Genshin Impact - News and Discussion [Pre-Registration Started]

[Tyaren]

Hoping for more male characters

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About half of the playable characters are male already. I doubt they'll go higher than that and have more husbandos than waifus. I just wished there were a few more manly looking male characters. They are all either the typical anime pretty boys or like literal young boys. :\

 

[Busaiku]

Hoping for more male characters

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Aren't half the characters male?

 

[Raftina]

The ratio of male to female characters is actually pretty even in this game. Most of the male characters do look pretty feminine, but there are definitely husbandos here :D

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Are you suggesting that my bishies are not husbandos? Them's fighting words!

For those who have played both Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd, how do the combat systems compare? I have enjoyed what I played of HI3, but it definitely felt limited by being designed for phones. Many of the battle arenas felt claustrophobic and a bit too flat (at least in chapter 1). GI looks like it fixes these flaws, but first hand opinions are appreciated.

 

[AkiraAkira]

Are you suggesting that my bishies are not husbandos? Them's fighting words!

For those who have played both Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd, how do the combat systems compare? I have enjoyed what I played of HI3, but it definitely felt limited by being designed for phones. Many of the battle arenas felt claustrophobic and a bit too flat (at least in chapter 1). GI looks like it fixes these flaws, but first hand opinions are appreciated.

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The way I wrote it came out a little vague in retrospect, but the point I was trying to make was that the bishies are the husbandos.

 

[ApeEscaper]

Oh yes my bad yeah it's sometimes easy to mistake some males as females in this game unless second close look

And yeah as you say some male variety would be nice in builds and looks etc most are too samey atm feminine young looking

 

[Belthazar90]

Haven't played the game yet... but the amount of free content seems to be staggering and the gacha aspects don't even seem to be really intrusive (you don't really need more characters to enjoy the game, do you?)... With that in mind, I wouldn't mind spending around $60 to support the devs if the game offers that much content.

 

[Lump]

Haven't played the game yet... but the amount of free content seems to be staggering and the gacha aspects don't even seem to be really intrusive (you don't really need more characters to enjoy the game, do you?)... With that in mind, I wouldn't mind spending around $60 to support the devs if the game offers that much content.

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If you don't care about leaderboards, waifu/husbando collecting, or min/maxing builds and damage for bragging rights, then Genshin Impact is going to offer players a huge world and incredible elemental-combo combat system along with amazing side character stories along with a fun main quest for $0. Best deal of the year.

If you do care about leaderboards, waifu/husbando collecting, and/or min/maxing builds and damage for bragging rights, then Genshin Impact will cost you about $2000-$5000.

 

[Kentsui]

Haven't played the game yet... but the amount of free content seems to be staggering and the gacha aspects don't even seem to be really intrusive (you don't really need more characters to enjoy the game, do you?)... With that in mind, I wouldn't mind spending around $60 to support the devs if the game offers that much content.

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The game certainly seems to go the extra mile when it comes to the content available, but gacha games are not stranger to the concept of showering you with content, character and currencies early, only to have you realize, once you complete the 'story' part that they had you waste the valuable resources all along, that the less valuable ones are an actual sliver of what is necessary, and that the charcters you got for free are limited in power if not obsolete for new/harder content even if you don't try to compete at the top ...

I started Honkai last week-end to see how they handle their games, and while I'm very surprised at how it plays even on a phone, which is encouraging for Genshin because one of it's strength is cross platform play, the gacha side with weapons and characters and the overabundance of currencies plus what I've been reading about it isn't really reassuring xD

In the end it'll all be about how they balance things, we don't have the full picture one way or another yet, but it's not unreasonable to be worried about that side of the game.

I get the sense that this game could end up in a weird in-between, and you already can see it to an extent, being a mobile game at its core, but with such high production value, and coming on PC/PS4/Switch, it'll be over-praised by mobile players that can stomach a gacha, shat-on by those who have been burned-out already, but beyond it's presentation it'll also have to suffer the comparison with all the PC/PS4 F2P games that are highly regarded and not gachas.
It has the potential to end up in a similar situation as Black Desert Online is in the MMO space, highly regarded for it's presentation and some of it's systems, but despised for it's monetization and stupid grind, I can already see the 'I played Genshin impact for 2000 hours and I can't recommend it' reviews xD

 

[Tyaren]

Someone calculated Genshin Impact's current map size, how long it takes to traverse it and compares it to other open world games. Interesting to know:




And these are only 2 of the 7 nations that Genshin Impact's world, Teyvat, will be comprised of. It will be a huge and very diverse world.

 

[CrazyHal]

How much does the premium currency cost?

 

[Brodo Baggins]

Haven't played the game yet... but the amount of free content seems to be staggering and the gacha aspects don't even seem to be really intrusive (you don't really need more characters to enjoy the game, do you?)... With that in mind, I wouldn't mind spending around $60 to support the devs if the game offers that much content.

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I played the last beta, and the gacha characters/weapons were definitely way better than the ones earnable in game. You can grind for the resources to roll for new characters/weapons and it doesn't take too long (though this could easily be nerfed in the actual game, who knows). The content I played didn't seem like it required you to have the best weapons or characters, but I was still very early game.

I'm guessing it will be fun and enjoyable to play w/o them for the first ~20-30 hrs until you hit a wall where unless you open up that wallet it's going to be really hard to progress without excessive grinding. I'm still definitely going to check it out when it's free to play, mainly because I really like the BotW vibes and aesthetic but I won't sugar coat that the gacha design is definitely its worst aspect.

 

[Tyaren]

Haven't played the game yet... but the amount of free content seems to be staggering and the gacha aspects don't even seem to be really intrusive (you don't really need more characters to enjoy the game, do you?)... With that in mind, I wouldn't mind spending around $60 to support the devs if the game offers that much content.

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I played the last beta, and the gacha characters/weapons were definitely way better than the ones earnable in game. You can grind for the resources to roll for new characters/weapons and it doesn't take too long (though this could easily be nerfed in the actual game, who knows). The content I played didn't seem like it required you to have the best weapons or characters, but I was still very early game.

I'm guessing it will be fun and enjoyable to play w/o them for the first ~20-30 hrs until you hit a wall where unless you open up that wallet it's going to be really hard to progress without excessive grinding. I'm still definitely going to check it out when it's free to play, mainly because I really like the BotW vibes and aesthetic but I won't sugar coat that the gacha design is definitely its worst aspect.

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I played the game for about 40 hours now, I just finished the Mondstadt main story and I am about to jump to the one in Liyue. I have not "hit a wall" so far and it doesn't seem as if I am hitting one any time soon. I am actually quite overleveled and overequipped and the characters that were provided to me with the story served me well.
I have been playing the game like I play any single player JRPG. I followed the main story, did most side quests I came across (because they are really well done) and I explored about 80% of Mondstadt. I'm pretty thorough in my exploration, because it makes so much fun in this beautiful game world, but I'm not someone who has to 100% everything.
I have not dabbled in any of the dungeons, bosses or the abyss towers in which, I guess, people grind for experience, materials and the gacha currency. After pulling Noelle and Xingqiu at the very beginning and then having no luck with Venti, I ignored the gacha altogether. I have collected gacha curreny for about 30 pulls and I don't even use it. You simply don't need to unless you badly want a specific waifu or husbando.
If the game stays like this for its final release it will at the very least offer everybody about 40 hours (likely more, that's just how far I played so far) of a beautiful, charming and fun open world JRPG for free. Everyone who thinks they would enjoy playing the love child of Breath of the Wild and a Tales of game like Symphonia or Vesperia is imo crazy not to try it out for free. If that dreaded wall comes at some point, they can stop at any time and still had many hours of fun for free.
That's my take.

On another note, I really like the new, real-time cutscenes they added to the Mondstadt main story line. They are so clean and pretty and dynamic.

The villainess they newly introduced is also badass...and so mean! O:

 

[Candescence]

I really hope they add backgrounds to those subtitles, though, they're barely readable in that fourth pic.

 

[Tyaren]

I really hope they add backgrounds to those subtitles, though, they're barely readable in that fourth pic.

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Yes, the game will be fully voiced in English (and 4 other languages) though.
I of course realize that some people have a hearing disability and need those subtitles. Ot they want to hear the characters speak a languague they don't speak themselves, I guess.
I personally hope for an option to turn subtitles off. They are on by default and can't be switched off for now.

 

[AkiraAkira]

Random question: Can anyone who's played the beta tell me how much MC pandering/ego-stroking there is?

I know it's a weird question to ask but I'm just curious. Every gacha I've played has some level of pandering where the player insert or protagonist has multiple characters falling head over heels for them (or at least implying as such) and/or ego stroking. It's not always a deal breaker and I can deal with it in degrees, but sometimes it can really kill the game for me.

But so far there's no indication that there's anything like that in Genshin Impact, which I find pleasantly surprising. I just wanted to know if that holds true for those who have actually spent a lot of time playing.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lump]

Random question: Can anyone who's played the beta tell me how much MC pandering/ego-stroking there is?

I know it's a weird question to ask but I'm just curious. Every gacha I've played has some level of pandering where the player insert or protagonist has multiple characters falling head over heels for them (or at least implying as such) and/or ego stroking. It's not always a deal breaker and I can deal with it in degrees, but sometimes it can really kill the game for me.

But so far there's no indication that there's anything like that in Genshin Impact, which I find pleasantly surprising. I just wanted to know if that holds true for those who have actually spent a lot of time playing.

Thanks in advance!

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You're "chosen by the gods" but it sort of evens out that you suddenly become a silent protagonist after the first cutscene for whatever reason. None of the characters seem infatuated with the MC yet. More interestingly, there are characters you meet that seem to have history and infatuation with each other.

 

[Tyaren]

Random question: Can anyone who's played the beta tell me how much MC pandering/ego-stroking there is?

I know it's a weird question to ask but I'm just curious. Every gacha I've played has some level of pandering where the player insert or protagonist has multiple characters falling head over heels for them (or at least implying as such) and/or ego stroking. It's not always a deal breaker and I can deal with it in degrees, but sometimes it can really kill the game for me.

But so far there's no indication that there's anything like that in Genshin Impact, which I find pleasantly surprising. I just wanted to know if that holds true for those who have actually spent a lot of time playing.

Thanks in advance!

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None of the current playable character roster has developed a crush on the MC, the only thing coming a little close would be Lisa seemingly flirting with you and calling you "Cutie" once in a while. But that's it. They all are thankful and develop trust in you if you helping them out though.
In general this game has none of that imo very annoying harem anime pandering that for example Xenoblade Chronicles 2 exhibits. Some female characters have sexy designs, but none of them behaves or is treated by the game in an objectified manner.
Even characters like Klee or I guess also Paimon are just portrayed as super adorable, nothing else creepy going on there as is often the case in anime or games with loli characters.

 

[AkiraAkira]

Awesome! Thank you for the replies from both of you. I was also really annoyed by those elements in Xenoblade 2, so if you're not sensing much of that in this game then I'm confident I'll have a good time :)

 

[Tyaren]

I am really enjoying the dozens of books, magazines and travel guides you can find all over Teyvat. Not only are they interesting and help flesh out the world of Genshin Impact so much, they are also really well written, like an actual novel. This book I found in a little, hidden store and the beginning of the story already set the mood perfectly.

 

[Adhrast]

I am really enjoying the dozens of books, magazines and travel guides you can find all over Teyvat. Not only are they interesting and help flesh out the world of Genshin Impact so much, they are also really well written, like an actual novel. This book I found in a little, hidden store and the beginning of the story already set the mood perfectly.

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This is the kind of thing I love in games, like in Trails or Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, in game lore told by books is definitely one of my fetishes :D

 

[Tyaren]

This is the kind of thing I love in games, like in Trails or Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, in game lore told by books is definitely one of my fetishes :D

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Yep, I love bits of lore like that too. I can read stuff like that for hours in games like Skyrim or now Genshin Impact and I would say GI is actually among the best realized examples I came across. Not only are there plenty of books, magazines and travel guides to read, but they are actually really well written and often witty. It is actually entertaining to read them, not just for pure world information.

On another note, there's a new thread here discussing that and why no other games so far came close to Breath of the Wild's traversal experience.
Me: "There's actually Genshin impact! :)"
Everyone else: *ignoring me and keeping pretending there are no/hardly any other games like it*
Me: "Welp..."

 

[Raftina]

On another note, there's a new thread here discussing that and why no other games so far came close to Breath of the Wild's traversal experience.
Me: "There's actually Genshin impact! :)"

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Does Genshin Impact have Breath of the Wild's traversal experience. Remember that a lot of BotW's exploration is tied to its treatment of physics and cliffs, the impact of rain, and so on, which is why that topic was filled with posts about climbing. I was under the impression that Genshin lacks physics, so we do not have things like Beidou launching herself over a mountain with a boulder frozen in time. And it seems like Genshin uses roads and flight to traverse mountains, so there is much less of the feel of wilderness exploration.

Of course, I am not in the CBT, so I would love to be proven wrong.

 

[Tyaren]

Does Genshin Impact have Breath of the Wild's traversal experience.

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Yes, it comes very close. Closer than probably all other games.
And the OP wasn't talking about physics, they were talking primarily about being able to climb everywhere. When I showed them more traversal gameplay they were glad I made them aware of GI.

 

[Xshade90]

Does Genshin Impact have Breath of the Wild's traversal experience. Remember that a lot of BotW's exploration is tied to its treatment of physics and cliffs, the impact of rain, and so on, which is why that topic was filled with posts about climbing. I was under the impression that Genshin lacks physics, so we do not have things like Beidou launching herself over a mountain with a boulder frozen in time. And it seems like Genshin uses roads and flight to traverse mountains, so there is much less of the feel of wilderness exploration.

Of course, I am not in the CBT, so I would love to be proven wrong.

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You can climb, and that depletes your stamina, but in this game you will not slide while climbing if you are in an area that is raining. Also, you can't actually shoot arrows or spells while gliding in the air.

 

[Tyaren]

You can climb, and that depletes your stamina, but in this game you will not slide while climbing if you are in an area that is raining. Also, you can't actually shoot arrows or spells while gliding in the air.

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I actually wished one could attack from the air. :( There is just one character, Xiao, who can. That's his special ability and so it likely won't be a thing later down the line for other characters and in general.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

I actually wished one could attack from the air. :( There is just one character, Xiao, who can. That's his special ability and so it likely won't be a thing later down the line for other characters and in general.

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The second .gif actually showcases my pet-peeve with Genshin. Animations are momentum canceling, as soon as the character does the down-thrust attack animation they lose all forward momentum they got from the jump. I noticed this alot when I played the previous beta when flying and it honestly always stuck out with me in a bad way, I hoped they would change that :(

 

[Tyaren]

Each new location I come upon is so picturesque:

 

[AkiraAkira]

IN. MY. VEINSSSSS.

 

[Tyaren]

IN. MY. VEINSSSSS.

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I've played many open world games and the only other game region that ever came close to the beauty and magic of Genshin Impact is Toussaint in The Witcher 3. Genshin Impact even tops Toussaint for me though.

And it's not just superficial beauty, every locale has a meaning and history. There is always a villager, a traveller, an archeologist, a book, a sign or an inscription around that fills you in on the lore of a place.
Like, see a weirdly shaped mountain. It has a name and there is a legend as to why it is shaped that way. Come across ancient ruins and there is a tourist from a far off country that can tell you all about its history in return for getting them past that dangerous ruin guard that blocks the entry. Notice an especially elaborate building in a city and a nearby citizen can tell you who it belongs to and on top of that you hear some juicy gossip about that person.
This game is virtual travel and sight seeing porn for fantasy world lovers. :)

 

[Rellyrell28]

Yup I'm definitely playing this when it comes out.

 

[-Le Monde-]

Looks so pretty. Hope we can play it soon.

 

[Raftina]

I am really loving the mountain village visuals and the fields carved into steps on their sides. Thank you for sharing these images.

Tempted to post some of these on a BotW2 forum and claim they are leaked images. >_>

 

[Tyaren]

Tempted to post some of these on a BotW2 forum and claim they are leaked images. >_>

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I had a very similar thought before, lol. Genshin Impact is unknown enough, but the art style and scale is close enough to surely fool some.
The image quality gives away these are no Switch screens though. They are downsampled from 4K.

 

[Adhrast]

I keep coming back to this thread every day, and it pains me so much that I can't play it immediately.
Jesus, I can't remember the last time I was so hyped about a game.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Just let me buy a founder's pack with early access already. The beta seemed to go pretty smoothly and have lots of content from everything I've read.

 

[Adhrast]

Just let me buy a founder's pack with early access already. The beta seemed to go pretty smoothly and have lots of content from everything I've read.

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I too wish they went the Hi-Rez way: you want to play right away? Pay for the early access, otherwise just wait for the full release.
I get there might still be things to iron out, but judging from what I've seen and read, it seems to be in a very good state, more so than many AAA games which were released in an embarassing state (ME Andromeda and FFXV come to mind).

I try to reiterate a question I've asked before: is it a demanding game on PC? Can it run (on low settings) on iGPU?

 

[Synohan]

According to the Discord, Genshin Impact is releasing on Andriod/IOS/PC sometime in September. PS4 will not launch at the same time and will instead have another beta on July 30th, exclusive to people who already applied in the North and South America regions only. Most likely to address some of the issues i've seen being reported about the PS4 versions performance.

 

[Deleted member 56266]

 

[AkiraAkira]

Hyppeeeeeeee

 

[Tyaren]

Wow, great news for everyone who is going to play this on PC and mobiles! :D I just hope that the PS4 release won't be too long after that. The PS4 beta did seem to have a couple more errors, bugs and glitches...

PS4 will not launch at the same time and will instead have another beta on July 30th, exclusive to people who already applied in the North and South America regions only. Most likely to address some of the issues i've seen being reported about the PS4 versions performance.

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But we are having that beta right now already? How will there be an additional beta in 7 days? I'm also assuming the current beta will run for at least a couple more weeks considering the Chinese CBT 3 ran 6 weeks and ours now onliy ran 3 weeks.

 

[Synohan]

Wow, great news for everyone who is going to play this on PC and mobiles! :D I just hope that the PS4 release won't be too long after that. The PS4 beta did seem to have a couple more errors, bugs and glitches...



But we are having that beta right now already? How will there be an additional beta in 7 days? I'm also assuming the current beta will run for at least a couple more weeks considering the Chinese CBT 3 ran 6 weeks and ours now onliy ran 3 weeks.

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The current beta ends on July 27th. It looks like the New PS4 beta will be a clean slate, with invitations being sent out on by the 29th.

 

[Tyaren]

The current beta ends on July 27th. It looks like the New PS4 beta will be a clean slate, with invitations being sent out on by the 29th.

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This is terrible. According to this only PS4 EU players won't be able to play more of the beta after July 30th. That is so unfair. :( We had only 3 weeks. Chinese beta players had 6 weeks and American beta players will get more too.

 

[Synohan]

This is terrible. According to this only PS4 EU players won't be able to play more of the beta after July 30th. That is so unfair. :( We had only 3 weeks. Chinese beta players had 6 weeks and American beta players will get more too.

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Yeah, it's really strange that they're excluding other PS4 players. You'd think they'd just carry on with the PS4 players they already have and have already experienced the issues of the current PS4 version. They'd be able to tell if certain issues are better and have been fixed since they've already experienced it during the initial final beta.

 

[Tyaren]

My last batch of travel photos of this beta since they are pulling the plug already in the next couple of days.

I am kinda salty, not gonna lie. Western beta testers only had half as much time as Chinese testers and EU PS4 testers are also excluded from continuing on PS4 in August as American testers are able to. :/

 

[Imitatio]

Right now this basically is the only other open world game I am really hyped about aside from BotW 2 and a new Xenoblade. By the looks of it this really scratches those itches.
Too bad, though, that news on the Switch version are probably very far out still, considering the current state. I'll have an eye on it when it releases on PS4, though.

Beautiful screenshots, Tyaren

 

[Tyaren]

New character Sucrose was officially revealed:

Sucrose is an alchemist using the power of anemo (wind):

Everyone who, like me, talks to every NPC in the game already knows a bit about her, because especially the alchemist Timmaeus on Mondstadt's market square shared a bit of gossip about her (she's a real shut-in workaholic not seeing much light of day) and her teacher Albedus, the head alchemist of the Knights of Favonius. I expect him (maybe the first a little older male character?) to be a playable character too at some point.

Right now this basically is the only other open world game I am really hyped about aside from BotW 2 and a new Xenoblade. By the looks of it this really scratches those itches.
Too bad, though, that news on the Switch version are probably very far out still, considering the current state. I'll have an eye on it when it releases on PS4, though.

Beautiful screenshots, Tyaren

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For me it definitely scratches those itches. Since Breath of the Wild I had not as much fun exploring an open world. GI imo also does a couple of things better than BotW. It feels more streamlined and hassle-free to explore the world. For example no slipping on wet rocks, less annoying/unnecessary animations or physics that slow you down or hinder you, your inventory is basically limitless, so no constant stopping and management, no breaking weapons and cooking is faster and less trial and error too. (Of course BoTW also does a few things that GI doesn't do as well or at all.)

And thanks, I'm glad someone enjoys my walls and walls of photos,. ;)

 

[Adhrast]

This wait is exhausting, I literally don't care about what Nintendo releases until the holiday season anymore, I just want Genshin now argh

 

[Kito]

As someone who knows little about this game, what can we expect from it's multiplayer aspect? Is co-op going to be concentrated around battle more like a GaaS such as Dauntless, or a truly open-world exploration game such as Breath of the Wild that we can explore together with friends?

 

[Tyaren]

This wait is exhausting, I literally don't care about what Nintendo releases until the holiday season anymore, I just want Genshin now argh

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The full game release is, after already playing over 60 hours, my most anticipated game for the end of this year. I'm actually looking forward more to this than PS5 games ike Miles Morales or Kena: Bridge of Spirits, which I am really excited for.
It sucks that they'll take the beta from me in a couple days. ;__;

As someone who knows little about this game, what can we expect from it's multiplayer aspect? Is co-op going to be concentrated around battle more like a GaaS such as Dauntless, or a truly open-world exploration game such as Breath of the Wild that we can explore together with friends?

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As someone who neither played co-op in this (but I know stuff about it and watched footage of it) and also doesn't play any other GasSs, I can't tell you that much about it. Co-op is imo more of a fun gimmick in this game. You are basically with your friend or a couple of friends thrown into the open world and you can mess around, explore, clear dungeons and bosses together. I guess it makes levelling and collecting materials a little faster and easier. There are also some special events that you can only partake in co-op.
There are limits though, you can't do story quests, side-quests, story dungeons or story bosses together. While you can collect items in your friend's world you can't share items someone else already owns.
As I said, it's imo a fun gimmick, but single player is the main focus of this game.

On a different topic, this game has the nicest cartoon/cel-shaded water graphics, in particular waterfalls, that I have ever seen in game. It's so blue/turquoise, clear, sparkly and reflective. I constantly want to jump in and drink it all up, lol.

 

[Hassansan]

Glad they didn't follow pokemon and go with realistic water, that looked nasty when everything else was anime.