Video: Comparing Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Clone Genshin Impact To The Original

There are a lot of similarities between them. No way around it. That opening shot is a blatant rip off. And the general aesthetic is clearly very much inspired by botw. But it's ok. It looks good, and though it seems to cater to a slightly different crowd, it might still be a pretty decent game 🙂

It's like playing zelda but with the power of GOD AND ANIME ON MY SIDE. AHHHHHHHHH

Yes, they look similar.

There, were done.

Seems odd to me that Xenoblade 2 is never mentioned in these comparisons because the player character models and building interiors look like they were plucked directly from it.

art style is close but not the same

what seems similar is the bow combat, and the bokoblin camps

Mechanically, Genshin Impact is a complete copy of BOTW, aside from some of the combat that it lifts from other games like Nier:A.

However, it carves its own IP niche just enough to get away with it. Even if Nintendo is privately offended, they will most likely look the other way because their relationship with China is too tentative right now to challenge them with a lawsuit. Nintendo is trying very hard to tap into the Chinese market.

Looks like the usual 3rd person action/rpg to me.

I didn't see weapons breaking so that's a positive for Genshin.

BE HONEST

they couldn't have just chosen a different color palette? and maybe scale the FOV back another 10 feet? idk

Don't care how similar it is. It looks like a fun game. The story and combat looks sufficiently different enough for me to justify purchasing it (providing there are no dreadful bugs of course).

Looks fun, being like botw is supposed to be a good thing isnt it?

Looks like a poor man's Zelda. It looks so cheaply made that is doesn't appear to do anything new while coping a game that started development like what, 6 years ago. This is a rushed hollow game that is all looks and no substance.

Can we stow the Genshin/BotW comparisons away for a while? Unless Nintendo is suing on copyright grounds, I really don't see how it matters that much.

This game should have been a release title for the Alienware ufo

@kenyowa
It is a legitimate comparison. While the character designs and magic/sword combat are different enough to skirt under the radar of IP laws (so far), there is a legitimate conversation to have about a studio, Chinese or otherwise, comprehensively lifting game design from one game to another.

Clickbait is strong with this one

Sure they look similar, but this game actually looks like something I'll finish. I hated the combat in BOTW. Also disliked the shrines.

In a design point of view, its aweful compared to Botw. Sure, both games are at some extension cell shaded, but Botw gorgeous open world comes to life with its fantastic lightning and shadowing effects, while that other game just looks like Dragon Quest 11.

@Ulysses I find it frustrating that to please the almighty investor love of the large Chinese market the world is now just supposed to close their eyes and ignore rampant Chinese IP theft so as not to cause friction. If someone in Sweden made this, Nintendo legal would be slamming down iron fists.

@Stu13 To be fair, Monolith helped out on BotW, so it may well be many of the same artists designed those spaces.

@NEStalgia Monolith Soft Tokyo and Monolith Soft Kyoto are two different studios though. The former develops the Xenoblade games, and the latter helps Nintendo with in-house development on titles like Splatoon, Pikmin, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, etc.

The complains.. dont like it? Dont buy it.
Looks fun to play, if it gets a demo i will try it.
It looks like zelda (level design) but hey we get another game.
Moaning like this is what keeps developers away.

@Ulysses This might have been a decent video to make when the game was announced for PS4. But the comparisons are old and stale. We get it-- the games are very similar. The horse, like that Playstation 4, has already been beaten to death. Unless there's any real news about it, it's time to move on.

Calling Genshin Impact a "BotW clone" is a bit much. There are some aesthetic similarities, but otherwise the games look quite different.

@isellpixels the bow combat in genshin looked more like the bow combat in monster Hunter world.

Edit NVM. I was referring to the first clip of bow combat. But the aiming later on seems the same....but really how different can you make aiming be?

@NEStalgia there’s no way this is IP theft. IP laws protect Nintendo’s characters, script, and code, but they don’t cover art styles, thematic content, or gameplay direction.

Only Nintendo can make Breath of the Wild 2, but anyone can make a Breath of the Wild ripoff.

At least it's female based. But being similar is a match but then again games are building on a game that is successful and whom says that it wouldn't happen.

Similar aesthetics, which is only a really REALLY positive thing (BotW is gorgeous, and so is Genshin Impact).

The combat is NOTHING alike, the movement system is NOTHING alike.

It's not a clone.

They just happen to use the same art style for environments. And they're honest about their inspiration, which is a massive credit to BotW and to themselves as well (if you can spot quality and let it inspire you, chances are you're heading in a good direction).

Nah, this is game is inspired by BoTW and so it's somewhat similar. I am interested in it but it better be worth it and not a cheap knockoff. If you really want blatant copying then look no further than that alienware UFO crap. That UFO handheld is basically the Switch for computers and I am disgusted by it. I hope it fails because I can't stand companies that ripoff other people's work.

The game is obviously, and rightly, inspired by BtoW, but it doesn't look like it plays even remotely the same. How anyone could possibly be complaining is beyond me. All i have wanted since I finished BotW is another game that is even close to what BotW is. It is my sincerest hope that we get another half dozen games that take this much inspiration from BotW.

I like the diverse selection of playable characters in Genshin Impact, but Breath of the Wild clearly has more detail. Now I'm curious about Genshin's soundtrack.

Two different game clearly. No complaint from me.

I’m so angry. I’m gonna break my 2600

@The-Chosen-one Don't you get it? We have to complain! It's in our nature to find flaws in everything. Just the other day, I complained that my mint latte wasn't green enough and threw it back in the barista's face before slamming her head into the counter. Then I complained that her screams were hurting my ears.

The real question is how good will the story be and will it be fun to play. Can't wait to find out.

REEEEEEEEE!!! IT LUKS LIEK ZILDA!!! ONLI NITENMBO CAN DO DIS!!!

Looks fun, bit different, I'll pick it up. Why wouldnt I want something similar to something I like? More of a thing I like? Absolutely not!!! eye roll

Comparing the two together really shows off how empty BotW is. At least this game looks like it has fun combat.

@DrDaisy

Hahaha your comment made my day.

This makes me want to comb through the articles about Axiom Verge.

Imho it looks like they only changed the crew... It's crazy they did this. Anyway I had enough of Breath Of The Wild after 250 hours, so I don't think I will try up a sort of clone.

I miss Viewtiful Joe

Lol every anime rpg and games like dragon quest 11 and ni no kuni that uses similar graphics, is that like zelda aswell?

Could of sworn the zelda creator said they used different ideas from other modern Rpg's when making BOTW.

Coming from Honkai Impact, I’m excited about this game coming to Switch!
I’m glad MiHoYo is making a console game and I look forward to spending lots of time in their new world!

@Xylnox wasn't the original xbox a rip off of the ps2? Psp a rip off of the gameboy? Kinsect a rip off of the PlayStation eye toy and wii together? Is evry tv company ripping off the first manufacturer of a TV?

this could go on for ever but its just innovation and companies see that innovation and use it to inspire there own work? The UFO is a proper piece of kit that will have over a 1000 games at launch and hundreds of AAA games as well, a Real rip off is those Chinese devices that just play retro games

They should have copied old Square/Capcom games and put "retro Pixel art" in the marketing 🙃

I draw the line if they "copied" climbing up a tall building (I mean tower) to scan a new part of the map... I never saw that before ZBOTW.

@Ulysses I'm sure that will work out great. Hollywood had such success trying to appease China and they didn't have to alter all their movies or anything like that.

The comparison makes me appreciate the level of detail BOTW put into making their environment look real and lived in. That doesn't make me want to go back and play though. So I'll give Genshin a shot when the price drops to a reasonable level. Like others have said, who cares as long as its fun. Copying is different from stealing art assets and from the comparison it appears no theft has occurred so its all good unless Nintendo's lawyers can prove otherwise

Sick clickbait. Prepared for the next article on copied Platinum Games/DMC animations to get more ez clicks. Squeeze anything you can from one thing.

I love Zelda games but to be honest I think I'll have more fun and enjoyment playing this than I do with Zelda Breath Of The Wild (which I still haven't finished despite buying at launch..)

@playstation_king That is true. What I was trying to say is the UFO is the computers version of the Switch. Nintendo did all the work as in designing, researching etc., to come out with the Switch but the company behind the UFO wanted to do the same thing but for computers and they were like, let's make it look and be like the Switch. :/

As for the older systems you mentioned, almost all of them looked different than their competitors. The UFO did just like the Chinese and just copied most of the design but the difference is it's going to play computer games. They couldn't even come up with a different design. They just did a few small changes here and there. I really hope Nintendo will be able to sue them for copyright infringement. But this is just my opinion. If you like it and buy it, then I hope you have fun with it.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

@Anti-Matter are you being serious?🤪 What does that have to do with any of this mentioned??? Free of violence?? From a guy that plays pokémon?? Forcing poor little animals to beat each other to submission??? Yea right free of violence 😊..

What about super Metroid and a robot named fight?

Was there this much of a push to call something a knockoff when Hercules: The Legendary Journeys released on the N64?

Course not, that wasn't Chinese.

I’m not even gonna front, this looks like something I’ll like WAY more than BOTW. The breakable weapons, incessant cooking, and near-endless wandering around straight up ruined that game for me. This looks rad.

I couldn't stop looking at the Zelda side of the screen. Zelda is just a better-looking game

The quality surely varies from article to article.

@kenyowa
I do agree that this particular article is cursory at best and clickbait at worst, with just a paltry 2-minute comparison video.

To be fair to NintendoLife, there is an excuse to revisit the conversation now that Genshin Impact has been confirmed for the Switch.

However, I believe the bigger significance is the fact that GI is releasing outside of China in the first place. If it was isolated to just Chinese markets, then it would have been easier for Nintendo, and critics, to write off. Now that it's releasing in more traditional gaming markets, I believe games like Genshin Impact deserve much more scrutiny before being accepted as legitimate by the gaming industry at large.

It looks fun, what's the issue? ¯ಠಠ_/¯ Also it kind of looks nicer to watch than BoTW lol

How many Super Mario and Mario Kart clones are there and no one bats an eye? If this game is only 10% as good as BOTW, it will still be a good game. And this gives us something to keep us busy until BOTW2. I'll be buying this when it releases. All the haters can go smash their consoles

@MattyHammo Remember when Sony tried to copy Smash Bros and everyone said it was gonna be amazing.

@Xylnox I can understand what you mean, but then again if companies want to make an handheld with attachable Controllers then theres not much design choice, it has to be a small tablet screen with two attachable Controllers on either side. I won't be buying the UFO as I'm happy with my switch and ps4 but I'm glad theres now different ways to play pc games instead of just keyboard and mouse.

Nintendo must of known this would happen, they have have started a new trend in gaming and I think the UFO won't be the last

@mesome713 I think the problem with playstation all stars was the fact that smash bros existed.

Smash bros was too high of a game to compete with and playstation all stars failed in comparison, but it was still a good game and maybe would of got a better reception if smash bros wasn't around.

But with genshin I don't think it's trying to be a zelda type game, it's mainly competing in the anime jrpg market, people shouldn't go into this game expecting a zelda clone with zelda type gameplay, which is articles like this are mis leading people into thinking so

There are so many games that look like that, so what? Did Nintendo invent cel shading?

@Anti-Matter Having played through Yonder to the end, i actually understand your comparison. I definitely remember the beginning of Yonder when the main character exits a cave to an open world and makes a sly reference to Zelda. While i liked Yonder, the frame rate drops were annoying. I would give Yonder a 7 out of 10, and that is being generous. Breath of the Wild, on the other hand, is my favorite game of all time and deservedly called a masterpiece.

As if every game isn't a cut/paste project based on previous inspirations. This has been the structure for game design since its inception. Can companies get a little too close to other titles? Of course, but if you started thinking about what other games are heavily inspired/copied you'd name nearly the entire AAA catalog of the last several years without hesitating, and nobody bats an eye at that. The Outer Worlds/modern Fallout, Jedi Fallen Order/Dark Souls, Darksiders 3/Dark Souls, ANY military fps game/ANY military fps game... Game design is surprisingly limited when it comes to basic structure, so when something works, people throw their ideas into it and form their own world's.

I like that the clone has a more vibrant color palette. I hope Botw 2 has more vibrant colors even if it ends up having darker aesthetics.

I'm just glad it didn't "copy" botw's boring combat. And with that said, I really hope Botw 2 has a vastly improved combat system.

Is This from the same folks that made Honkai Impact ?

@Zeronull Yeah, it is

@Jack-kouhai i believe the main/starting character of that game stole bayonetta moveset 1 to 1

@Zeronull Never thought about that until now

It’s cute Bayonetta clone with cat paws instead of demon arms

@Jack-kouhai too bad that they need to copies move set like that, the game is quite fun and if i remember correctly, other character beside the main one have original moveset right ? i played it briefly back when the samurai girl just got released

A total rip off and a cheap copy

@NinjaWaddleDee yes youll finish the copycat instead of the original game which is a zelda and one of the best games in history 🤣

@Zeronull The game has seen a lot more content added to it and most of the other characters are unique and interesting

Tons of improvements and interesting character arcs within the story

@T7Hokage017 Yeah, let's stop calling it a clone. It's not. It just ripped off every single feature that made BOTW great.
The appropriate word is "rip-off"

@T7Hokage017 yeah nintendo fans about this stuff are cray cray. I agreed with you and it's normal imo for some games to look like others.

@DanskCarvalho nah lets have the game dark! joke there..hehe

It's not really our problem if it's a blatant rip-off, it's Nintendo's. If it's a decent game, people will buy it.

It's not like we're going to stop buying Zelda games because there's a cheap waifu clone out there.

BotW was obviously an inspiration for this game. However I think the colour palette of the 'clone' is more appealing (to me). I've always thought BotW was a bit bland / brownish / greyish (except maybe for the Gerudo town). Also, Nintendo did not invent moving grass.

watching the combat, it kind of reminded me of Eternal Sonata, which may be an obscure game (it's on PS3, maybe others)

it's not like BotW completely invented the genre of anime rpg/action rpg whatever

We get it! They're similar in some ways, still doesn't mean we have to shut it down for taking some assets and making it their own. It's like when someone makes a minecraft or Dark souls clone. They took elements that are primary to that genre and crafted something of their own with differences in combat and story. Next you'll tell me that BOTW was the first game to have an open world adventure and breakable weapons. Geez, give it a chance first before saying anything.

Why wouldn't you want BOTW clone? Surely this is a good thing?

I don't care. If they made a good game copying from one of the best games around, I'll take it and play. But I find it really hard to understand if this game is good or not...

If anything this video showed how different it was. I thought it was basically a clone. We wrong when side by side

I was waiting for more similarities in the Video... The only real rip off seems to be the camps. The rest was not really invented by Nintendo like stamina, freeze enemies, using a perk for stronger attacks etc. Also running on the beach is nkt BotW exclusive!

@USWITCH64 just buy it! I'm 99% sure you will like it! Get the cartridge, thouhh, so if you don't like you can sell without making any or just a little loss. Quite stable price!

The art style is what draws the comparisons, but Zelda doesn’t hold a monopoly on cel shading.

The aspect which most closely apes Zelda is a few of the enemies and camps. If that wasn’t part of the game I would say the only comparison is the art style which is aesthetics only.

But admittedly the enemies do imitate Zelda quite a bit. I hadn’t seen that before now so I suppose my opinion on this is evolving as I collect more data on the subject matter.

I still think it looks like a great game though. And at the end of the day, what else matters. Imitating one of the greatest video games of all time isn’t exactly a bad thing.

@T7Hokage017

It is a clone.
Same art style
Same type of enemies
Even the publishers have said a lot of inspiration came from BOTW.

Saying that I will get this game.

If I were to give BotW the same cursory view looking for unoriginal ideas I can find way more than the potentially unfair comparisons outlined here in this video: adding detail to a map by getting an Eagle's Eye view from Assassin's Creed, the "power up by holding longer" bow combat from more recent Assassin's Creed games, the weapons breakage from Dark Cloud, the gliding from Arkham Asylum, needing to cook, the cell shading, the general anime aesthetic which reminds me fondly of Lodoss War.

Nitpicked to death BotW is no more an original game than anything else. Ignore Genshin Impact if you don't want it, but don't pretend like Link climbing stuff as a major mechanic and necessity to progress was original either. It's unique for its totality and that's how people judged it. Shaming a game based purely on its visual similarities when it's animation and gameplay differ as a clone is pretty silly.

And? Not like botw has an original design.

There are definitely some similarities. I just hope it lives up to the hype. Some games just don't run well when they are released.

Can we talk about pros and cons of genshin itself?
I am interested in buying it, but all I get for now is that it looks like Botw (pro).
Any cons worth noting?
How is the gameplay?
I mean, this website told me nothing relevant about this game except the similarities already pointed out 10 times in previous articles.

Big deal.

You guys are awfully invested in this debate. The game is clearly inspired by the visuals of BotW, and some of the gameplay seems similar. The game may ultimately be very different, but it's the developers to try something different if they don't want to invite these comparisons.

Ultimately I'm going to wait and see what reviewers say. Until then, I have no opinion on the game's quality.

All I am gonna say, I hate these kind of discussions. I see no reason to discuss games like this IMO. The word "clone" triggers me a lot when it comes to video games. To me that is not the point of gaming.

At least Genshin impact they can do more than just swing a sword and use a bow.

@Ulysses I see no reason why Nintendo would try to challenge them to a lawsuit, even if they were not in a relationship with China.

Holy hell, grass is green in both games!?

RIP OFF!

This is making me feel ill how.bad this is. Imagine these guys making our best games.... Oh....the pain.. Arrrh stop 😂😂😂😂🚫

@NEStalgia us nerds need our game time. Even a moron says this is a waste of time. Nerds rejoice 🙄🗑️

@Ulysses nerds only care come on.what a joke. Could be getting a brain massage 😉🤔💆💆

@Dracavius so bad makes me sick 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮😭😭🤒🤒

Attack of the clones!

Has anyone ever told Alex that he, quite possibly, has the most annoying intro of all the (Youtube) vloggers? It's like he's throwing/gagging up the words 'Hello there, lovely people'. It triggers a gag-reflex from myself, actually...

I usually manage to skip it, but was caught by surprise and failed this time, hence the frustration. Change it.

@mesome713 someone hasn't seen the other works of mihoyo and it shows

@mother_brain_85 Have you seen mihoyo's works?

@dacosmicegg they didn't invent everything made in the game lmao why dont you call assassin's creed a ripoff

@Zeronull yeah, but later on they bring out much mroe interesting characters than a bayonetta clone, (which i agree on)

@SwitchForce you can play as male and female!

@bruhmomentosakur why do you mention a game that has very little do do with these two games?

@mesome713 We found the ignorant 7 year year old.

@ryobi85 Look guys a fake ass gamer who has an IQ lower than a slug.