Comparing Genshin Impact With BOTW Doesn't Make Sense Anymore (2024)

Many considered The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild a revolutionary game upon release. Breaking several records, it won the award for the Game of the Year for 2017 and spawned multiple “BOTW clones.” While most clones never got out of BOTW’s shadow, I think one game managed to make its own identity.

Genshin Impact, Mihoyo’s free-to-play gacha game has established itself as an independent entity. With almost half a year since it was released, it’s about time people stopped calling Genshin Impact a Breath of the Wild clone and realized how different it is.

Where Do I Pull For Zelda?

The first and by far the most obvious difference between Genshin Impact and Breath of the Wild is that Genshin is a gacha game. With multiple playable characters compared to BOTW’s single protagonist, Genshin allows for more diversity. Additionally, there’s the matter of how players acquire Genshin’s characters.

With the exception of some event characters, every Genshin character is obtained by pulling for them in a character banner. Every pull requires a currency, may it be Acquaint or Intertwined Fate, and the said currency can be bought using real money. This transactional nature edging on pay-to-win territory is why so many single-player gamers dislike Genshin.

However, thanks to its gacha nature, Mihoyo can infinitely expand Genshin Impact by adding as many characters as it wants. From Venti to the new Arlecchino, there’s a character for everyone to love and enjoy. On the other hand, if you don’t like Link, tough luck since you don’t have any choice but to play as him.

The Ever-Expanding World And Story Of Genshin Impact

Breath of the Wild is a single-player game, which means it has an end. While the land of Hyrule has much for players to discover and explore, many players have eventually run out of places to go and sidequests to complete. This is why I haven’t touched the game since 2021. However, Genshin has no such limitations.

On the contrary, Genshin Impact is an ever-expanding game that could last forever if Mihoyo wants. If you compare how the game was upon release to what it is now, you’ll think it’s a completely different game or even a technical “sequel” like Overwatch 2.

I personally started playing Genshin when it first came out but then dropped it in favor of Elden Ring. I picked it up again when Furina graced the game with the Fontaine region and had to look up guides and tutorials. In only two years, Genshin Impact evolved from a game with just two regions to one with five and there was so much to do.

Genshin Impact And BOTW; More Different Than Same

At the end of the day, all of the comparisons between Genshin Impact and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild stem from a similar art style and some mechanics that exist in both games. The visuals are a little cartoonish while the climbing, gliding, and swimming mechanics are identical.

However, that’s where the similarities end. Genshin Impact has committed to giving every single character complete skill trees to upgrade and explore. Its elemental powers are more in-depth and the story is always getting expansions to garner a dedicated fanbase that waits for every update.

Why was this game always referenced as BOTW alternative?
byu/jmlozan inGenshin_Impact

While Zelda’s world has NPCs scattered around here and there, Genshin’s Teyvat is much more lively. Every corner has an NPC we can speak with and so many characters have fleshed-out backstories that can make even the most hard-hearted person tear up at times. Of course, I can’t forget all the events that continue to come out that keep the game fresh for everyone.

Perhaps the biggest evidence that Genshin Impact isn’t a BOTW clone anymore is that the gacha game is spawning its own clones now. The perfect example of this is Wuthering Waves, the free-to-play game by Kuro Game that’s taking off. If a game has its own copies, then how could it be a copy of something else?