Genshin Impact's latest mobile beta test kicks off today
Servers go live at 10pm EST
After facing a rocky start in life, Genshin Impact has slowly become one of the most promising mobile games of 2020. It's an epic fantasy RPG that pulls liberally from Breath of the Wild's playbook, so much so that it drew the ire of fans at last year's ChinaJoy, who perhaps felt it hewed a little too closely to Nintendo's hit.
Since then, we've seen a good deal more of what it brings to the table, and it's certainly quite impressive.
It offers a more traditional RPG experience, fit with all the levelling systems you'd expect, with combo-heavy combat that appears quite different to BOTW's slower-paced play. Its anime-style character designs and larger focus on story also help to set it apart.
It's hard not to be wowed by its open-world environments, flashy effects, and the fact that this is all running on mobile. With the iOS and Android closed beta tests set to launch later today, registered players will have a chance to see it in action for themselves when the servers go live at 10pm EST.
We'll be giving it a go here at PG as soon as we can, so expect some extended thoughts within the next week.
While Genshin Impact is ticking all the right boxes, I'm still uncertain of whether the BOTW comparisons will cast too much of a downer on the overall experience. Only time will tell, I suppose.
For those who didn't get into the beta test, there's plenty of gameplay going around to check out instead. The game's intro cutscene has also now been released ahead of the beta.
More info can be found over on Genshin Impact's official site. It's set to launch later this year for iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch.
Searching for more top-tier RPGs? Here are 25 of the very best for iPhone and iPad