Genshin Impact PS4 Preview – Welcome Back to Teyvat

After playing many hours of the previous Genshin Impact beta, I am once again entering the world of Teyvat to explore its many offerings. However, this time, I’m playing on PlayStation 4, which is the first time that I’ve actually played the game on console. For the most part, the developers have done a great job porting this game to console, but that’s not without a few bumps in the adventure.

Playing Genshin Impact on PS4 was an overall excellent experience. However, early on, you’ll quickly notice that the loading screens between areas are simply unacceptable. For reference, I was able to respond to several emails and check my Twitter after simply entering a door. I couldn’t imagine what these load times will be on the proposed Nintendo Switch version that’s also in development.

Once you do get into the world, everything pretty much resembles the PC version. When it comes to controller support, the developer opted to use a wheel style menu to switch between characters and quickly access menu items. However, the load times also affect the in-game menus. It’s like the game freezes for a second when accessing any of these options. It’s more apparent when you accidentally open a menu in the heat of battle.

There’s no denying that exploring every inch of this world is rewarded with treasure and quests. This is not a game that you can rush through, and the developers make sure of that by making milestones a bit of grind to get to. Everything is tied to your Adventure’s Rank, which slowly raises as you complete quests, find waypoints, or open chests. I will say that the multiplayer mode needs to be unlocked at a lower rank. Given that it probably took you a week to unlock it, you’ve already explored everything and aren’t able to do that with your friends.

Similar to RPGs such as Dungeon’s and Dragons, everywhere you go will contain some new quest or place to explore. It’s exceptionally exciting when you’re just wondering around and come across a large area that acts as a grave for fallen warriors, or you might encounter a secret boss. It’s these moments that make this game truly enjoyable and consistently entertaining. The questlines themselves have actual substance as well and don’t feel like mindless fetch quests.

The main quests are tied to trial dungeons that put your skills to the test. Each character has access to an elemental attack, which can be combined with other characters to create chain combos. Freezing an enemy and then electrocuting them will cause extra damage, and those elements can also be used on the environment. I really enjoyed the creativity the developers added to these dungeons as they are each unique and capped off with a difficult boss battle.

I’m not sure I understand the gacha systems of this game very well since it revolves around different materials acquired through gameplay. Some of these materials can be crafted, but ultimately, I think this whole system needs to be revamped to be easier to understand for non-gacha players. Multiple banners heavily resemble the developer’s mobile titles, so I think taking a different approach for this game might make it more approachable to fans who aren’t knowledgeable of the microtransaction-like feature.

When leveling up, players might be confused about the random mobs that are found around the map. I learned early on just to ignore these groups as the experience earned does little to nothing for your party. However, if they are protecting a chest, then all gloves are off. Chests contain materials and equipment that can raise the level of your character and their weapons quickly. It’s sort of an oversite since fighting is relatively fun, but it offers nothing of substance if a chest isn’t involved.

When it comes to controller support, I think that the touchpad of the DualShock 4 controller should be tied to the Map. Having quicker access to that would be great. Also, having speedier access to healing items would also make my life a lot easier instead of having to go into the item menu, make my way to the food, and then healing.

It’s undeniable, Genshin Impact is an incredibly fun adventure. It’s a game where you start playing and then realize that five hours have passed, but you still have so much to do. Traveling from point A to point B gives you a range of quests, secret battles, rare materials, and more. There’s room to improve load time and adjust controller support, which is why this beta will ultimately assist the developers in bringing the best experience to players. We look forward to its upcoming release.