It is a great surprise when you hear of a free video game with gameplay that rivals the quality of paid releases. However, it’s a completely different feeling when you play the game and it turns out to be good. Well, that’s the case with a new title called Genshin Impact.
If you want to try this game out, continue reading this article to find out how to play it on PC and PS4.
What is Genshin Impact?
Genshin Impact is a free-to-play action RPG made and released by miHoYo on September 28, 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Android, and iOS. A Nintendo Switch version is still on the cards, but nobody has an idea about its possible release date. The game has fantasy-based open-world gameplay that comes with gacha game mechanics and optional payment options for Premium Currency. Fortunately, you can earn those by simply playing the game.
Speaking of games, we also have a list of the best indie games and the best PS4 games this year that you can read today.
Story and Setting
Genshin Impact is set in a world named Teyvat. In Teyvat, certain individuals are chosen by the world’s gods by giving them something called a Vision—gemstones of magic that allow their users the ability to use and manipulate an element corresponding to the Vision they were given. The player begins as a Traveller of unknown origin. We don’t know who or what they are. All we do know is that they have a twin sibling who was lost when they were accosted by an Unknown God. They landed on the world of Teyvat, stripped of their original powers and searching for their lost sibling.
The player can choose either the male or female twin. And as the player progresses through the game, they will gain the ability to control new characters that the Traveller meets during their long journey. All of these characters come with their unique quirks, personalities, and special abilities. You experience all this as you go through quests to understand the truth about Teyvat’s primordial gods.
Where Is It Available?
As mentioned before, Genshin Impact is currently available on the PS4, PC, Android, and iOS. Nintendo Switch gamers don’t have to worry about missing out; the game will also make its way to the portable console sometime in the next few months.
How to Play Genshin Impact on PC?
Genshin Impact’s move to PC was an incredibly obvious thing to predict due to the game’s mechanics. And with its release, the game blew up in popularity pretty quickly. Here’s how you can download and play Genshin Impact on your PC to see what the hype is all about.
Where and How to Download
Genshin Impact is available to download for free on their website, and it’s pretty easy to do. Here’s how:
Visit the Official Website
Go to their website on https://genshin.mihoyo.com/en.
Once you reach the Geishin Impact website, you’ll be immediately greeted by the buttons that will allow you to download the game.
Choose Windows
After getting to the website, there’s a simple loading sequence that happens before it opens fully. Choose Windows as the platform of your choice to play the game after the sequence finishes. There are three other platforms available, but we’ll go over them later.
Install the launcher
The launcher is downloaded easily into your PC. Its when you’re installing the game itself that the real waiting game begins.
Run the Launcher and Install the Game
Once you’ve installed the launcher, run it, and then install the game. The game is currently at around 12 Gigabytes, so it shouldn’t be that long of a wait with decent internet speed, right? Wrong.
A Few Tips
Depending on your internet speed, the game will be a snail’s pace of a download due to the Genshin Impact Game Launcher throttling your internet download speed for some weird reason. This makes a game that’s supposed to take around an hour or two to download at best require an incredible five–ten hours of your day to fully download to your machine.
Fixing Download Speed
To alleviate this, it’s recommended to pause the download and wait for a few minutes before restarting the process. If that doesn’t work, the absolute last resort would be to pause the download, close the launcher, wait for a few minutes, open the launcher again, and restart the entire process. Usually, this will put your download speed back to a reasonable amount, though it’ll take a few tries and several frustrating groans.
Stuck on Verifying and Fix
Once the download is finished, the game will then verify if the files are all there. This is where another problematic error can pop up.
There are some times when the game launcher will fail to verify the game files that are downloaded. This is a pretty annoying thing to deal with, and it’s a major inconvenience that a typical gacha gamer won’t want to work around when downloading and installing games. Fortunately, there is also a solution for this problematic bug.
There are a few methods that you can use to address this issue. The first method is going to the game’s file directory. This is usually the directory where Genshin Impact is currently installed. Usually, this would be stored at C:\Program Files\Genshin Impact, but you can install the game in whichever drive you so wish. Once there, you’ll usually find a .zip file with all the neecssary files in it. Extract this file and you’re good to go.
The second solution is for those who downloaded the game on Local Disk D. Howevver, this might be a bad idea.
Installing the game on another Local Disk will do the same error that we’ve solved on the first method. It’s typically recommended to just install the game on Local Disk C to save yourself the hassle. Also, make sure to run the launcher in admin mode as well to make the download run faster. You might need to do the pause-unpause method if the download speed is still throttled, but everything should be smooth sailing from that point on.
System Requirements
The game’s minimum requirements are a bit on the low side. Though it looks like a $60 game at a glance, the game needs fewer PC specs than you might think. This lets the game run on a potato-powered PC if you want to go for the absolute minimum. Here are the PC specs that you need to play the game in its lowest graphical settings.
Minimum Specs Required
- CPU – Intel Core i5 (equivalent) or higher
- RAM – 8GB
- Storage – 30GB of available memory space
- GPU – Nvidia GeForce 1030 or higher
- Direct X – Version 11 or 12
- Operating System – Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 (64 bit only)
As you can see, it’s not that much of a stretch to play the game on an older PC. This is because even though it looks good, the game is still made to run on Android and iOS phones. This limitation forced the developers to pare down the system requirements to do reach as wide a market as possible.
Now, let’s talk about the recommended specs.
Recommended Specs
The game also has a pretty low requirement when it comes to the recommended specs, as you’ll see below:
- CPU – Intel Core i7 (equivalent) or higher
- RAM – 16 GB or more
- Storage – 30GB of available memory space
- GPU – Nvidia GeForce 1060 6GB or higher
- Direct X – Version 11 or higher
- Operating System – Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 (64 bit only)
As you can see, there’s not much of the difference between the game’s minimum and recommended requirements. So much so that it’s a simple matter of just having a good enough PC that won’t crap out on you at the first opportunity, and then having decent internet. At least 30MBps is recommended to play the game in a good capacity. Anything less and you’ll see some lag, even on PvE.
Any Possible Fees?
Unless you plan to buy offers, you can not shell out a single dollar on this free-to-play title and still be powerful enough to get by. All the free stuff and premium currency that the game gives you simply by playing is more than enough to give you a complete experience.
Once you get to Adventurer Rank 20, you’ll also gain access to the game’s Battle Pass system. Though the rewards for purchasing said Battle Pass is enticing, its basic version still has a good amount of rewards to help a new player. Don’t go too ham when purchasing and keep your budget in mind as you play this game.
Other than this and a few in-app purchases that you can opt out of, the game is free to play. This is an especially enticing title for players that don’t want to spend a dime but enjoy a quality video game.
How to Play Genshin Impact on PS4?
PS4 users have an easier time when it comes to downloading the game. The number of words we spent in explaining certain exploits on the PC side of things should convince gamers who both own a PS4 and a gaming PC to pick this up on their console.
The only thing that they need to do? Download the game on the PlayStation Store. That’s it.
Other than that, there’s nothing that you need to do. There are no hoops to jump to increase the download speed; just straight-up download the game from the PS Store and you’re good to go.
System Requirements
The game can be played in nearly all versions of the PS4. From the OG PS4 to the PS4 Slim and the PS4 Pro. However, please make sure that your PS4 has more than 30GB of free and unoccupied memory space to download and play the game. It’s also a good idea to keep some space free so that you can have leeway when the inevitable content updates arrive.
Any Possible Fees?
As said before, the game is free to play and there’s nothing stopping players from playing the game without spending a dime. The game’s pretty generous when it comes to their Premium Currency, which you get by doing various Commissions and quests found throughout the world of Teyvat.
Is Genshin Impact on the Nintendo Switch?
Right. Let’s talk about the Nintendo Switch.
It makes complete sense for Genshin Impact to be on the Nintendo Switch. Its basically Anime Breath of the Wild, and the game was the flagship title for the Switch at the time of its release. However, there’s still something that Switch Users should take into account.
The game isn’t released on the Nintendo Switch yet.
Genshin Impact was launched on the PC, PS4, iOS, and Android at the same time on September 28. However, the game wasn’t released on the Nintendo Switch due to the version being under development.
Sam Lai, the head of miHoYo’s communications, stated that Genshin Impact’s Switch version is still in the development stages, with no mention of the Switch version’s Beta Test date or launch. However, he did state that both will be announced sometime in the future. The game may be still getting optimization for the popular mobile console as it is weaker when it comes to its specs compared to its siblings.
Why Should You Play Genshin Impact?
Now, here’s the deal. If you’re asking us why Genshin Impact is worth a try, there are a few good reasons that we can definitely think of.
First and foremost, it scratches the Breath of the Wild itch. Breath of the Wild was a pretty great game. And to be honest, it’s pretty much considered as one of the best games that came out in 2018.
However, the game is a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and that deprived quite a few people of the opportunity to experience and enjoy this great game.
Then, came Genshin Impact. The game looks similar enough to Breath of the Wild, but its anime touch makes it distinct enough. Characters are drawn in that distinct style, and you can see the influence in the game’s design and overall aesthetic.
While the game takes obvious inspiration from the beloved Switch title, it still has its own unique, distinct features that makes it a different game from BotW.
Play Genshin Impact Today!
For one, you can swap between multiple characters. You’re not limited to just one playable character. Link in BotW always had to travel alone. But in Genshin Impact? Your character is traversing the world with various friends and comrades.
Thanks to this, you also chain various attacks from multiple characters. Want to electrocute your opponents after getting them wet? Have Barbara and Lisa in your party to maximize that effect. Want to blow them up? Swapping Barbara with Amber will give you that desired effect. What about freezing? Putting back Barbara and swapping Lisa with Kaeya will do the trick. When there’s a will, there’s away; you can put in various elemental combos together and deal massive amounts of damage if you have the knowhow.
Last but not least? The game’s just straight-up fun.
Since its online, you also get the capability to play alongside your friends in Co-Op Mode. You can battle together to fight against a boss, finish a troublesome raid, or even just to hang out. The game encourages this and gives players the chance to play together when they get at a high enough adventure level.
These features make Genshin Impact a worthwhile game to play alone or with friends. Use our tips above to download this game and try this out for yourself!
