Developer of Accused Breath of the Wild Clone “Genshin Impact” Defends its Uniqueness
Posted on September 28 2020 by Alexis S. Anderson
Last year, we reported on the latest title from publisher miHoYo called Genshin Impact, which received criticism for its resemblance to Breath of the Wild. After its debut at the China Joy Gaming Expo, fans of the Zelda game were quick to accuse Genshin Impact of copying some of its major elements, some going as far as to hold up their Nintendo Switch in front of Sony’s booth in protest during the event.
In anticipation of Genshin Impact’s launch, the game’s development team spoke to FreeMMOStation to once again address these accusations. They claim the free-to-play action RPG is a “very different” experience from Breath of Wild, noting its different gameplay style as well as original story and characters. miHoYo told FreeMMOStation:
“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most popular and respected titles in the industry, and one which our staff hold in high regard. In a post that our team circulated to players last year, we mentioned that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was one of our inspirations for creating Genshin Impact as an open-world action RPG.”
The team continued:
“That said, it is important to note that once you actually pick up the game, you will find the experience of Genshin Impact to be very different from that of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Genshin Impact features a fully original story and characters, and the core gameplay revolves around assembling a party of multiple characters and engaging in a combat system based on interactions between different elements. As we go from closed beta to official release, players will soon be able to discover the unique features and joy that Genshin Impact delivers.”
The game dropped today on Playstation 4, PC, Android, and iOS. It will also make its way to the Switch, but there’s no official release date as of yet. With it being free-to-play, anyone with access to the game who is interested in testing the development team’s claims can do so. And while the shock of Genshin Impact’s debut may have worn off, a quick re-watch of the trailer paints a clear picture of the heinous similarities between it and Breath of the Wild, straight down to the video’s background music.
Have any of you played Genshin Impact yet and found that it is in fact a different experience? Those who haven’t, do you believe the RPG format justifies the other obvious similarities? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Source: FreeMMOStation
Alexis S. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon who joined the writing team in November, 2014. She has a JD from the UCLA School of Law and is pursuing a career in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She grew up in the New Jersey suburbs with her parents, twin brother, and family shih-tzu.
