Genshin Impact received “generally favorable reviews” according to review aggregator Metacritic. The open world of Teyvat drew praise; IGN‘s Travis Northup described Teyvat as “a world that is absolutely bursting at the seams with possibilities”, and Hardcore Gamer‘s Jordan Helm described it as “one big environmental puzzle”. Liyue in particular was picked out by Kotaku‘s Sisi Jiang for being “one of the most exciting regions that I’ve visited in a video game in years”, before continuing on to discuss how the region “shows an idealized portrayal of Chinese social relations that exists in localized pockets”.. Game Informer characterized the game as an incredible experience, noting that “[t]he gameplay loop of collection, upgrading, and customization is captivating and compelling”. The execution of gameplay impressed Pocket Gamer, and Destructoid‘s Chris Carter called the combat system “one of the most interesting things” about the game. NPR remarked that the game had an abundance of content despite being free to play, and Forbes commended the game as one that feels coherent and complete. Gene Park of The Washington Post lauded the game as revolutionary for the genre, having players “imagine a mobile gaming world with titles with quality that matches the industry’s top-tier experiences”. Polygon also praised the game for differentiating itself from its peers, heralding its arrival as mobile games become more mainstream and appealing to “an audience outside the typical mobile gaming demographic” and “new players without the hardware to play more conventional and resource-hogging RPGs”.
