Genshin Impact Review: A Huge Free World That the Gacha Takes Its Toll On

Genshin Impact is an open-world action RPG from HoYoverse. You explore a big world, collect characters and combine their elements in combat. The game came out in September 2020, it’s free, and today you play it on PC, mobile, PS5 and Xbox. In this review we tell you what the game does well, where it stumbles and whether it’s for you.

What Genshin Impact is about

Genshin Impact is an action RPG with a big open world to explore. Critics often compare it to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, only in anime style. Characters wield elements, and combining them in combat triggers reactions. The whole combat system is built on this, and critics consistently praise it.

The game is free. It makes money from a gacha system: you get new characters and weapons through Wishes, a draw paid for with in-game currency. On the limited character banner, a 5★ character drops within 90 pulls at the latest. Your first 5★ is the featured character with a 50% chance, or 55% overall with the Capturing Radiance mechanic introduced in version 5.0. If you don’t get the featured one, your next 5★ is guaranteed to be it. Our Genshin pity guide covers it in detail.

Version 7.1 and regular updates

HoYoverse releases new versions with story, regions and characters regularly. The current version 7.1, “A Rekviem for the Underworld”, has been live since September 23, 2026, and the second banner phase ends on November 3, 2026. What’s new in each game and how to update is in our current versions overview.

What critics praise and what bothers players

On Metacritic, the PC version has 84 points from 24 reviews, the PS4 version 81 from 26 reviews and the PS5 version 86 from 4 reviews. Most reviews are from 2020. Game Informer gave it 93 and writes about a wondrous world with a ridiculously compelling reward loop. IGN gave it 90 and praises the open world inspired by Breath of the Wild and the excellent combat, but warns that the gacha model brings undesirable grinding deeper in. Czech outlet Games.cz gave it 90 and called it one of the best RPGs of the year, almost beyond comprehension that it’s free.

Complaints are about monetization. PC Gamer gave it 84 and writes that the open world and combat are fantastic, but the endgame tries way too hard to milk you for cash. GameSpot gave it 70 and sees a solid game held back by the restrictions of its free-to-play model. Players on Metacritic are harsher than critics: the user score is 5.1 out of 10 from 2,513 ratings.

Platforms, accounts and servers

You play Genshin on PC, Android, iOS, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. It came to Xbox on November 20, 2024. The PS4 version is gone: it was removed from the PlayStation Store on September 10, 2025, and since April 8, 2026 you can no longer log in on PS4. Progress is shared across platforms, but only on the same server (America, Europe, Asia, TW/HK/MO). You can’t transfer it between servers, so choose your server right away. On PlayStation, your PSN account region determines the server. More in our article on platforms and cross-save.

Price, requirements and languages

The game is free to download and includes in-game purchases. On the PlayStation Store it’s rated PEGI 16 with a notice about in-game purchases including random items. How to set spending limits for kids is in our article on gacha games and parents.

On PC, HoYoverse says you need Windows 10 64-bit, a 6th-gen Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen, 8 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 1050. Recommended is 16 GB RAM and a GTX 1060 6GB. On mobile you need at least an iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X, or on Android 4 GB RAM and Android 10. Voice-over is in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean.

Who Genshin Impact is for (and who it isn’t)

It’s for you if you want a big open world and action combat with no entry price. You can get through the story and exploration without paying, and play on PC, mobile and console with the same progress.

Skip it if you can’t stand new characters coming down to chance, or you know you’d spend more on gacha than you want to. The later stages demand a lot of time for upgrading characters.

Verdict: Is Genshin Impact worth it?

Yes, if you keep an eye on your spending. For zero entry price you get a world and combat on par with paid games. We’re giving it 8/10.

Critics praise Genshin Impact for its open world, elemental combat and the amount of free content. Points off for a gacha model that pushes you into grinding and spending later on, and for progress being tied to a server.

Playing Genshin Impact? All our guides are on the gacha games hub. Before you start spending, read how pity and the 50/50 work in Genshin, and what the game needs on PC and mobile is in our system requirements guide. You can find co-op partners on the GamersTogether Discord.

FAQ

This review is based on critic scores on Metacritic, on reviews from Game Informer, IGN, Games.cz, PC Gamer and GameSpot, and on official information from HoYoverse. Information verified on October 21, 2026. All our guides are on the gacha games hub.