It didn’t take long for the world to fall in love with Genshin Impact. Despite some predatory gacha mechanics, players can enjoy a grand story, gorgeous cel-shaded open world, exciting action combat, and a quirky roster of characters without paying a single penny.
If you’ve sank loads of time into Genshin Impact and are looking for something fresh to get lost in, we’ve put together a list of 10 addictive games like Genshin Impact that are sure to keep you hooked for a long time.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
To kick things off, let’s take a look at the game that heavily inspired Genshin Impact. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is widely considered to be one of the best open-world games ever made, and it’s no secret that the developers of Genshin Impact took heavy inspiration from Nintendo’s masterpiece.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild features a vast open world, populated by countless landmarks to investigate, dungeons to explore, and vistas to behold. The environment is diverse, with snowy mountains, sun-beaten deserts, wide open plains, tropical rainforests and many other biomes to explore.
As a game like Genshin Impact, you’ll be familiar with many of the traversal mechanics, including a stamina bar for swimming and climbing, as well as a glider to cross vast distances quickly and safely.
If you fell in love with Genshin Impact because of the exploration, then Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a must play.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising
Platforms: Windows, PS4 / 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Another game inspired by Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Immortals: Fenyx Rising will feel incredibly familiar to Genshin Impact fans. Similar to Genshin Impact, Immortals: Fenyx Rising uses the now famous stamina meter and glider to power exploration, and a huge open world to explore with countless points of interest.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising takes place in a fantastical, ancient Greek inspired world that takes the Greek Mythos and combines it with all the joy and trickery of Saturday morning cartoons. Expect infamous Greek gods, mythical creatures like minotaurs and cyclops, and plenty of ancient Greek architecture to feast your eyes upon.
Final Fantasy 14
Platforms: Windows, PS4 / 5
With multiple critically acclaimed expansions under its belt, Final Fantasy 14 has secured itself as one of the best MMORPGs on the market. This eastern MMO is packed full of content, with dozens of zones to explore, countless dungeons and raids to tackle, and, quite frankly, one of the best stories in video games.
We’ve included FF14 in our games like Genshin Impact not only because of the large open world and online elements. More specifically, we’ve included it because of the interchangeable class system that fans of Genshin Impact will be familiar with.
Also Read: The Best FFXIV Mods to Use
Unlike most MMOs, you don’t need to start a new character in FF14 to play a different class. Like Genshin Impact, you can change between classes on the fly; simply change your weapon and you’ll be able to level up and progress as a different class.
Nobody Saves The World
Platforms: Windows, PS4 / 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Nobody Saves The World is an indie gem that shares a similar combat system to Genshin Impact. In this game, you play as ‘Nobody’, a fairly unremarkable protagonist until you find a magic wand that allows you to shapeshift into tons of different forms.
There’s a large roster of forms to unlock, with new ones becoming available as you complete challenges and quests. Each one is wacky and has an entirely unique moveset, including a rat, a horse, an archer, a robot, a magician… and plenty more we won’t spoil here.
In combat, you’ll need to switch between forms regularly – which is where the comparison to Genshin Impact comes in. Different forms deal different types of damage, such as poison and light damage. To defeat enemies, you’ll need to combine status effects from the attacks of different forms, much like Genshin Impact.
Tales of Arise
Platforms: Windows, PS4 / 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
If you adored the art style of Genshin Impact, then Tales of Arise is probably a game for you. Both share a beautiful anime art style, larger than life anime characters, and over-the-top combat animations that really showcase what a powerhouse you are.
But the similarities between Tales of Arise and Genshin impact don’t stop there; both games feature addictive action combat and the ability to level up and play as multiple characters. Furthermore, each game has a large world to explore, although Tales of Arise’s open world is much more linear.
If you want an anime game similar to Genshin Impact that’s single-player and without gacha mechanics, you won’t go far wrong with Tales of Arise.
Honkai Impact 3rd
Platforms: Windows, Mobile
As you might have guessed by its name, Honkai Impact 3rd is developed by the team behind Genshin Impact. If you look at the two games side-by-side, it’s easy to see the similarities in presentation, and the gacha mechanics in both games are almost identical.
While Genshin Impact’s combat is a big part of the game, the primary draw for most players is the world, graphics, and exploration. This is where the two games differ, as Honkai Impact 3rd is all about the combat. While there are some exploration elements, the maps are much more linear, with nothing like the level of freedom that Genshin Impact offers.
That being said, the combat is widely considered to be best-in-class, offering the difficulty, depth, and variety to keep things fresh even after dozens of hours.
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Platforms: Windows, PS4 / 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Assassin’s Creed games have always had beautiful open worlds, but the latest few installments have taken the open world gameplay to another level. The most recent entry in the series, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, is arguably the series at its best, with a truly monolithic recreation of Anglo-Saxon England during the infamous Viking invasion.
Also Read:All Assassin’s Creed Games in Order & Ranked
You play as Eivor, a viking settler who sails to England to build renown for their clan. Over the 60+ hour campaign, you’ll raid monasteries, do battle with petty Kings, and stab more than a few baddies in the back.
Like Genshin Impact, the world is stunning to behold. You have unparalleled freedom in how you explore, as all castles, forts, temples, and every other building you can find in the game is climbable just like in Genshin Impact. The only difference here is that you’re not limited by a stamina bar.
Persona 5
Platforms: Windows, PS4 / 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
We’re dropping Persona 5 into this list, because although the gameplay similarities between Genshin Impact and Persona 5 are limited, the visual style of both games is so similar that we’re confident Genshin Impact players will thoroughly enjoy Persona 5.
Why? Because Persona 5 is one of the finest modern JRPGs in gaming, with an incredible anime art-style, charming and well-developed characters, with a super-engaging story. Persona 5 mixes deep turn-based combat with a social sim where you’ll live the life of a not-so-average Japanese high school student.
By day you’ll be attending classes, hanging out at after-school clubs, and hitting downtown to grab food or do a spot of shopping with your friends. By night, you and your friends will delve, quite literally, into the minds of the most debaucherous folk in town, doing battle with manifestations of their inner demons.
Like Genshin Impact, Persona 5 is wacky, and it’s great.
Dragon Quest 11: Echoes Of An Elusive Age
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Dragon Quest 11 is the latest JRPG to be released in this long-standing franchise, and by many it’s considered to be the best entry to date. It’s a must play for fans of Geshin Impact and anime games in general, mainly because of its gorgeous aesthetic and beautiful world to explore.
The world of Dragon Quest 11 isn’t as open as Genshin Impact, but each area is generously sized and a delight to explore. As you make your way through an epic 60+ hour quest to save the world, you’ll meet dozens of quirky characters, fight a plethora of fantastical enemies, and get distracted by sidequests galore.
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Ni No Kuni II is an epic adventure that, along with Genshin Impact, is the closest you’ll get to playing an anime. With beautiful cel-shaded graphics and a simple yet rewarding action combat system, Genshin Impact players will feel right at home.
Ni No Kuni II is a traditional-feelingJRPG with modern pacing and quality of life. You’ll spend time exploring the overworld from a birds-eye view (where your characters are transformed into cute bobbleheads), as well as fully 3D levels from a third-person perspective. These areas are quite linear, but offer enough branching paths and small open areas to allow for rewarding exploration.
There’s also an addictive kingdom-building mechanic that sees you transforming a few humble houses into a vast medieval city.
Final thoughts
Whether you love Genshin Impact for the beautiful cell-shaded graphics, the fluid action combat, or the sense of freedom that exploring the vast open world evokes, we’re confident that the games on this list will scratch some – or all – of those itches.
