Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves are open-world anime action RPGs. Both games have character teams and combat that operates in real time, and they follow an anime aesthetic. Set in fantasy worlds, they allow you to take the role of a mysterious individual. Through this individual, you will then work to uncover both the secrets of the world and of yourself.
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| Photo by Nikita Kachanovsky on Unsplash |
The story of Genshin Impact follows an interstellar traveler forcibly ripped away from their sibling by an unknown god. Years pass, and they eventually wake up in the world of Teyvat. After being greeted by the excitable guide named Paimon, the traveler must embark on a journey throughout Teyvat’s seven nations to reunite with their missing sibling.
Both games offer players a chance to either choose a male or female main character.
+1 point for Genshin Impact.
Pacing
The story of Wuthering Waves is interesting and more serious; however, the game’s delivery can make it somewhat confusing to follow. When explaining some of the basic enemies and their lore, a character is interrupted, leaving the player with only bits and pieces. The game does not pick up where it left off, either, and swiftly moves on. However, this does not mean the story and lore are automatic failures. The game still explains most things thoroughly. It is also notable that Wuthering Waves does seem to move more slowly throughout its current plot. I somewhat enjoyed this because it was quite relaxing, but it did get a little boring after a while.However, if you enjoy a faster pace, then I suggest Genshin Impact. The game immediately throws you into a larger turmoil, which is definitely attention-grabbing. It introduces you to the issues quickly, too. The game also tries to have its own comedic and lighthearted moments, which I thought were fun. They served well to give the player a small break from the plot. The game certainly works hard to rope you in. It worked on me.
Both games are pretty dialogue heavy. There is a lot of information in the dialogues, too, so be prepared.
+1 point for Genshin Impact.
Exploration
Wuthering Waves allows the player to wall-run, glide, and grapple. It was so satisfying to be able to quickly traverse through the world, and it felt like there was never a dull moment when exploring.Unfortunately, Genshin Impact does not offer all of these luxuries. The game does have gliding, but even that seems extremely slow compared to Wuthering Waves. Because of this, you will mostly be relying on running to get through everything. Climbing is also tedious, especially with how little stamina we are given at the beginning of the game. Sometimes a small object stops the character from climbing, and it can even make your character fall. This can result in the death of your character, I’ve discovered.
Both games have stamina that is upgradable and, of course, gliding. They are open-world and offer the player an equal amount of freedom in exploration. Both games also have treasure chests filled with valuable items scattered throughout their worlds, as well as collectible items like plants and small animals. Both games are also quite beautiful in visuals, and they offer a decent variety of environments like grassy fields, forests, and cities.
+1 point for Wuthering Waves.
Graphics
The graphics in Wuthering Waves seem stunning, if your device can handle it. Even after turning everything to the lowest setting possible, my computer still struggled with smoothness at times. The textures also loaded slowly for me, as well, so the world would end up looking pixelated or flat, although this wasn’t too much of a frequent occurrence. This didn’t give me the best experience, but if you think your device can handle it, I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.The graphics in Genshin Impact are beautiful. The world is so colorful and vibrant. The game also ran much smoother for me, and I was even able to upgrade the graphic settings a little. I did experience some textures taking some time to load, but like Wuthering Waves, it didn’t happen too much, and it didn’t take a lot of time for them to look normal.
+1 point for Genshin Impact.
Combat
Part of Wuthering Waves’s combat relies on weapons. The weapons are swords, pistols, broadblades, rectifiers, and gauntlets. The other part of combat is an elemental magic system. Wuthering Waves combat system is fast-paced and challenging, but it is very immersive and fun. The game also introduces you to a dodge and parry system, which definitely takes some time to learn and get used to. The visuals are certainly exciting and cool, and they help the player through certain cues. Although, I found looking for these cues can be a little difficult, especially with how quickly the enemies move. It’s definitely a learning process, but I believe it’s fun. The game presents a fun struggle. Wuthering Waves has a character team limit of three, but due to how well the combat seems to run together, I don’t think it’s a small amount at all.Meanwhile, Genshin Impact’s combat system is much simpler. It only offers an attack system, which was pretty easy to figure out. However, this simplicity can easily become repetitive or boring especially if you are someone who enjoys a good challenge. I think it’s still fun, but it did feel like a downgrade compared to Wuthering Wave’s speedy and engaging combat. Genshin Impact partly relies on weapons, too. Its weapons are sword, polearm, claymore, bow, and catalyst. It also has an elemental magic system. Like Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact also relies on character teams in combat. However, the difference is that its team limit is up to five characters.
Both games offer a good variety of skills for each character, so reading each game’s information about them is something I definitely recommend. Both games have real-time combat, too, and they offer a co-op mode. The controls are easy to learn and manage in them, too.
+1 point for Wuthering Waves.
Voice Acting
The English dub of Wuthering Waves leaves a lot to be desired. Many beginning characters sound flat when speaking, which leaves most of the interactions feeling stiff and lifeless. I found it difficult to get attached to them because of how emotionless they seemed. Along with this, a lot of worldbuilding also easily passed over my head because of how dull its delivery was. Some of the voice actors also had difficulty pronouncing words consistently. Some sentences would be steady, but then a random word is pronounced in a completely different accent. It was very off-putting. I suggest switching to a different dub, as those are noticeably better in quality.Meanwhile, the English dub of Genshin Impact seems full of life. I could distinctly feel each emotion radiating just from the character’s voice, and the quality certainly helped fuel a better sense of connection between me and the game. The information delivered remained interesting, and I enjoyed how much the character’s personality shined through everything. All the other languages seem to meet this standard, as well.
Both games offer EN, KR, JP, and CN language dubs. Both games also have dialogue boxes, so you will still be able to understand what the characters are saying even if they are speaking in another language.
+1 point for Genshin Impact.
Characters
The beginning characters in Wuthering Waves are alright. The game does drop hints about a few secrets they have, but it is quickly brushed aside and even treated as a joke at one point. I am not a fan of how much the characters revolved around the main character, either, especially during certain moments where suspicion was absolutely justified. It makes them seem more one-dimensional, as if they were only there to serve the purpose of aiding the main character. However, I did enjoy some of the interactions and they are likeable. For example, two characters named Chixia and Baizhi. I enjoyed Chixia’s bright and clever personality, which is a sharp contrast to the game’s otherwise serious tone. A few times she bantered with the other characters, and I enjoyed the focus being briefly taken away from the main character. Baizhi, on the other hand, didn’t have a lot of screentime from what I’ve seen. But her strict and almost blunt personality was something I still liked, and it seemed like she was only talking to us out of formalities. It was nice to be met with something other than enthusiasm or genuine kindness. I would also like to point out that majority of the characters seem to be female, so if you are a fan of male characters, you may be disappointed.The beginning characters in Genshin Impact are also alright. They do seem to follow some of the typical tropes often seen in media, but they are still endearing and enjoyable. It was refreshing to be regarded with suspicion, too, instead of an automatic welcome. For example, one of the first characters we meet is Amber. At first, she’s rude to us and makes her distrust extremely clear. But the game does not make her out to be a cranky and suspicious person. Instead, she’s cheerful and kindhearted and even a little naïve. Another character I like is Kaeya. He lies to the player multiple times, which helps create depth and gets us more interested in the story. The characters also had fun interactions between each other, even in scenes where the main character is not present. For example, bantering with one another or just reassuring each other. These things help give the characters more life, and it makes them seem more realistic. The male to female ratio seems more balanced in Genshin, too.
Both games do objectify their adult characters to gain more sales.
+1 point for Genshin Impact.
Replayability
Because both games are pretty story-focused, they will most likely become boring if you replay them again. It also may be frustrating to be reduced back to the state of a new player; no wanted characters on the account, bad collectibles, extremely low stamina, and a lot of information about the story and general gameplay. The games also don’t really give you altering choices from what I’ve seen, either, so you will always be on the same path. You can replay the games to experiment with mechanics, different characters, and game limitations if you want but I personally don’t think it’s worth it.+0 points for either game in this category.
Verdict
I currently prefer Genshin Impact over Wuthering Waves. I enjoyed being immersed so quickly in Genshin’s story. I found the characters funny and endearing, and I enjoyed the colorful scenery the game had. And the biggest issue I had with Wuthering Waves was the English voice acting. It easily killed off any excitement or urgency I felt, making every scene and interaction feel stilted. It was difficult to get into the story because of how monotone some of the characters sounded, too. However, I still highly recommend you try both games. They both have stunning worlds, and they both have extremely interesting stories. I believe they are worthwhile experiences, and you may end up preferring one over the other for entirely different reasons.Wuthering Waves: 2/8 points
Genshin Impact: 5/8 points
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Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash
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