Zelda lookalike Genshin Impact is heading to the Nintendo Switch

Criticized for looking like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it’s coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and mobile

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Zelda lookalike Genshin Impact is heading to the Nintendo Switch

Josh Ye

Published: 10:05pm, 22 Jan 2020Updated: 5:11pm, 16 Feb 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Genshin Impact, the controversial The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild lookalike, is headed to the Nintendo Switch, but industry watchers say that it has a better chance of success on mobile.

After finding success with mobile game Honkai Impact 3rd, rising Chinese game developer miHoYo is finally getting ready to launch Genshin Impact. The Shanghai-based company has now said it plans to release the title on PlayStation 4, PC and mobile. And with a bit of irony, the game is also headed to the Nintendo Switch.

What’s ironic about that? Well, Genshin Impact is a cel-shaded, open-world adventure game featuring a warrior who awakens from a long slumber and journeys to rescue a loved one in an apocalyptic world. During this journey, the player is tasked with traversing varied terrain, exploring dungeons, slaying enemies, solving puzzles and unraveling the secrets of the world.

Left: Genshin Impact. Right: Breath of the Wild. (Picture: miHoYo/Nintendo)

Sound familiar? It did to Chinese netizens who accused miHoYo of copying Nintendo’s latest Zelda game.

Genshin Impact is also similar in other ways. It replicates a lot of the classic maneuver mechanics of Breath of the Wild. Climbing, swimming and shooting arrows in midair feel almost exactly the same.

But all these similarities don’t necessarily make the Chinese game a perfect fit for the Switch. In addition to the game living in the shadow of Breath of the Wild, there are differences that have industry watchers thinking it’s better suited for smartphones and tablets.