TGO Daily | October 5, 2020 | Minecraft Updates + Genshin Impact
Do the format of these newsletters feel a bit bloated to you? I’m going to try something new today — feel free to let me know what you think.
Today, we take a look at two games in particular. Minecraft, which has made waves in multiple places all at once, and Genshin Impact, which weirdly flew under the radar despite its massive success.
I hope you’re well. Chat tomorrow :)
Adrian
In The News
Minecraft + Smash Bros
Last Friday, Nintendo announced that characters from Minecraft would be joining the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster. After Sakurai detailed how these characters will work in the game, the response has been somewhat overwhelming. Many people are impressed with how much work has gone into creating completely new mechanics (like mining and crafting), while maintaining the integrity and balance of the game. Even if you don’t play Smash, watching the video I linked above will give you an appreciation for how much work they put into a single new addition to their game. The characters will arrive on October 14th.
Minecraft
On Saturday, Mojang also detailed the newest update heading to Minecraft, titled “Caves & Cliffs.” As has become tradition with these updates, it’s making a lot of changes to the game. This includes:
A cave generation overhaul — different types of caves, stalactites/stalagmites, size and shape variations
A mountain generation overhaul — they’ll look more like real mountains, and might have mountain goats
An archeology system
Copper ore and crystal geodes
New mobs and animals
Unfortunately the team won’t be getting this out in the traditional winter timeline, and it’s currently scheduled for Summer 2021.
Minecraft Dungeons
Minecraft Dungeons is also getting a free update, which adds a new difficulty mode, new levels, and other in-game items. That comes with it’s third paid DLC, “Howling Peaks.” All of this, plus the introduction of full cross-play, is slated to come before the end of the year.
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is a game that has flown under the radar in the usual press outlets, despite blowing up on Twitch and selling extremely well. I missed the story completely.
If you’ve never seen it before, it’s a free-to-play game that is heavily reminiscent of Breath of the Wild. In the lead up to its release the relation was criticized, but the game has been received quite well.
It launched on PC, mobile, and PS4 on September 28th, and according to South China Morning Post, it marks the “biggest international launch of a Chinese game in history…” With 16 million preregistrations within China, and 5.3 million outside of it, the game had a lot of interest up to its release. The $100 million marketing budget certainly helped.
When you look at Genshin Impact, you couldn’t believe that it’s playable on a mobile device. Similar to other free-to-play mobile games though, it relies on gacha mechanics to make money. From what I can tell though, at this moment, people are happily playing the game without worrying about “pay to win” issues.
I have no idea how the game is so popular without it coming across my radar up to this point, but it looks like it’s picking up more steam into the general consciousness. We’ll see how it plays out.
If you’re looking for a good quick review, check out The Escapist:
Also In The News
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This newsletter is a companion/alternative to a mini-podcast I produce. The show is archived on Youtube, with most people listening on Amazon Alexa devices — but it’s also available on all podcast hosts.