Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact Review: About $198 for One Five-Star

The World Costs Nothing to Enter

Regions are built with the detail of a paid console game and none of them is behind a paywall: a frozen city under permanent winter, an underwater realm of cascades and springs, sakura-covered islands, a volcanic land of saurians. Climbing, gliding and swimming are unrestricted, combat runs four characters whose elements combine into reactions, and the story is fully voiced. Updates land every few weeks — the most recent on 31 August 2026 — usually adding areas, characters and events at once. Nothing about the exploration is monetised, which is genuinely unusual at this budget.

The Wish System Is the Business Model

Characters and weapons arrive through wishes, and the published odds are the fact to hold on to: 0.6% for a five-star, with a guarantee at 90 pulls, and a featured banner that resolves in your favour only half the time on the first guarantee. The currency chain runs money to crystals to fates, and the App Store lists ten fates at $21.99 — which puts a guaranteed five-star at roughly $198 if the pity counter runs the full distance. The cheaper end is a $4.99 monthly blessing and battle passes at $9.99 and $19.99. Apple lists loot boxes among the contents.

A Whole Point Between the Two Stores

Google Play shows 3.3 stars from 5.22 million reviews; the App Store shows 4.2 from 578,000. That is the widest gap of any game in this catalogue, and it sits on top of 100 million Play installs. Two structural frustrations explain most of it: a stamina currency caps how much reward-bearing content a day can hold, and the 3.7 GB install grows substantially after updates, which is felt on a cheap Android phone far more than on an iPhone. There is no advertising badge, and Apple rates the game 13+ noting fantasy violence and sexual content.