It’s no shocker that Genshin Impact was inspired by Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The two games have some very similar mechanics, some of which are even identical. However, Genshin has a completely different storyline and some people argue that it’s better than Zelda’s. The two games have been at war with each other since Genshin’s popularity grew in 2020. Since the game is free to play and can be played on mobile, console, and PC, it was praised for its platform availability. This marks one of the biggest differences between them aside from the lore. 

As mentioned above, Genshin and Zelda have many similarities. Just by looking at the game, it’s easy to tell that the two open-world games are similar. They share some of the same features, such as shooting an arrow at explosives to blow up a monster hideout, which is shown below.

They also share the same idea of unlocking a building and going underground to collect treasure from it, as well as some of the same monsters, some of the same exact abilities, the same mining style, hunting style, and even the same balloon mini-game. As far as visuals go, Genshin’s running, climbing, heavy weapon spin attack, and drowning animation looks extremely similar, if not identical, to Zelda’s. 

Although there are all these similarities, there are also a lot of differences. The main difference is the type of games these are and their stories. Zelda is mainly an RPG game and while Genshin is also a RPG, it’s also a gacha game and that’s what catches the eye of most people. Gacha games induce players to spend in-game currency to receive a random virtual item. It’s either a draw-in for some people or an instant turnoff. As of right now, Genshins story isn’t complete, but it does offer more storytelling than Zelda’s. The main focus in Genshin is finding the player’s twin, who was separated from them. Zelda’s story follows the main character, Link, who’s been asleep for 100 years and has to now free Princess Zelda and the kingdom from the main villain, Ganon. Both stories are very interesting and fun to play. 

Although the two games may have some parts that are extremely similar, it’d be unfair to call Genshin a “ripoff Zelda”, as some people like to say. Since Genshin is still in development, it might change some of its features to make it more original, but that seems unlikely. Both games have their own stories and gameplay, so there’s no real way to determine which is better. It’s all dependent on each individual player’s opinion.