This Upcoming 'Genshin Impact Killer' Has a Huge Ace Up Its…

Genshin Impact may not be the first gacha game of its kind, but when it made its debut in 2020, it singlehandedly popularized the genre in international markets. Ever since the game achieved massive critical and commercial success back then, several companies have attempted to cash in on the trend that it started with new gacha titles of their own. Last year, for example, the Chinese developer Kuro Games released Wuthering Waves, a free-to-play open-world RPG with real-time combat and a post-apocalyptic setting. A few months ago, meanwhile, Mingzhou Studio launched the hack-and-slash action RPG Black Beacon on iOS and Android. Even Hotta Studio, the company behind Tower of Fantasy, recently announced a Genshin Impact-like anime RPG called Neverness to Everness.

Despite the influx of anime-inspired gacha games in the last few years, none of them have really succeeded in their attempts to knock Genshin Impact off its throne. Many of these titles often suffer from similar issues, like a lack of innovation in gameplay, an unnecessary emphasis on grinding, and an egregious amount of pay-to-win mechanics. While Genshin Impact is also plagued by some of these same problems, it is still arguably better than most other gacha games in several respects. That said, there is one upcoming title that seems to easily surpass Genshin in one particular area.

Duet Night Abyss Seems to Be a Lot More Player-Friendly Compared to Genshin Impact

Back in 2023, Hero Games and its subsidiary, Pan Studio, announced a third-person free-to-play action game called Duet Night Abyss. Described by its developers as a "high-freedom fantasy adventure RPG," the game takes place in a land where demons run rampant and machinery and magic are parts of everyday life. It features a hack-and-slash combat system and follows two playable protagonists. These characters not only come from completely different backgrounds, but they also have full storylines of their own.

Unlike Its Free-to-Play Contemporaries, Duet Night Abyss Will Not Feature Any Gacha Elements

Since its initial reveal, Hero Games and Pan Studio have hosted multiple closed betas for Duet Night Abyss. Recently, however, the two companies confirmed that the game will be launched worldwide for PC, iOS, and Android on October 28. Alongside this news, Pan Studio announced some major adjustments to the monetization systems in Duet Night Abyss. It revealed that, in order to make the game more consumer-friendly, it decided to make all the characters and weapons in Duet Night Abyss free to unlock. In addition to this, the studio confirmed that it got rid of the game's banners, its star rating system, and the time limitations it had for grinding.

Duet Night Abyss features a mechanic called the Sigil System, which lets players summon AI-controlled companions during combat in order to reduce grind.

With the sweeping changes that have been made to it, Duet Night Abyss is effectively no longer a gacha game. This, however, is probably a good thing. Most of the free-to-play action RPGs on the market these days are filled to the brim with gambling mechanics and systems that don't respect the player's time. Genshin Impact's gacha system, of course, is guilty of these anti-consumer practices, as well. The game's event banners, pity system, and star rating system are all designed to extract as much money from players as possible. Although Genshin is still more generous compared to other gacha games out there, many gamers are probably tired of having to deal with features like these.

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Players Who Are Tired of Gacha Mechanics Could Leave Genshin Impact for Duet Night Abyss

If Duet Night Abyss actually sticks the landing and is filled with high-quality content at launch, it could actually pose a legitimate threat to Genshin Impact and games like it. Gamers who want to experience a free-to-play RPG that doesn't fall into the trappings of the gacha game genre may be more inclined to check Duet Night Abyss out compared to other titles. Although it isn't exactly the same as Genshin Impact in the gameplay and story departments, Duet Night Abyss could at least serve as a solid replacement for lapsed fans of the game.

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