope this doesn't have the same problems BOTW has, frame drops. If it's stable, I'll consider it. Maybe it'll get a standard physical release and which I would definitely buy.
I assume he smashed his PS one after playing Alundra.
Yeah i might consider this. At least it'll be a fun alternative until BOTW2 drops. If it runs well then sure im down.
@Supadav03 Oh okey, that would be enough for me to buy the game. I don't mind when a game copies a great game, as long as it does a good job of it.
This story always pisses me off...not the game, the reaction! Being as obsessed with a video game that some people are that no one can ever draw inspiration from said game without some nonsense happening cannot be healthy!
@thewingedavenger the co-op angle has me. As I said before, even an imitation BotW in co-op with my kids sounds amazing. From the videos it looks to be up to 4 players at once with no map distance limitation.
In my opinion this game looked really good, I am honestly pretty hype to play this game, I was hoping it would come to Switch so I am so going to be getting me a copy on Day 1
Saw some gameplay, and it has an enemy that behaves exactly like a Guardian from BotW, just looks different.
when someone smashes a console for such an idiotic reason, it makes me want to smash their face into the ground for wasting money like that.
i also don't care for people calling anything a clone of another thing because of similarities.
Are we supposed to be mad when we get games that are similar to games we love? Breath of the Wild still exists and is still playable.
This game also looks fun and is following in the footsteps of a game that many people fell completely in love with. Sounds like a win-win to me.
@KitsuneNight I will put less politely: They are annoying
I just hope it comes to the Nanica Smitch.
Looks pretty darn promising to be honest!
Unless it is an carbon copy, there is nothing wrong with copying elements of a good game. I see it more as a compliment.
At least I'm interested in that game.
Man, some folks... This looks nothing like BotW. The only similarity I see is the "open world" aspect. So that makes me upset that BotW copied GTA, and now I am going to be really angry.
watched some gameplay footage. really looks like botw with boobs. i wonder if it's using UE4. if so, it will look much worse on switch. UE4 isn't really well optimised. but whatever it's using, the game itself does look nice.
booby link with little child fairy ...but i prefer navi from ocarina of time ;P
I’m pretty certain the guy who smashed up his PS4 got his mum to buy him a new one.......such an over privileged spoilt brat.
Not a must buy but would purchase if there’s a game drought!
Well executed stylistically! Let's hope it's a good game too.
@Palico_extremeru I thought it was getting ported to the namika smitch. Still waiting for breath of the mild 😂
Definitely interested in the game - besides, it's nothing like BotW in terms of gameplay itself. More focus on combat, so I'd probably treat it less like my own creative playground (basically botw in a nutshell) and more like a grand adventure where I assemble a party of waifus (yes, yes, cringe, but I'm doing it) and go camping and slicing up lizards.
Also, as a side note, I adored BotW's graphics, so... This is just more of a good thing... Which is not bad.
@matdub
That's stil more polite then what I had in mind.
Who cares if it looks similar. If it plays as well as BoTW then I'm all over this bad boy.
You can't copywrite an art style to the best of my knowledge.
BoTW's art style will be timeless, similar to how the Wind Waker is.
The developers of this Genshin Impact have been very smart to copy it. I just hope the game plays as well.
Humph, open world, defeating creatures, cooking food for various effects!.... sounds like Breath of the Wild borrowed a lot from Monster Hunter! Wait what game were we talking about again!?
Lmao apart from the art style (genshin has better graphics) these two games are completely different. BOTW has a better story and feels more like an AAA game but I like the look of genshin plus it's more hack and slash with skills and anime styled.
Can we stop calling it a BotW clone? I've never played honkai impact but one look at the art style for it is very indicative of mihoyo's design direction, and their new game's visual direction is a product of that style. It is literally what you would imagine if you were told mihoyo was making an open world fantasy game. I confidently believe this game would have looked almost exactly the same in an alternate reality in which BotW did not exist. And I say this as someone who loves to rag on chinese content creators for unoriginality. Give these guys a break.
@kitaek27 The gameplay, effects, and character designs are traceable to Honkai Impact, yes. The environmental design... not so much. The environment definitely looks more like BotW than HI3rd.
Really dont get the hate for this game. The game looks solid and I'll probably buy it. It seems to have better combat than BotW as well.
@Daniel36
You didn't watch the beta video above I guess. Look around 10 minutes in for example, it's a carbon copy of the Zelda bokoblins and their "skull caves" with both the same enemies, weapons, a chest unlocking after killing them all, even a mushroom to pick up looking exactly the same. I'm a bit weirded out! Intrigued, but also a bit repulsed by the complete ripoff of assets and ideas. I'm fine with "inspired by", but this... wow. I would've thought this could easily be a lawsuit. I might still play it if good, if really allowed to be released.
I watched about an hour of gameplay from the PC open beta, and you know what? I think it looks pretty good. Yes, it borrows HEAVILY from Breath of the Wild. So what? BotW is my all-time favorite game, and I'll gladly try out a knock-off, as long as it's fun.
@molkom I did indeed not watch it. Fair enough, that is ripping off. But to get one's panties in a bunch over a game is still an overreaction to me.
@Kainbrightside High expectations are a surefire way of getting disappointed a lot. And I would argue the fact that they are craving something new is not the Chinese developers' fault exclusively.
I've been craving something new for YEARS. But I guess the things I am really looking for in a game aren't what sells, or my gaming tastes just grew up alongside me into something different, maybe even impossible.
For example, I was a diehard RPG fanatic on SNES and PS1. I enjoyed them on the PS2 but after that I grew tired of the same old formula being used over and over again.
Not the developer's fault, because I suppose a younger generation will enjoy the games the way I did during the SNES and PS1 era, the same way Monopoly just had a couple of small facelifts over the years but remains the same game in essence.
I am playing it!
I agree it takes its... erm... influences from BotW, but many games in the market are bound to be similar. There are too many games nowadays to accurately count TBH, so it doesn't hurt to have some "clones" on the market.
Diehard Zelda fan that I am, this game looks great and honestly is a bit more visually appealing than BotW, since it looks a lot more... saturated?
@SmileMan64 He was actually protesting Sony giving in to government censorship and happened to do it near the line for the display of this game. If he feels stupid now we'll never know because the government has its full censorship regime in place.
Bet those Nintendo cucks feel stupid now.
I guess, sure. Good tie over til BOTW2 (assuming it’s a good game)
Oh! What an awkward situation...
@Daniel36
I can agree with you on that
Has this came out on the PS4 yet?
So many butt hurt gamers these days. Yes it takes a lot of inspiration from BotW, but obviously Nintendo is ok with it, so who cares. 🤷♂️
It looks decent, and as long as it’s not filled with micro transactions, I’ll give it a go.
I'd much rather play this over it's... "inspiration."
@SortingHat I think I had a typo there. I meant to say "it's crazy how LITTLE there is to do inside of HOW much there IS in the game."
@SortingHat
Judging by certain video segments this has straight up ripped segments/copied them straight over - even how enemies look/act, how/when events are triggered, art of certain locations & items etc.
BK's overall experience seems to have more similarities to Mario but without crossing the line to straight out copying 1:1 (I owned & played through all of BK). So, BK overall will probably be a much closer experience to Mario than this to Zelda (except in certain segments where this has shamelessly just stolen bits and pieces).
In other words, this is less of a clone and more going from part its own style to part copy paste segments and then I mean copy paste in a way I've never seen allowed to be released. I have no strong feelings about it, just observing.
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