Any game that’s branded as a “free-to-play” title is almost immediately going to get inundated with any number of negative connotations and accusations alike. Long-winded, grind-inducing, predatory, a matter of luck over skill on the kind of content you’re granted outside of some voluntary, monetary investment. It may sound dismissive and pessimistic, but the number of such games whose priorities with maintaining a steady revenue stream doesn’t get in the way of the base game offered are few and far between. Enter Genshin Impact, developer miHoYo’s far from first rodeo on the F2P frontier — itself thrown many a condescending remark on being a clone of this or imitation of that. The similarities are there to see of course and while admittedly a touch obvious in parts, what I’m most thankful for with Genshin Impact is the genuine effort and design miHoYo have placed in crafting an enjoyable action RPG to start. A live service, continually-expanding release this may be, Genshin Impact’s starting world, its gameplay, its sheer breadth of exploration put many similar open-world efforts, let alone F2P attempts, to shame. To state with hand on heart I’ve now clocked near to 40 hours and still not spent a single penny — occasionally tempting it may be — I’m grateful that Genshin Impact has taken a more sensible approach to F2P games: satisfying base game first, additional monetization second as an option.

6.0 Banners Genshin Impact’s Fischl, the self-proclaimed Prinzessin der Verurteilung, is surprisingly effective despite being a 4-star character. Past her obsession with fantasy and her tendency to over-formalize her speech, she synergizes well with teammates and is a great catalyst for elemental reactions. She is a good DPS but an even better sub DPS, allowing her to deal consistent damage without even being on the field by using her raven, Oz. Her unique talents give her the potential to be an irreplaceable member of any team lin

Since this 4-star bow is given to players for free through the Stormterror boss fight and is also available through wishing, it’s a great option for players who want a bow that they can refine relatively easily. This weapon gives a bonus to energy recharge, which quickens the rate at which elemental bursts become available. The effect that this weapon wields, Windfall, provides a 60 percent to 100 percent chance of generating six energy, depending on refinement. The level of refinement also changes how often this effect can be triggered, from 12 seconds at the first ascension level to six seconds at the fifth ascension le

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As you can see, there has been a diverse line-up of video games to be thankful for this past year. Let us know one of your favorite releases of 2020 in the comments below and share how it may have impacted your life in any way!

Kokomi actually makes Hydro Resonance worthwhile though. The bonus healing lets Kokomi keep your team’s health topped-off in the thickest of battles, and the extra healing can be converted to extra damage as well if Kokomi is using the Ocean-Hued Clam Artifact

As with most notable characters in the game, Kokomi is also playable (provided you got lucky with your Wishes). She’s a Hydro Catalyst user who slots comfortably into the role of a healer, but possesses a variety of unique strengths that might make her the optimal choice for your team. For those who choose to utilize her, this list will cover some tips to optimize Kokomi’s potential and make her a fishy force to be fea

Prototype Amber and Sacrificial Fragments can also be good four-star options for Kokomi’s weapon, but the former will cost you Forging materials while the latter relies on some decent gacha luck to obtain. As a three-star drop Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers is fairly common, so most players have at least one copy and getting its Refinements should be easier as w

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Choosing a game to be thankful for in 2020 can be tricky. Given the current state of the world and how many of us are looking for ways to keep occupied while cooped up, I feel like we should be thankful for virtually any good, engaging games. But the one that I was thankful for the most is a game that felt optimistic, warm, comforting and colorful. Even if said game is about ferrying the souls of the dead towards the afterlife. I am, of course, referring to Thunder Lotus’ Spiritfarer. Aside from being a possible GOTY contender in general, Spiritfarer hit a certain sweet spot for me, not only giving me the freedom to craft an insane ship filled with tons of activities and giving me an open world to explore, but also providing one of the year’s best casts of characters. Azul, Gustav, Stanley…all of them were a blast to hang out with and I truly felt a bond between them as I learned more about their stories. It got to the point where I actually purchased the art book because I heard it had more info about them, and once I learned what not only went into their backstories, but how the world around them is all related to everyone and Stella in various ways, and the absolute tons of metaphorical layers that went into everything, I couldn’t stop thinking about Spiritfarer for the longest time, about how what I thought were small bits suddenly had much more meaning. And all of this is just so refreshing. In a year where other games try to attempt drama by being continuously blunt, bleak and depressing by presenting horrible situation after horrible situation to the point where it almost cartoonishly feels like award bait and you stop caring about everyone in the plot, Spiritfarer decided to go hard in the opposite direction. Vibrant landscapes, cute animal characters who just want to hang out with you, a vast ocean filled with magical adventures…all of this means that when the emotional moments reveal themselves in a natural way and do hit, they hit hard. Spiritfarer never stops being comforting as a whole, but it deals with the themes of death and how everyone approaches them in such a beautiful, mature fashion. It’s a brilliant bit of fantasy with the year’s best writing and it’s something we all need right now.